Dalmatia

Split - September 13 to September 16

On September 13th, with my bike (Rosita) snugly fit in a bike box and decked out with an Apple Tag, I flew from Beirut to Split (with a layover in Athens). Thankfully Rosita arrived safely without any major damages and I quickly assembled her at the Split airport and biked to town.

I checked in to my AirBnB and then met Zheko and Eve. We went for a short walk around Split and then went for dinner and drinks.

The next morning, we went for brunch and then some more exploring. Split is fairly small and there isn't much exploring to do. Most people prefer to sit at the beach, or take boat tours, both not my favourite things to do. But on the bright side, I get a delicious Ćevapi sandwich. In the afternoon I worked and then we all met again for dinner.

On the 15th, I cycled to Omiš and back to get my legs primed on Rosita!

I met Zheve for brunch and then we walked around to the beach. Given that none of us had done much research on Split, we luckily stumbled on the Park Šuma Marjan. We "hiked" in the park for a couple of hours, even though both Z and I were wearing flip-flops.

The next morning, it was time for me to leave Split and Zheve. We met again for brunch and then I bike to Šibenik. It was hot and humid and the ride to Šibenik dehydrated me.

Šibenik - September 16 to September 19

In Šibenik, my AirBnB was in a great spot; in the old town surrounded by a lot of restaurants. However it was a bit lonely and it wasn't easy to meet people (most other tourists were older or a couple).

The next morning, I cycled to Krka National Park and visited the Skradinski Buk waterfall. Amazing scenery and great day of riding.

On the 18th, I mostly did work and planned the week ahead. On the 19th, I cycled from Šibenik to Zadar. The ride was mostly on flat terrain along Eurovelo 8. The start was very pleasant. However in the last 30 km, my rear tire punctured 3 times.

Zadar - September 19 to September 21

In Zadar, I had booked a hostel to be a bit more social. I dropped my bags and went straight to a bike shop. I wanted to convert Rosita to a tubeless setup, but the bike shop did not have all the necessary items to complete the setup. I changed the rear tire to a more puncture resistant tire - hopefully this will fix the issue!

On the 20th, I had a lazy morning working, and then went for a short ride/walk around Zadar, trying to test my new tire.

In the evening, I went for a short walk along the water and then had dinner with A. (from Hungary).

The next morning, it was raining heavily. I worked in the morning and then started cycling to Novalja around noon. I got soaked the first half of the ride, but then the weather got better and I had a nice tail wind.

Novalja - September 21 to September 22

In Novalja, I went for lunch and then worked. At night, I strolled around the small city center.

The next morning, feeling a bit lazy, I tried to get onto the Catamaran to Rijeka, but thankfully, I was not allowed onto it with Rosita. The bike ride from Novalja to Rijeka was really beautiful and I am glad I did not miss it.

Rijeka - September 22 to September 24

I arrived in Rijeka and checked in to my hostel. I worked for a bit and then went to get some groceries and made dinner at the hostel. I also met a few people who are cycle touring.

Rijeka is full of stairs! The next day, I had a lazy morning in the hostel waiting for the rain to stop, and then walked to the city center, had some tea, and went in the bunker tunnels that were built by the Italians during World War II as shelters. I then took an infinite amount of stairs (Petar Kružić stairway) up to the Trsat Castle.

Back at the hostels, I cooked dinner and hang out with other travels, 3 of which (German, Welsh and Scottish) were also bike touring, but going south.

The next morning, I made my way to Postojna, Slovenia. It was raining the whole ride, but I was so glad to cross into Slovenia and be surrounded by mountains!