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Cycling Croatia & Bosnia
  • John Bickerstaff

Cycling Croatia & Bosnia

A 9-day adventure by John Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 31, 2017
    John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Arrival & bike assembly

    May 31, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Left a strangely sunny Manchester airport (sometimes it is!) Throughout the flight across there was the feeling that the interesting views were all on the opposite side. Not so on the descent. Grandstand aerial views of the azure Adriatic coast & then to top it off Dubrovnik old town with somewhat concerning mountains behind. Equally disturbing queues for immigration & then to the small matter of my bike & whether it was all present & correct. A little messing, greasy hands wiped & all seemed ok. We shall see...Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff
    1

    Ice cream for tea.

    May 31, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Short cycle from the airport & accommodation was easily located. No-one around though. Eventually a little old lady wandered down & we eventually established I had a reservation. She phoned someone who I was assured would be here in a moment - I think. Good job I got a dollop of cash as when he did arrive cards weren't an option. My change would come when his wife got back... Suggested that I wander into the town centre - 10 mins walk apparently. Could pick up breakie stuff. By now the sun was just setting & all was very quiet. Had a pleasant walk along the front & an ice cream to help me back up the hill. Still haven't got my change...Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    More views of Dubrovnik

    June 1, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Cracked on nice & early to avoid the worst of the heat. That was the plan at least & some pretty evil hills aside managed to make Dubrovnik in decent time. A few hairy photo stops were necessary to catch views of the old town and Lokrum Island. Bridge & Slano were familiar from the flight in.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Polite Frenchies & peaceful roads.

    June 1, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Much as the coast road up from Dubrovnik took in some gorgeous scenery, it did suffer from pretty heavy traffic to the point where the bike helmet was used! Lorries were consistently trying to get as close as possible or so it seemed. Conversely the 2 French cars that went past gave ludicrous amounts of space. It came as something of a relief when the turn for Ston came up. The looming mountains ahead tempered that a little. They like their walled cities in these parts - Ston boasting a pretty epic version. The big selling point is the absence of hoardes. On arrival all of this was to be discovered but the high point of the walls looking out over the town and surroundings was impossible to be ignored. Left Ston sweatier but having avoided cycling in the worst of the heat - just hiked up a wall instead.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Dolphins & Croatian smugglers

    June 1, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    For all the early start & pit stop in Ston it was still a case of the final 18 miles to Trstenik in 2pm heat & a 6 mile climb into the bargain. Love these cycle trips. Thankfully the last 10 proved relatively easy & the dodgy road concerns were unfounded. The concern about finding the apartment didn't. Rolled into 'town' no signs or evidence of it existing at all. Ended up asking in the shop & she pointed me towards 3 old men drinking beer. They new enough English & new of the owner, called him & all was sorted. As it happened though, the oldest guy (who looked like a farmer - according to the owner) was a notorious smuggler & loves to single out tourists to palm off overpriced wares. Not a chance. Headed to the beach for a cooling swim & was greated with the sight of a dolphin messing around not 10m away from me. Went camera shy when I got out.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Stupid steepness, beginning, middle ...

    June 2, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Hate cycling to deadlines... in fact all deadlines. Anyway with 2 different ferries to catch, if I didn't want to be kicking my heels for hours waiting I had to make the 9am ferry from Trpanj - 13 miles and a very hefty climb away. Another 7am start gave me 2 hours which averaged out at just over 6mph not much more than walking pace. At the top of the 6 mile climb things weren't looking so good. Was banking on lots speedy downhill. Quick stop at the communist war memorial & then belt it to the port. Got there with 40mins to spare.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Overtaken by butterflies.

    June 2, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Another hurried cycle to Dvernik - 18 miles in 2 hours & again massively misjudged the effort needed. Another 40 mins to kill - early lunch looking out over the beach. All this hurrying & not even half way. The plan was to get to Hvar early & enjoy a more leisurely cycle on the island. The roads were very quiet BUT you know you are in trouble when knackered tractors & butterflies are overtaking you - the pro-cycling fan boys that were on the ferry I can live with. I'm sure they gave me a head start & they just sailed past.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Swim & the sun goes in.

    June 2, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    While Hvar is very unspoiled, this means there are very few places of any size & what there was either didn't have shops or the owners couldn't be arsed. Equally the road through the island was largely along the (hilly) spine avoiding the coast. For these reasons Jelsa loomed large on the radar (map) - get supplies & have a swim. As it happened with only being 6 miles from home supplies weren't deemed necessary. Very pleasant place, statue of a donkey?? and plenty of swimming options. Just as a decision was made the sun went in. Stubborn streak - sod it.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    No steepness @ the end just dirt tracks

    June 2, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The flat profile of the last 10 miles suggested a nice easy run in. No such luck - 2 miles from home the road ran out. Turn round & add at least 5 extra miles. Grin & bear the dirt track. Happily the satnav got me to the hostel easily - it's located in the maze of the old town. Not that there was anyone @ reception. An old guy poked his head in at some point - waved the reservation at him & he scuttled off - '1 moment'
    Eventually someone did appear - whether old guy had anything to do with it is anybodies guess. Shower & then explore & eat. Clearly Stari Grad does get tourists - lots of choice - too much.
    Opted for take away & sitting on the harbour wall watching the world go by.    Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Round in circles literally.

    June 3, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Much easier cycle to the ferry - just a couple of miles, then the small measure of a couple of hours to get to Split. Managed to bag a spec by a plug so could do stuff without eating battery. How sad! Also was well away from all the German bikers & their cigarettes. Split it turns out is a big city & has traffic as bad as you would expect. Not used to cars. The plan was to see the former Roman palace & then head out to the Hadjuk Split ground. The hoardes surrounding the palace persuaded me to give it a wide berth. Got to the ground easy enough but finding the club shop. Various levels circle the ground, some not going all the way round. Invariably the wrong one was chosen - much doubling back. That said managed to get an illicit view of inside the ground. A couple of workman had left a gate open. Assumed with the near persistent sound of drills etc that they were busy & wouldn't notice. Wrists promptly slapped. Got the photo anyway.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Detour frenzy.

    June 3, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    With all the tooing & froing the main portion of the days cycle had yet to begin - a gentle 45 miler. Popped by a cycle shop which was closing as I pulled up. That lack of luck in mind I decided against extra trip upto a famous castle (Game of Thrones) - it'd be full of German tourists anyway. Did detour to see what Split's beaches were like. Short answer - full. Road out of Split was a busy dual carriageway so that was fun. Grinned & bore the buses & wagons - annoyingly all the beaches were substantially downhill - not an option. Those that weren't by there nature were by a main road & all possessed little or no shade. Did eventually find a spec that ticked all the boxes. Then the small matter of a 5 mile climb to get to the hotel. Got in early enough to some washing & make a fool of myself for not knowing how to turn on the air con... And i left my passport at the reception desk. Brela has a nice promenade along some attractive beaches, one of which was voted one of top 10 prettiest in the world. Nice swim. Since the coast is so nice it would have been rude not to eat at a beach side establishment.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    For the last time, I'm not German

    June 4, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Definite case of chalk and cheese. Yesterday the resident soundtrack was buses hairing past; today was the endless twittering of songbirds. Much improved. Unfortunately the last 4 miles yesterday had been downhill & I had to double back & then finish off across the Dupci Pass. Thankfully an early start meant most of it in the shade. Once over it was clear that the Dalmatian hinterland wasn't flat. Pleasant to look at...
    Took in the opposite end of the gorge I saw at Omis. Popped into a local store for water prior to a fearsome climb to be met with the greeting 'sprechen Duesch' - not the first time I've been mistaken for a German. Fear of a lack of Bosnian currency led to stock up before the border crossing - many cherries. Then into Bosnia...    Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Don't cycle through old town Mostar.

    June 4, 2017 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    The initial impression of Bosnia revolved around the common place business activity - namely scrap car dealers. Must've been 10 in the first few miles. Following that it was mass snakeacide - 4 run over snakes within a mile. Clearly there are snakes around here but they don't have road sense. Great downhill into Mostar (45mph) then the ultimate tactical error - going through the old town with a fully laden bike wasn't smart. Narrow alleyways full of tourists & market stalls. As for getting over the old bridge - lethal - the cobbles were glass like. Massive uphill to the hotel - nice! What was nice was the pool. Happy days. Cooled off & then headed into town to take a closer look at the bridge - a world heritage monument. Very impressive especially from the river bank.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Hawkers still in bed!

    June 5, 2017 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Usual early start & by prior arrangement a breakie goody bag had been left for me. A massive barm cake, various toppings, fruit & a chocolate pudding. Happily sat outside scoffing & admiring the view of Mostar. Kicked off at just after 7am & headed for my first detour Blagaj Ottoman Dervish site. Basically a site of religious importance at a natural spring. Passed kids going to school - HA! Got there in no time - well just under an hour & it was deserted. The hawkers huts were boarded up, restaurants closed - I had a free reign to go where I wanted for photos. Went up the reserved area for diners only - and could see why - but not for me today...Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Not bad as swim specs go.

    June 5, 2017 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    It was always in my plans to try & visit Kravica Falls. With now following the cycle route through S. Bosnia it would have been rude not to - that said it was another 10 miles or so, not allowing for dirt track detours of which there were a couple. On one said detour I ended up racing a kid up a hill (him on foot) he found it hilarious. I was just knackered. The climb out of the valley was hard only to discover my gears were knackered. Everything off & running repairs - hopefully the last of the day. With all this the falls had to be something special. They didn't disappoint. A Scottish couple warned that the water was refreshing - a euphemism for fucking freezing if ever there was one & for a Jock to think it's cold... Wasn't too bad.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Puncture frenzy (well 2)

    June 5, 2017 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Then began the slog to Ravno. The theory was that since there was little or nothing to do in Ravno, the journey was more important. That's all well & good but if you're tired, bed is the thing. Even so the cycle route that was being followed eventually was located & went over a couple of fun bridges. Then the decision point - follow the fun route with tunnels & bridges but is gravel or the paved but not quite so exciting route. No choice... To say it was gravel was exceedingly generous - it was the hardcore unsurprisingly used on rail lines. Not great for road bikes as had been warned at the sign. Pace was slow - not a problem. A puncture - that was a problem. Thankfully it happened at the last point of escape. Headed back to the road & mended it & had lunch. The downside of the paved route was the rail line took a gradual path up the hillside. The road did not. On a brief downhill a pot hole was hit - another puncture. For all the battles the route did offer great views of the countryside. As did the room when I evetually got in. Tea was the mother of all mixed grills. The bar man suggested meat, chips & salad. Little did I think I would end up with a huge selection. Came back to the room to discover the air con had been leaking - moved room & cue lots of puzzled faces & banging.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Mechanical issues only much worse.

    June 6, 2017 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    And the day all started so well - a lie in of sorts, a relaxed & hearty breakfast on the lawn and some gentle climbing until the bike route started proper. Ambled through the next village of sorts - a restaurant & some tourist type caves. Planned to stop if open but no - only workmen. Pushed on through increasing farm establishments to eventually be 'greeted' by a very irate / territorial dog agressively barking as they do & then jumping up and lunging at me. Got the handlebars causing something of a crash. Eventually the owner gained some semblance of control. Tried to establish damage - seemed to be just a toe clip issue but as a made I hasty exit it became clear the wheel had been badly buckled. Not good. Spoke key out & try as I might it wouldn't be trued. In fact I might have made it worse. Eventually it dawned that, with 29 miles to go cycling wasn't an option at the moment. Help was needed. The question though was who - I was in the middle of no-where. Decided to head back to the workmen & see if any of them spoke English & had any ideas. This did mean getting past the devil dog again. Made sure bike was between me & it. Unfortunately the workmen spoke no English. They got a lady from the cave ticket office who spoke a little, who got her colleague who spoke a bit more. He phoned the restaurant owner who spoke good English & was glad to help (if he could.) He offered to call his cousin who was good with things like this. Failing that either he would take me to Dubrovnik tomorrow or he would phone around & find someone going today. He assured me things would be fine. When I saw his cousin's methods I was less sure - jumping on the wheel to remove the buckle. Didn't work. Lift to Dubrovnik. Theo was all for introducing me to his parents & having me as guest of honour - which would've been an experience but a lift had been found for me & the sooner I was in Dubrovnik the better. Felt very ignorant. As it happened the lift was just back to Ravno, where my actual lift was going from. Here 2 other guys proceded to hammer ten tonnes of shit out of my wheel. I knew this wouldn't have an impact until the spokes were adjusted but god knows what that is in Croatian. My lift appeared, knew where the hostel was & assured me he had a number for a guy who could sort my wheel. Compared to all this the border crossing was a breeze.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    No-one in Dubrovnik does bike repairs!

    June 6, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    On arrival at the hostel, the priority was to try & get my bike in some sort of working order in order to get me to the airport. That meant finding a bike shop - surely there must be one in a city of 50000 people. Asked at reception and handily enough there was one just down the road. Result. Dumped my stuff & off I went. That was as good as got. I was assured that there was no-one in Dubrovnik that could help. Headed back & onto the internet & it would seem cheerful Charlie was right. OK try the contact - who spoke English. He didn't reject me out of hand - which was progress. He said he'd think on it & to call back in 5 mins. Not 2 mins later there was a text message ping through with a name and contact saying he would be able to fix it. Called & he came out to have a look - mainly because he gave up trying to give me directions. He offered to take it away & do his best to true it. Fingers crossed. All in all complete strangers helped throughout the day without thought & consistently refusing money. Restores your faith in humanity.
    All that sorted - went into Dubrovnik for a little explore - busy but not rammed - no cruises in. Very attractive & hot. At this point it dawned on me I hadn't eaten since breakfast & proceded to have the best kebab ever.    Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Quiet(ish) Dubrovnik

    June 7, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Led astray by Ivan the bike guy, I awoke a little groggy. Having repaired my bike, I couldn't face feeling rude again so round the corner for some beers and some interesting conversation. It would seem there are still tensions within the region. He recounted his love of building wheels, diving & Australia. Aside from my inability to do anything with my wheel we had plenty to talk about & in my defence, other than cutting out the spokes there was nothing he could do with the wheel either. That made me feel better - obviously the beer did not. Tried to keep to the plan - hit the wall as early as possible & play it by ear thereafter.
    Amazingly arriving at 9, I was expecting a queue. Maybe the tour hoardes hadn't got in yet. Spent a relaxing hour walking along the ramparts admiring the views & taking way too many photos    Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    From the sublime to the ridiculous

    June 7, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Just as the wall walk was coming to end it, was clear how busy things were becoming - queues of people stretching along the wall. The plan was to now take the cable car up Mt Srd, admire the views of Dubrovnik and then walk down. On arrival bought my ticket & was ushered straight on the next cable car. Has to be said the view of the city was stunning. Also up here was a museum / gallery devoted to the homeland war. Very sad tale of atrocities & this was just what happened in Croatia - no mention of Bosnia or Kosovo. From the sublime goodness that so many showed me yesterday to the ridiculous idiocy of war today. From there to the path down - gorgeously peaceful & one of the stations of the cross at each hairpin or at least I assume that was what it was - it is a catholic country after all. Picked up a couple of pasty type things on entering town, found a shady spot & chilled for a while.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    A final ferry

    June 7, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Post pie, things had cooled down somewhat but the thought of cycling the hilly route to Cavtat didn't really appeal. Down to the harbour & hop the ferry to Lokrum Island. Any number of other cruise type options were being thrown in my direction - do they not recognise a tight wad when they see one? Got some nice views of the old town from the sea & once on Lokrum the main objective was to get in said sea. Grabbed a map & eventually made it down to the beach & when I say beach really it was a series of rocky outcrops with swimming pool steps attached. That said it was easier getting in than shingle / stone. Very refreshing. Having cooled down it was inevitable that something would have to be done that would do the opposite. Heading upto the highest point on the island should do it. The final path up the hill was called paradise path - didn't feel much like paradise. Back to the sea for another swim & then the ferry back Dubrovnik.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    Back where I started

    June 7, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    So the small matter of getting out to Cavtat with only front brakes working. First things first - back to the hostel, change, repack & locate (unlikely) brake blocks taken out. Thankfully the hostel yard was in the shade so not too onerous. Brake blocks weren't located - clearly left somewhere, so just front brake. Have to go careful. Only 12 miles so shouldn't be too bad. Still it was 30°. Emailed the owner before setting off giving an idea of arrival time - doubt he got it. Uphills were fairly gentle & the downhills taken gingerly so never going to be an electric pace. Arrived - no-one about (clearly email still in the post) The shop downstairs was open this time so poked my head in & they called him. Same room as last time but made sure there was an aircon remote. Wandered down for tea - had some amber jack (I suspect a type of tuna) very nice. Admired another sunset & polished off a dollop of ice cream. Nice.Read more

  • John BickerstaffCycling Croatia & BosniaJohn Bickerstaff

    The final act.

    June 8, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    A mere 3 miles cycling & a 1pm flight. On the face of it that leaves plenty of time. In reality 30 mins getting there; dismantling bike & check in 2 hours prior to departure equalled leaving at around 10:30 & since room check out was 10 that left a few hours to mooch & get some breakie. It was a pretty windy morning & the thought of sorting out wet stuff put me off a final swim. Cavtat is a much more relaxed place than Dubrovnik - apparently they were once of a similar size & importance. Found a bakery & picked up an apple strudel & was left with 10 Kuna. Opted to go to the fruit guy & buy 10K worth of cherries. Sat on the harbour wall watching the world go by. Not bad way to end the holiday. However the small matter of the flight loomed. Headed back, packed & dropped of the keys. Uphill all the way to the airport & then pulling the bike apart. By now both panniers were falling apart so it was a case of get as much as possible in the bike bag. Wash & check in. Oversized baggage was bizarre - the usual big scanner but no-one there. Told to leave it - it'll be fine. Hope so.Read more

    Trip end
    June 8, 2017
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