Euroloop

Here I am on the Adriatic coast and it all feels like a big holiday over here. Plenty of sun, sea, sand and tourists. I’m on my day off in a small town called Trogir, a little west of Split. I’m staying in a campsite this time as it means I can air stuff out and do washing much more easily than with a hotel room. The campsite is on this little peninsula and is one of the most jam packed I’ve ever seen, but I have a really nice pitch right next to the sea with great views.

That’s me 2150 miles in and about to start the bottom section of Euroloop, heading west to eventually end up in Spain. Plenty of country hopping this week again starting out in Romania, then into Hungary. I crossed into Serbia for a day where I met a really nice waiter in Sombor (called Alex funnily enough) who recommended trying the national Serbian dish for lunch (can’t remember it’s name and probably couldn’t pronounce it even if I could). The meal was absolutely massive and I was stuffed afterwards. Alex also told me I should change my route to go through Montenegro, which he reckoned was one of the places you have to go see if you’re in the Balkans due to the breathtaking scenery. Unfortunately, my route is already planned and because of timescales I can’t really fiddle around with it too much. But thanks for the tip Alex, I’ll bear it in mind for future holidays!

Leaving Sombor, I got crazily lost for 2 hours on roads the map said existed but never really materialized, they were just dirt tracks. The map even said there was a bridge crossing a small river, but when I got there found there was nothing other than a railway bridge. Turning back meant riding an hour along the way I’d come on bad roads so I braced myself and legged it across the railway bridge having visions of the scene in the film ‘Stand by Me’ if you’ve ever seen that. Anyway, no damage done thankfully.

I passed into Croatia briefly and then into Bosnia to find the first big mountains that I’ve had to climb, proper mountain pass roads with tunnels and switchbacks and everything. I did really enjoy doing serious uphill for quite a while and then flying down the other side, as long as it doesn’t happen too often. It made a change from all the flat-ish riding I’ve been doing. On one of the ridges I went over, on one side it was lush and green with evergreens everywhere, I went through a tunnel at the peak and the other side revealed a completely different landscape, it was quite odd how sudden it was. Everything was now looking very dry and Mediterranean. The heat kicked up a notch and going up all those hills was a sweaty business, I got my first major salt sweats, nice. I made my way across the border back into Croatia again, not without some problems. I headed for a mountain pass that was marked as a main road on my Bosnian map. However, when I got there it was just a dirt track winding it’s way up the ridge. I politely declined taking that crap road and had to cycle back the way I’d come to cross the border at a different place.

The final day of the week was shorter than the rest, which involved working my way over a couple of hills and into the outskirts of Split to then head along the coast to Trogir and find somewhere to stay. I was seriously dirty and stinking after 5 days straight without a shower, particularly now the sun’s thermostat has been turned up. All my kit was in need of a good wash and airing out. The campsite here in Trogir is great for doing that at least and I’ve been reading, sleeping and eating as usual on my day off. It really is a beautiful little town with brilliant views, great pit stop. And then tomorrow I’m off again, the next major milestone is meeting my mum and dad in the south of  France near Toulon for two days break. But that’s in 10 days time, plenty more miles to come before then.

I just want to say thanks to everyone for the texts, emails and Facebook messages that keep coming in. I do get them, even if I don’t reply to all of them, and they’re really encouraging. Righty-ho, time to go get some dinner. Adios.

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