The last days i had been following the slovenian part of the trans balkan race route, then thought i can’t go through croatia without going to the coast at all. Took a very cool route through the forest to the sea, thought i’d check in on a campsite and spend half a day on the beach. Quickly found out again that i just don’t like it, too many people, most expensive campsite i’ve ever been on (27 €). Immediately looked forward to going up inland again.

So yesterday i cycled the whole day on a stretch of what i believe to be a popular Eurovelo route (EV8 mediterranean route). It’s high season. I have not met a single tourer on it. Incredible. I met one roadie earlier in the day, still down by the coast. I can only assume that people avoid this part due to the climbing and do the island hopping instead? The grades are really fine though, you could also do this part in two days, one climb a day, and have a similar camp both days. You’d need to check your supplies though, i misjudged it and had to descend a fair bit in between to get food and water.

Usually i’m not the biggest fan of ev routes, but this part (from somewhere south of Rijeka, going south) looked promising, riding along the mountain side with views on the croatian islands, and it really delivered. Once you leave the coast, the route was absolutely calm. Kind of strange for such a scenic road. Like i could count the cars i encountered on one hand, one motor bike. Seems like everybody’s here solely for the beaches.