Hello, my name is Michael, I’m a passionate Swiss cyclist.
In this episode I’m riding from Ljubliana to Rijeka in Croatia and from there I’m heading along the coast towards the South.
It’s the third week of a 5-week-trip through Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. This journey began on August 29, 2021 in Domodossola (Italy).
I use English as a video language even though it’s not my mother tongue and it’s also a little rusty as I’ve barely used it in recent years.
Travelling with a loaded bicycle (I always carry camping equipment and a stove with me) is my big passion and over the last 25 years I’ve done many bike trips.
new zealand [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] cemeteries are all mostly a good option for getting water huh we’ll find out here there we go [Music] perfect perfect [Music] [Music] there’s a lot of traffic just on the way to croatia i’ve chosen uh main road i reckon and it’s so busy mainly with germans and austrians coming back from their holidays or going in their holidays [Music] they all overtook me and now oh i’m paying back okay that’s the border the croatia i just crossed it sneaked in [Music] [Music] this is very nice here very nice those are quite quite steep but beautiful it’s so silent here nice [Music] i mean we are in the hills we are quite a bit away from the sea so i don’t know how that boat is coming here [Music] [Applause] uh [Music] so [Music] so hello i think it’s day 17 i lost counting to be honest and i’m just above 40 k’s out of rieka i left ryeka this morning it’s a it’s a tuesday today and i had a bit quite a bit of climbing in the hinterland of ofriecca but now i i’m just on the coast in a very nice little town seems quite touristy but very nice yeah i had a rest day yesterday in riyeka just to explore the city a bit and to get a bit in touch with croatia uh my first impression was not that good about croatia it was like oh rieka at least was a bit it’s a bit grubby it’s a bit filthy and people are very reserved in the beginning i thought so um but yesterday i scratched a bit at the surface and if you if you encounter the people open with a smile that helps a lot to do yeah to get in touch with people so i had actually a good day yesterday and it was an important day i think to do yeah to get the sense of creativity yeah had a lovely a very nice room even with a kitchen which i just used for breakfast but that’s okay yeah and now i’m i’m heading south and it should be more along the coast now [Music] uh they’re supposed to be a cycle route the euro velo eight number eight but there is it’s not signed there is no signpost at all so i just planned my route on commute and that that brings me further down along the coast [Music] yeah it’s still lovely weather perfect for cycling it’s around 26 27 degrees and everything is run smooth and fine [Music] so so [Music] [Music] yeah following the coast now it’s spectacular the view is it’s absolutely gorgeous but it’s just it’s just too much traffic on it it’s a pity and everywhere are campings a lot of motorhomes caravans are on the road they spend their holidays here most of them are for germany some are force from austria yeah it’s very popular here [Music] ah [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music] it’s three o’clock in the afternoon and it’s hot well i love it i love it if the sun is shining on my skin and i’m just watching into a blue sky this is heaven for me oh i wish i could live in a climate like that ah so nice i’m sweating yeah that’s for sure but that’s okay i prefer i prefer a warm climate more than poor toilet oh yeah so i’ve done about 81ks and 1200 what is it 50 elevation meters which is quite good it’s always up and down up now along the adriatic coast but it’s nice scenic it’s very scenic and now there’s not much not so much traffic anymore on that part of of the road so it’s fine and look at the view [Music] [Music] [Music] my comments says 30 33 degrees wow and it feels like it’s so hard i love it i love it what i don’t love is this that makes me so angry the world could be so beautiful without noise without pollution engines anyway [Music] it’s quiet again for a while [Music] a short refreshing in the tunnel [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] this is winnie two country they shot all the movies around here the miniature movies you know when i was a kid i loved to watch winter too [Music] it’s half past four and i’m still on the road it is so nice cycling here uh well i just decided to carry on maybe another 10ks i’ve got now 107 case behind me and yeah it’s it’s the wind is good the temperature is perfect it’s just little traffic on the road and i’m i don’t feel tired i don’t feel exhausted although i did more almost thousand six hundred elevation meters this is quite a lot with a loaded bike i feel good i feel good i carry on i know i’m not a good singer [Music] [Music] [Music] how silly is that having a camper van and a car at the back yeah the world is crazy [Music] i’m on park that’s an island i just left the ferry and it’s so arid here hold on a year i hope there is a a town in about seven k’s at the coinbase hill and i hope i’ll find accommodation there we’ll see i have no clue [Music] it looks like i’m landed on the moon very special but beautiful i like it and what a nice atmosphere at the moment with this sun that’s setting soon it’s beautiful what a nice world it’s a pity i haven’t got enough water with me i would love to camp here somewhere that will be just perfect hello sheep yay what a pity what a pity okay i just arrived on a camping it’s huge they can take about 7 000 people but it looks it looks quiet look at that that’s that’s that’s the area i can i can just choose a spot so i i just pitched my tent here i need a shower i’ve done a 131 case with 1911 meters that was a tough day but it was such a good day i felt so good i feel great and i don’t feel i don’t feel tired at all so but i’m sweaty i’m full of salt and i’m having a shower and they got a restaurant here on the camping they got everything here so uh i just go and grab a dinner and then i will hopefully fall asleep soon but i’ve done a i covered a lot of kilometers today which is good and tomorrow i’m heading to sadar sadar that’s just about 70 75 case from here so oh sounds good by the way i forgot to say um i’ve been riding today six and a half hours i was sitting on my saddle six and a half hours that’s more important than the the kilometers i have done six and a half hour that’s quite that’s quite a long time but i feel good i i don’t have any pain no no saddle sauce nothing it’s good [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] two [Music] that’s the virus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so riding into sadar it’s about five k’s to go [Music] it’s absolutely not nice they’re diving fast there’s no shoulder for me and some car drivers are coming pretty close and look at the weather the forecast says it will rain this morning it was just blue sky but now a huge cloud is coming in and uh i’m rather taking a hotel then camp i will see how it goes what i can find [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] so good morning oh it’s almost noon anyway i had a good sleep good night sleep inside i booked a nice cozy room for one night and now i’m already on the way towards the south of course um yeah the next bigger town will be split that’s in about 150 case from tadar so i will stop somewhere along the way spend the night i hope i can i will see now i’m following the euro willow number eight this is signposted from sadar to i think to split it signpost that it looks like that it’s not that bad huh yeah it’s along the coast more or less on an island i don’t know what’s the name of the island uh oh yeah it’s quiet here it’s nice i got a bit of a headwind and it’s cloudy today it’s overcast but it’s just actually it is just perfect for riding a bicycle yeah so all good again let me say a few words about the croatian people so far i don’t get really warm with them [Music] there are their own distance there are a bit reserved i don’t know why maybe maybe they’re shy maybe they’re grumpy maybe they’re so self-confidence it’s not big enough or they’re just reserved i don’t know i don’t know it but it’s it’s really hard to meet to meet some friendly people here i mean i can greet people i’m i came along a constructing place today they were five workers they had to stop their work because i was passing and i was greeting them no one no one was greeting back or i went to a shop just to buy some water why say hello to the lady at the register she didn’t give me an answer she didn’t say anything just uh taught me the prize and uh done didn’t say thank you didn’t say goodbye nothing it’s so it’s so weird it’s yeah and i mean i i i i try to be open i try to be friendly to people i i encounter them with friendliness but sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn’t it doesn’t work [Music] surprise surprise really good title path cycling through a pine forest is always a pleasure for me i just love this the scent of pine trees that’s for me to sign on him to the south to nice weather warm climate [Music] yeah the euro will ate this not very well signposted so i lost track and i’m on the main road now i know i hope i can go back to the track soon i have to say it it’s not that bad cycling here it’s not it’s not busy on the road so it’s it’s okay and there are even a few cyclists [Music] all right yeah and what can i say the humidity is higher now than the previous days yeah it smells like there is rain in the air but so far no drop oh look at that that probably was a fox [Music] what the hell is he doing it seems like today is just a day to cover distance it’s nothing spectacular along the way and i mean this part of the country and i’m glad to see it how it is but uh nah it’s quite boring it’s not really any any um how can i say a stunning news uh yeah interesting spots it’s just [Music] it’s more like more or less like that so i i’ve done now case and i’m gonna go another 22 case to get to chebanek or something like that and from there on i will watch out for a place to stay it uh by the way it’s raining a little bit it’s just drizzling but it’s raining yeah look got some drops got some drops on my handlebar bag but it’s not bad so far i hope it will stay like that [Music] once more riding into shibunage it’s no fun at all so busy but most of the car keep distance so compliment to the croatian drivers [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] to [Laughter] hello i’m sitting here in sabinach in a in a nice pizzeria and i’m just having a pizza for dinner uh yeah i just wanna announce a big change in my plans um initially i wanted to follow the coast uh on the east side of the of the adria um but now i decided to take another route the the weather along the coast adriatic coast on the east side the dalmatian coast is not getting good the next few days that’s one thing one reason the other reason is i just got a ferry from dubrovnik um on the 24th of september there is no many ferry runnings between dubrovnik and barrie in italy and i don’t want to hang on hang around in dubrovnik for three days [Music] i’m just waiting for my ferry so i just decided riding only to split that’s about 80 case from here and day after tomorrow today is friday day after tomorrow on sunday evening i’m taking the ferry from split to ankona in italy and then i will follow the adratic coast on the west side of on the italian side and i’m heading down to barrie in barrie um i booked already a flicks bus that will bring me back to switzerland yeah so um i’m actually looking forward to italy again i have to say i just yeah i just fell in love again with italy and i’m very curious how it will be riding along the coast will it be so nice like it was in the north or will it be different i will let you know so only two days to go in croatia and then yeah back in italy [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] i [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Music] you