Cyclists: David and Georg
Country: Croatia Distance: 325 km In May 2015 I had just finished the sadomasochistic ritual some refer to as master thesis and was ready for some well deserved adventure. As my flatmate had just shown victorious in a similar ordeal we decided to award ourselves with a badly prepared and physically straining 4-day bike trip through Croatia. We started out in style, finding out that we could not take our road bikes with us in the train from Budapest to Karlovac and had therefore to leave them at home. Once we arrived in Karlovac a second obstacle presented itself: a public holiday. After unwillingly entering multiple hotels we finally found one that was willing to rend two mountain bikes to two bearded students dressed in brightly colored cycling suits. We were on our way. The first day started with a beautiful meandering and hilly road that lead through a multitude of small villages. After approximately 50 kilometers and quite a steep increase in altitude we could not but agree that we had been slightly to enthusiastic when we thought we could easily do a 100 km on the first day. Stranded in a small desolated city at nighttime we gave up on our RBnB and instead visited the one and only local pub in the village. With no place to sleep we were only too happy when a local young construction worker offered us to sleep in his apartment. The day was saved. On the second day we overcame our initial pains with a cup of coffee and set out for the sea, a good 90 km to the west. The road led straight through the hills and gave a beautiful and for me completely unknown image of Croatia. I cannot describe the feeling when we finally saw the sea and without any sense of responsibility raced down towards our then not yet booked RBnB. After an initial dissolution with the touristic campings at the coast and a perfect dinner consisting out of more than 2 kg of food we were once again on our way, now descending the beautiful Croatian coastline. Fast forward. We are not really able to sit on the painful race saddles anymore, but are perfectly aware of the quite literal mountain that is ahead of us. With a good 32 degrees we start our day that eventually will see us cycle 125 km, ascend 2 km en eat 3 snickers. Through a never ending sense of competition we manage to motivate us during the difficult parts and feel only to happy when we enjoy another beautiful descend through the desolated hills of inland Croatia. Eventually we reach Karlovac by nightfall, eat quick and then fall asleep instantly. Even though it might sound like torture to some, this trip was definitely one of the best ones of the year!
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