Today has been a day of utterly blissful riding. No understatement – today has involved one of the most joyous experiences of my life.
At the start of the day’s riding I had to present my passport for only the second time so far on this trip, to get into Croatia (the other instance was Switzerland).
Note to self: Next time don’t withdraw a bunch of Euros in Slovenia and expect to spend them in Croatia. Croatia is not in the Eurozone. D’oh!
As with Slovenia, I had no preconceptions about Croatia and really didn’t know what to expect. Initially it was weird seeing road signs for places like Zagreb, Split and Sarajevo but that oddness soon passed as the western coast road from Rijeka to Senj showed itself to be a thing of beauty. Things were shaping nicely.
I took an unplanned left turn in Senj and so ended up taking an accidental jolly in the mountains, with views akin to Switzerland again. Really… Just like it.
But then… Passed Gospic and picking a hairpin-laced descending route towards Karlobad… Everything… Went… AWESOME!!!!
Forget the breathtaking views of mountains and the Adriatic – I was on my own personal rollercoaster. With barely another vehicle in sight, a racetrack-quality road surface and over 50km of linked corners, twists, ups and downs, the promised land lay before me… If God has a motorbike then this is where he rides it. I could go on with trying to describe the ride and the effect it had on me but I just don’t have the vocabulary.
If you took a bunny that was already in a good mood, gave it some ecstacy and then tickled it… That bunny would still be depressed relative to myself right now.
West Croatia is Biking Heaven!
Some other stuff probably happened today too but I couldn’t care less about that right now.
I am seriously considering reducing the amount of time spent in Turkey so I can do some more playing on the roads here.
If you’re a biker and you fancy exploring further afield than France, Germany and the Alps then you should seriously consider this place!
Deep breath…
Calming down a bit… I’m making good progress generally and I’ll try and get to Mostar tomorrow (Fri). The plan is then to head east towards istanbul. Having said that, I’ve still got time to swing up to Romania too. Definitely possible now that things are getting cheaper. It is finally costing less than 10p per mile to fuel the bike. Italy was much more expensive than i’d hoped.
Right… I’m off now to collapse in a puddle of smiles.