Tag: adventure
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Pedaling through pain: My shocking survival of Mallorca’s brutal 312
…nothing went wrong but everything happened. April was meant to be my final training crescendo, but Mother Nature had other plans, hurling snow blizzards at me in Helsinki while my work travel schedule played calendar Tetris with my riding days. My training suffered more than my quads on a 20% gradient, and those crucial long…
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From Spanish rain to surprise half-marathons
Hello, dear readers! It’s time for yet another monthly recap of my failed successes. But wait, this time I’m actually on schedule with my monthly update! Let’s dive into my past mishaps and the future ones I’m eagerly planning. The Spanish Rain Festival (That Was Supposed to Be a Cycling Camp) I never mentioned my…
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My big fat Greek meeting: chasing sunsets, history, and baklava in Athens
I haven’t ventured much to the south and east, ironic given that’s where I supposedly hail from, though some might argue otherwise. My compass, it seems, prefers pointing west and north. But this time, the skies themselves insisted I head south, mostly for work (because apparently, that’s what I do now). In the few precious…
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Splashdance: Riding the Croatian wave
I may have spoken too soon in my previous post, as the day morphed into an unexpected escapade. Friends on the same island, in a village nearby, nagged me into visiting, arguing that biking 18 km with a 3 km hill was somehow easier than driving. Thus, I dusted off my bike, only to discover…
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Dive hard: A Croatian Odyssey
I’ve been scuba diving for a few years now. Initially, I dived quite actively, but after moving north, my participation has decreased drastically to about 10-15 dives per year, only during annual scuba diving camp. Cold water isn’t my forte, which limits my opportunities further. This year, my entire cycling trip was planned around scuba…
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Blackout on two wheels
The grand finale of my epic ride arrived, but not without my sunscreen staging a coup, drenching both bag and gear. Thus, what began as an early morning quickly morphed into a mundane Friday. While on a fruitless quest for a breakfast that never was, I was intercepted by a fellow Slovenian cyclist. His brisk…
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Pedals, pooches and peaks
It finally happened, I got an early start before 8:00, aiming for some serene pedal time before the sun claimed the day. The morning was refreshingly cooler, but a new challenge trotted onto the scene: dogs. Apparently, in Croatia, letting guard dogs roam free to chase random cyclists is still in vogue. Throughout the day,…
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Gone with the windy
It seems my gut had a premonition this morning that the day would unfold like a beautifully written joke at my expense, though reality often crafts worse punchlines than any writer could conjure. Mounting the bicycle was an ordeal. It appeared I had finally tapped into some elusive rest, but alas, it was time to…
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Day 12: Twist and shout – The final leg
The night was full of dark and terrors, practically synonymous with rain and cold for me. Waking to the chilly air and a spread of food that would put any hotel breakfast buffet to shame, I sipped my coffee, savored my meal, and packed for the day ahead, the final stretch before my own bed…
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Day 11: Chasing highs and lows
It seemed like the weather had peeped at my schedule and decided to wait up for me. Waking up to wet streets bathed in almost sunshine, I decided not to take an extra day off and conquer the last formidable mountain. Deciding that was a stroke of genius. Beyond the initial stretch, gorgeous roads winding…
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Day 10: A series of unfortunate downpours
Never again. What a day. Woke up to rain and seriously considered becoming a hermit until the skies cleared. After obsessively checking the weather forecast and rain radar more times than I’d care to admit, I convinced myself to venture out. I spotted a three-hour break in the clouds, seemingly enough time to tackle the…
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Day 9: Cloudy with a chance of schnitzel
The morning kicked off dark and gloomy, only to be swiftly upstaged by a sun that couldn’t resist making a dramatic entrance. My enthusiasm resurfaced briefly. As soon as I hit Salzburg, a city that’s actually earned a spot on my shortlist of likes, the weather pulled a 180 (360 for those good with math).…