CYCLING CROATIA - 2019

The day staryed with an early breakfast and a walk around the waterfront wall to the port to catch the ferry to the island of Brac.

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Brac is the largest island in Central Dalmatia and known by the ancient Romans for its quarries of limestone and dolomite. The white stone has been used for centuries and shipped to the mainland for building construction.

The ferry ride took one hour over flat sea, on a beautiful sunny day expected to reach 28 degrees. The blue colour of the water was magic, as to the big, dramatic rock massive as the backdrop to Split. It became more impressive the further we sailed away.

We landed at the ferry port of Supetar. Sure enough we met Pero with the vans and the bikes and helmets. My ebike was a Cube which pleased me immensely having ridden the same in Port Melbourne. Water, fruit, snack bats, pretzels, magnesiun tablets and electrolites were all available for the taking.

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Considerable time was taken to ensure all riders fitted well to their bike. It even included Dali taking Cheryl to the local bike shop to rent another one when the one supplied was the wrong size. Finally we took off. This was the day we were to find out that there is no such thing as 'flat' in Croatia. A Croatian flat is undulating up and down. We started off along a beautiful coastal promenade. I was itching to stop and take photos of the limestone buildings , the local fishing boats and general street scenes but I could see there was some serious riding to be done and I was afraid of getting behind the group. The ride was approxinately 44kms long and Dali warned us of 2 climbs - one he called 'purgatory' and the 2nd 'the killer'. I followed the ride from an old fashioned paper map whilst nearly all the others installed the GPS 'Ridewithme' and downloaded the route instructions and profile.

On through the villages of Mirca, Sutivan and Lizisca. The first hill safely negotiated. After about 10kms we came across the first climb. Easily managed using the power assist of the ebike. Still it was a pull. At Lozisca there were road works and we turned a 180 degree turn in the direction of Nerezisca. As I went passed Phil I said this is the time should get in the support vehicle and kept on riding. It was big country all stone with stunted vegetation. The climb was relentless and I kept being grateful for the ebike. Still it was tough and long for me about 7kms. I was delihhted and surprised when Phil came by in the support van and checked I was ok. It meant thst he was building up into the week's ride and not doing damage the first day. We crossed the main road near Skrip and started the downhill.

We cycled off the main road, down to a farmer's road to an Olive Oil museum. The village was tiny and the houses were all made out of limestone blocks with slate roofs.

The olive oil museum was a Cukrov family run business started in 1837 by the young speaker's grandparents. We were given a talk on the qualities of olive oil production and how to appreciate first class Virgin Olive oil. The smell should be 'grassy' and the taste should leave a slight burning after taste, with a trial of the oil. It turned out that Chuck was a connisseur of fine olive oil and belonged to an association in Washington which sourced the best olive oil. In the museum it had a big corkscrew to compress the olives to extract the oil. By asking for volunteers in the men, the girl demonstrated how heavy the work was of pushing the handles to turn the screw. The museum contains an olive mill, olive press, spindle for tightening the press screw, olive picking baskets, a fireplace for heating the water and the traditional tools for the transport, production and storage of olive oil. The family now use modern technology to press the olives and received the bronze medal for its extra virgin olive oil at the Oblica Fest 2014 in Postira.

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Then we moved upstairs to a very rustic attic where the tables were laid out with a Croatian mezze consisting of proscuitto, bright red tomatoes, cucumbers, olive and almond tapenades, cheese, bread and of course olive oil. Everyone commented how satisfying it was.

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After lunch we headed off again out of the village and rode mostly downhill back to the Supetar ferry port to catch the ferry back to Split on the mainland.

The ride had been very exciting and I was so pleased with myself that I had managed it and wasn't left behind by the group. A big relief after not knowing what to expect.

For some the ride called for some group yoga on the ferry trip back.

After the walk back to the Jupiter Hotel for a short rest and freshen up, we joined everyone and walked to a magnificent square at the end of the Riva and an exquisite seafood dinner in a restaurant. A beautiful romantic setting.

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Being such a balmy night, Phil and I walked back via Riva. The many restaurants were completely full of diners. The lights were beautiful as to the singers of local music on the stage.

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An excellent day.