Croatia Cycling: Day 1

Day 1: Zvečaj

Distance: 22.4km

Elev Gain: 281m

Missed the lunch spot and had to backtrack a bit!

Itinerary Description

Zvečaj, located south of Zagreb, is a small village on the banks of the Mrežnica River. The Mrežnica River, nearly 40 miles long, is considered one of cleanest rivers in Croatia. Its 93 waterfalls, with pools of clear emerald water between them, entice us to swim. Beginning our first ride through the villages and forests of the area, we see in rural Europe, people still live a simple life; old wooden homes with colorful gardens and livestock dot the area.

What I Will Really Remember

(1) Being the token Asian, I felt it was my duty to spread the love for Asian Squat while waiting to start the day. If you don't know what an Asian Squat is, watch this video or this video.

(2) Crossing the river aboard a small cable ferry, and just as the locals do, we tow ourselves to the opposite shore.

While crossing the river with our bikes on a self-propelled wooden boat was an unique experience, I was more demoralized by having to walk the short, steep hill after the river crossing. In the trip reviews, we've been forewarned to "train for the trip", "train for the hills", and "more hill training".

And here I was on the first day dragging the bike up the steep section and wishing that I had ridden more than 1.5km in the last week or more than 10km since the new year. It's gonna be a tough week!

(3) The afternoon kayak/canoe trip was an unexpected bonus. At one spot, we were invited to jump into a whirlpool, which would pull you under then shoot you 10 metres out. Normally, I hesitate doing anything that would drown me, but I couldn't resist the clear blue water, so I took a leap of faith (literally and figuratively)!