Natural alarm clock
Day 7.5 – the rest day! Nothing happened, finally. A long-needed rest, though in the morning I got naturally woken up by my body based on the last few days’ routine. I didn’t sleep much longer, maybe 45 minutes more than usual, but I took it very slow in the morning as it was raining. Just sitting and doing nothing for a few hours felt like pure luxury.
Bike doctor visit
Then I put my raincoat on and went to the service shop to check up on my bicycle. I replaced the front tire that was looking very suspicious with that cut. Better safe than sorry when you’ve got 600 kilometers left to go.
Friends, food, and maintenance
After that, I went for a very nice lunch with friends and hung out. Later, I picked up my bike and went home to clean it up a little, washing and chain cleaning, then oiling the chain. It’s amazing how therapeutic bike maintenance can be after days of just grinding out kilometers.
Fuel and planning
Then I realized I need fuel for my trip, so I went shopping for my favorite energy bars. During the day, I was looking at planning for the last three days of the trip. There’s a lot of climbing ahead, but I will try to push through those three days. Only the last day will be a little bit tricky because it has long distance and also quite some elevation gain.
The elevation reality check
The problem with these elevation predictions is that they’re usually 25% less than the actual elevation. So the predicted 2,500 meters will most likely turn into 3,000 by the end of the day. We’ll have two days of 3,000+ meters. We’ll see how that goes!
Packing strategy
I spent time packing up my stuff and actually getting rid of almost one full pack, so I’m lighter for travel. But considering the forecast shows there might be some showers one day, I decided to keep most of my things. Just got rid of a few minor items to make me lighter, maybe one to one and a half kilos, which is probably like 10% reduction. Not much, but every gram counts in the mountains.
Ready for the final push
That’s it, short rest day, but I’m ready for the last three days to tackle the final 600 kilometers and the last country that hasn’t been conquered yet. Then finally… well, a bit of an active rest since I’m going scuba diving! So it’s not completely rest days, but I do enjoy it.
The calm before the storm. Tomorrow, the mountains are calling.
Rest day complete, gear sorted, bike serviced. The final 600 kilometers to support SOS Children’s Villages Croatia await. Ready for the mountain challenge! donate.wheres-marin.com
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