Fifteen CCCTS cyclists were hosted by Alen Augustin, Damir Leka and Goran Ritosa, our friendly, professional SITNICA Guides from “the original Croatia bike tours company since 2000”, for an 18 day adventure on some of Istria’s and coastal Croatia’s quiet and scenic roads. Each of the three regions we experienced were distinctly different: Istria’s colours, Kvarner’s wind swept gulf islands and the beautiful Kingdom of Dalmatia. Each region offered unique landscapes, history and cultures. Our two-wheeled odysseys took in mountain vistas, coastal views, medieval towns, Roman architectural remains, olive orchards, vineyards, wildlands and the beautiful small city of Dubrovnik – a World Heritage Site. Alen, Damir and Goran helped us to appreciate what we were experiencing along the way. Alen carefully selected cycling routes which allowed us to experience some of Croatia’s amazing diversity. Come and explore these regions with us on your bike!
Through words and pictures (see links below) we offer these reflections:
Haiku poems:
New friends, rented bikes
climbing hills through gorgeous sites
Croatia bike tour. – Maureen Weston
A rag-tag bike group
Cycled from Pula to Ston
Via Rab and Pag – Arno Schortinghuis
Red Istrian hills
Cres Griffons soaring wild?
Stone walls, wind, Blue sea – George
Zorn.
Two-wheel odysseys
Winding roads: hills, olive trees
Over land and sea
Delores Franz-Los’ Thanks to Alen Augustin and SITNICA’s Guides:
To Croatia we all flew with the things we would need,
For a cycle adventure with Sitnica and Alen as our Lead.
The arrangements he made were excellent, I’d say,
With comfortable hotels and delicious food every day.
The landscapes we passed through were extraordinary for sure,
Moonscapes and vineyards and olive orchards – so pure.
And the views – simply outstanding, from high above the sea,
Told us there was no other place that we wanted to be.
Old castles, stone walls, red tile roofs, day after day.
So many that “enough is enough“ at times I would say.
Along with all this, there was one thing we looked forward to each ride,
And at night and in the morning we studied the details with an enthusiasm we could not hide.
No, it was not the rock walls, the ancient ruins or the beautiful roses along the way,
There was something else even more enticing that caught our attention each day.
What kept our focus and provided us with continual thrills,
Was the anticipation, then the completion of the hills, and more hills and more hills.
So “Thank you Alen” for the fantastic cycle tour route you so carefully planned out,
Which showed us your wonderful country and… made us stronger people without a doubt.
Our Journey in photos:
Jean Matthewson’s Google Photos Story: https://goo.gl/photos/zJGvs7gcqWhd7yzH7
George Zorn’s 3 Picasa Web Albums of Stories – estimated viewing time with captions is 30 minutes:
Colours of ISTRIA – “Croatia as it used to be” – 2015 CCCTS – SITNICA Cycle Tour: part 1 (110 images)https://goo.gl/0bdYkl
KVARNER’s Gulf Islands -“Croatia as it used to be” – 2015 CCCTS – SITNICA Cycle Tour: part 2 (103 images)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iPRk92iDrRETnQ6p9
Kingdom of DALMATIA – “Croatia as it used to be” – 2015 CCCTS – SITNICA Cycle Tour: part 3 (150 images)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wA6GpX2WqfnGXquP7
Thanks for joining us. Here’s an end of ride “Radler” refresher for you. You’ve earned it! Enjoy!
After a hot and hilly bike ride a swim in the Adriatic felt great followed by a cold Croatian beer mixed with Schweppes Bitter
Lemon – a “Radler”. In Canada Schweppes Bitter Lemon is not available. Here’s a recipe for “Bitter Lemon” which comes very
close in taste:
1. Squeeze juice of four fresh lemons, remove seeds, add 2 TBSP of additional lemon juice to your taste. Total juice volume:
almost 1 cup. In a blender add: lemon juice, zest of all 4 lemons, lemon pulp of all 4 lemons (no seeds), 1 can partly thawed Minute
Maid Frozen Concentrate Lemonade (undiluted). Blend well. Store in fridge for future use..
2. In a tall glass (approx. 375ml) add 30 ml (1/8 cup) or 60 ml (1/4 cup) of “Bitter Lemon”- amount depends on your taste preference.
Add cold, light-bodied beer to glass (half full or more) e.g. Heineken, Mt. Begbie Kolsch or… Add beer slowly: can be
very reactive, creating a lot of foam. Stir.
3. Top up the glass with cold Schweppes Club Soda or Canada Dry Tonic Water or another low/no-sugar-added soda. Stir and
enjoy. Add remaining beer &/or Club Soda to your taste preference as the glass empties. Zivjeli!
George & Jeanetta Zorn for the 2015 Croatian Cycling crew.