Ride Coordinator: Ronald Youngash
Report by: Bennett Cowan
Croatia seemed like a good idea, especially since our good friends Ron and Deb would be steering it, and several friends from other BAC rides ended up on it as well. As is often the case with international travel posted a year in advance, the BAC ride description was just an approximation of the planned route, but the changes merely transferred one gorgeous view or town for another. PedalTours was a well respected tour company, now owned by Uze Keren who accompanied us, and Beyond, a local Croatian tour company just getting started. Three guides and the owner of Beyond were our local tour leaders.
The first morning we began our ride and quickly appreciated our Beyond guides’ abilities to be flexible. Not scheduled, but a few of us wanted to see a 6th century church in Porec, so we all went off route and into town.
Motovun was our first stop and serves to illustrate several others: a one-of-a-kind boutique hotel with stunning views and all of the amenities expected. All but 2 of our meals were included as either set plates or buffets. Other hotels were 3-4 stars and often close to the beaches where rounded stones not sand was to be found. Although we often were in hotels considerably removed from town centers, we usually had a chance to explore before riding the last few kilometers to the hotel. And several people chose to hire a taxi to go into Split or to stay some extra days in Dubrovnik or Trieste.
Several ferry rides were originally scheduled and our first was to Rab Island which had noticeably fewer tourists and traffic. Unfortunately for us, a famous wind named The Bura showed up with steady 30 mph and gusts nearing 40 so for safety we took a short ferry from Rab and rode in two small buses to our day’s destination, Pag. Being flexible definitely was helpful, both for tour leaders and clients!
There were several especially historic towns and this tour provided time for short explorations along the way including Sibenik, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Krka National Park with its travertine falls was also an option that most folks took. Although Korcula was on the original plan, we did not go there. Our tour took us primarily down the coastal road with its heavy traffic but with stunning views of small towns and their small ports almost straight down to the water. Dubrovnik’s walled old city center was another high point.
In summary this BAC tour of Croatia provided stunning scenery of much of the world famous Dalmatian Coast. With both a new PedalTours owner and a new local guide outfit, much tweaking is undoubtedly already in the works to further refine and polish this unique experience. For more details and pictures the following links will prove helpful.
Bennett Cowan
Bicycle Adventure Club
PO BOX 23998 San Diego, CA 92193
Telephone (858) 715-9510 office@bicycleadventureclub.org