It finally happened, I got an early start before 8:00, aiming for some serene pedal time before the sun claimed the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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, in various small villages, I got an unexpected “rocket boost” every time a dog would start barking and sprinting towards me. There was no way I was sticking around to see if they were in the mood to play. Instead, I hit the pedals and vanished from their radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was one particularly clever dog. Positioned on a hill, it spotted me and, instead of charging directly, it darted forward in the direction I was moving. Applying my quick geometry skills, I anticipated where it would jump out to cut me off. Boy, was that close! It\u2019s quite a thrill when a dog nearly pounces on you from a grassy knoll. I kind of hope it didn\u2019t end up as roadkill, but then again, maybe the owner deserves to be dodging traffic instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The day felt like a constant, subtle uphill battle, and with an elevation gain just over 1700 meters, that sensation was probably spot on. As mentioned earlier, the splendor of nature really shone through today. I think I cycled through two of Croatia’s most stunning natural areas, Rastoke and Plitvice Lakes. While I didn\u2019t stop at Plitvice, I lingered in Rastoke to marvel at its enchanting waterfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ending up on a motorway was the cherry on top of today\u2019s surprises, thanks to inadequate signage at construction sites. Fortunately, none of the three route planners I checked recognized the road as a motorway, so I avoided an extra 60 km detour, enduring only 10 km of adrenaline and speeding cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Searching for a supermarket or an open gas station reminded me just how remote my location was. Thankfully, my host came to the rescue with a delivery of delicious food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tomorrow marks the last day of this cycling adventure, there will be a few km the day after as well, but compared to what was done until now, it is just a drop in the ocean. I hit the 2000 km mark today and can feel the physical toll it\u2019s taking. Maybe that recovery ride on the weekend on which I apparently set all my PRs, should have been a rest day as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the weather promising a fiery ordeal and more hills on the horizon, I\u2019m counting on frequent ice cream breaks and liters of water to keep me cool before I end the tour in Split.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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