White Rhino
Race Dog
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2009
- Messages
- 3,931
- Reaction score
- 7
- Location
- Johannesburg *South Africa*
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS
Sometime back in 2010 after having read some of the cool ride reports on this forum of Ivan’s explorations in Croatia …. here …
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=39205.0 - Dalmatia - Southern Croatia in pics...... &
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=90813.0 - Snow tour in Croatia (African in the snow) - worth a look - a lovely selection of pics), there was very little left to convince me that Croatia was a country that would be high on the list of desirables, and one day our plans would take on an adventure of this country that was once under siege by the Bosnians and the Slovenians that left the world horrified with tales of merciless and senseless killings.
A touch of luck
As luck would have it, some of our non-biking friends got pretty entrenched in planning a boat excursion from Split to Dubrovnik and back via the Croatian islands, taking in the bluest of oceans. Our own holiday plans were focused on Norway, and the beautiful Fjord ridden landscape that also calls for two wheel exploring.
Intrigued by the possibilities of sharing a holiday with some our more reprobate friends, I thought it appropriate to contact Ivan “Croatia” on Wilddog , to see if we could tag on some adventure riding in Croatia with him. Before long Ivan and his wife Debbie, who handled all the travel arrangements, my wife (Margie) and I were chatting on Skype about the wonders of Croatia using two wheels. Ivan told us he has bikes for the occasion and would chaperone us around as much as we like. Before we knew it we were redirecting our original holiday plans from Norway to a beautiful place that was once part of the mighty Yugoslavia.
Our plan would route us through Paris for a few days followed by four days of riding in Croatia before the drinking crew arrived and all semblance of normality would disappear. What made this occasion extra special was the fact that Margie & I had enjoyed 25 years of marriage. We would celebrate this grand occasion with captivating memories.
Departure - Paris
We departed May 10 – a little before the European peak season. A little earlier than I would like, but there are advantages to going early in the season. The risk ultimately being the weather. Paris is the perfect City to dial up the romance at any time of the year. Amongst the obvious places like Momatre, Champs-Elysées and the Eifel, we found ourselves enjoying an afternoon at an old railway station that had been transformed into a dancing studio playing all kinds of music from years gone by, getting the enthusiasts that dress up especially for the occasion, spinning and jiving in all flavours of latino and similar dances. Heaps of energy and dancing talent across the ages, awakened us to realise just how much fun and sexy classy dancing can be. We wined and dined at some rather special places taking in all the best that French cuisine had to offer.
Eifel – One amazing sculpture
What's Paris without Artists in the street – this dud could crank a piano
Paris brings out the romance – a couple deeply engaged
Fantastic Seafood at Bofinger – Exceeds anything I’ve ever experienced
Margie & I enjoying the moment
Quite liked this scoot
Unusual building – narrows to a wedge
Artists always catch my attention – one of the better styles
Croatia - here we come
With the city of romance behind us we head off to Croatia – Split, via Zagreb. Split is a stunning coastal city in the Southern half of Croatia. On our decent towards Split I studied the landscape from my window seat and got pretty excited about the geological structures of the Croatian mountains. Some months before this moment, I connected with Jan “Staal”, who had visited Croatia and done some technical riding with Ivan. His words “Those 660XT are perfect for the terrain …. The longest stretch of straight road is 2.4km”. It all made sense seeing these bold mountains. The country was formed predominantly from ancient volcanic activity. Put simply …. biking paradise.
Once landed we glide through customs. We are welcomed by a charming Croatian gal that could double as Demmi Moore with a name too difficult to pronounce. We were whisked off to meet Ivan and Debbie at their - Ala Carte Shop – a mere 20 min ride. The irritating parts of travel are often the pickups and hotel drop offs and knowing what to do when leaving the terminal. Debbie had taken care of all of those hassles for us. We then checked in to a very clean and comfortable hotel that’s was recently built and Ivan delivers our commuter …
Our chauffeur – gorgeous Demmi
Try not to laugh … Our commuting transport
The bay … across lies the city of Split
We have a good chuckle about our wheels - Not convinced that we will both fit. Anyway we freshen up and make our way to a seaside restaurant that Demmi hailed as her favourite. We nearly wipe out on the scoot, the steering took a bit of getting used to. I took one in the ribs.
Once at the restaurant, we could see why Demmi was in love with the place, the waiter was a replica of Ronaldo - the football icon. Anyway, besides the chirpy waiter, the food was something special – I had an octopus starter that was juicy, tender and just so scrumptious - the Greeks don't even make it that well. We were equally delighted by the quality of the wine - at that point we knew we were in for a treat - we cheers to the start of a great holiday.
First taste of Croatian cuisine … Octopus delight
Fab wine – chardonnay
In reflection
In reflection, there are a few things that the Croatian’s seem to have perfected: Coffee – it’s rich and creamy and always of an exceptionally high quality. You can have a “Coffee with milk” anywhere and you will inevitably enjoy it – never mediocre. Ice-cream – They’ve followed the Italian Gelato recipe – always a treat. Food – We ate great meals everywhere – never an average meal - always delighted with the flavours. Wines – They had some very interesting wines - even the average wines were very easy drinking. And the bread is to die for. I’ve never had such fresh bread that’s crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside – you can’t stop yourself from having a few slices with each meal – no matter where you go – it’s fresh.
Something about the Croatian people, they are mostly tall and slender – or better described as athletic. They are a very outdoorsy nation. They cycle and walk a lot. Adidas seems to have found a profitable home in Croatia, as most people are seen walking around wearing tracksuit type outfits – many with the three white-stripe branding. Track shoes and sunglasses seem to be the accompanying wear – everybody looks like they’re heading to the Olympics.
1st Adventure ride
Our first adventure ride takes us in an easterly direction back towards Zagreb but over the spectacular mountains using very little tar, which is exactly what we wanted to experience. The dirt roads are very different to those found in SA, mainly because they don’t seem to have “fine” sand. This has clear advantages – very little dust and none of those sand monsters that gobble up front tyres. But you can expect more of the marbly type roads that can make you nervous cause your tyres drift a lot and cornering has its moments. Margie was somewhat apprehensive in the beginning, but after an hour or so, she settled down and started to relax and enjoy the scenery.
Views from above – spectacular
It also took me an hour or so to get comfortable with the Yamaha 660XT, compared to the larger bore engines that I’m more familiar with. Having a large single bore is very different to a multiple piston motor. The motor vibrates at lower revs. But after I got in sync with the motor we were eating up the dirt roads with ease.
Nothing around for miles
Our fearless leader with his fireman’s shades
Some of the countryside
We find ourselves changing elevation very often so the roads are permanently curved and you concentrate all the time working the bike through the hillside. I catch myself smiling a lot.
We circled many lakes, dams and crossed the odd river and finally ended up at the source of one of the River Cetina. What a spectacular route with the culmination of reaching this water-filled hole that oozed the clearest and bluest of water from hundreds of metres below. It looked so pure and perfect you felt the urge to rip off your gear and plunge right in. The freezing water temperature quelled any urge do so.
The source of the River Cetina
Croatia has many natural springs that bring the clearest and purest of water to the surface.
Some of the countryside. Orthodox Christianity is a big part of Croatia – unlike some of the neighbouring countries. Croatia seems to be fairly close in many cultural aspects to the Western European countries.
Ancient Roman bridge - leaving their mark all over Europe
Ivan is a very accomplished rider, you can see the pictures of him and his two wheelers scattered all over his walls some dating back where the white in the pictures have turned yellow. It was a pleasure following him, he knew what kind of terrain Margie and I should be exposed to without placing any unnecessary risk on us.
We stopped in a little village (Rumin) for lunch. Another spectacular meal was presented to us with fish and chips. The chips are made properly – similar to the Greek style of preparation.
Food – the simple things in life are great!
... end of part 1 .....
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=39205.0 - Dalmatia - Southern Croatia in pics...... &
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=90813.0 - Snow tour in Croatia (African in the snow) - worth a look - a lovely selection of pics), there was very little left to convince me that Croatia was a country that would be high on the list of desirables, and one day our plans would take on an adventure of this country that was once under siege by the Bosnians and the Slovenians that left the world horrified with tales of merciless and senseless killings.
A touch of luck
As luck would have it, some of our non-biking friends got pretty entrenched in planning a boat excursion from Split to Dubrovnik and back via the Croatian islands, taking in the bluest of oceans. Our own holiday plans were focused on Norway, and the beautiful Fjord ridden landscape that also calls for two wheel exploring.
Intrigued by the possibilities of sharing a holiday with some our more reprobate friends, I thought it appropriate to contact Ivan “Croatia” on Wilddog , to see if we could tag on some adventure riding in Croatia with him. Before long Ivan and his wife Debbie, who handled all the travel arrangements, my wife (Margie) and I were chatting on Skype about the wonders of Croatia using two wheels. Ivan told us he has bikes for the occasion and would chaperone us around as much as we like. Before we knew it we were redirecting our original holiday plans from Norway to a beautiful place that was once part of the mighty Yugoslavia.
Our plan would route us through Paris for a few days followed by four days of riding in Croatia before the drinking crew arrived and all semblance of normality would disappear. What made this occasion extra special was the fact that Margie & I had enjoyed 25 years of marriage. We would celebrate this grand occasion with captivating memories.
Departure - Paris
We departed May 10 – a little before the European peak season. A little earlier than I would like, but there are advantages to going early in the season. The risk ultimately being the weather. Paris is the perfect City to dial up the romance at any time of the year. Amongst the obvious places like Momatre, Champs-Elysées and the Eifel, we found ourselves enjoying an afternoon at an old railway station that had been transformed into a dancing studio playing all kinds of music from years gone by, getting the enthusiasts that dress up especially for the occasion, spinning and jiving in all flavours of latino and similar dances. Heaps of energy and dancing talent across the ages, awakened us to realise just how much fun and sexy classy dancing can be. We wined and dined at some rather special places taking in all the best that French cuisine had to offer.
Eifel – One amazing sculpture
What's Paris without Artists in the street – this dud could crank a piano
Paris brings out the romance – a couple deeply engaged
Fantastic Seafood at Bofinger – Exceeds anything I’ve ever experienced
Margie & I enjoying the moment
Quite liked this scoot
Unusual building – narrows to a wedge
Artists always catch my attention – one of the better styles
Croatia - here we come
With the city of romance behind us we head off to Croatia – Split, via Zagreb. Split is a stunning coastal city in the Southern half of Croatia. On our decent towards Split I studied the landscape from my window seat and got pretty excited about the geological structures of the Croatian mountains. Some months before this moment, I connected with Jan “Staal”, who had visited Croatia and done some technical riding with Ivan. His words “Those 660XT are perfect for the terrain …. The longest stretch of straight road is 2.4km”. It all made sense seeing these bold mountains. The country was formed predominantly from ancient volcanic activity. Put simply …. biking paradise.
Once landed we glide through customs. We are welcomed by a charming Croatian gal that could double as Demmi Moore with a name too difficult to pronounce. We were whisked off to meet Ivan and Debbie at their - Ala Carte Shop – a mere 20 min ride. The irritating parts of travel are often the pickups and hotel drop offs and knowing what to do when leaving the terminal. Debbie had taken care of all of those hassles for us. We then checked in to a very clean and comfortable hotel that’s was recently built and Ivan delivers our commuter …
Our chauffeur – gorgeous Demmi
Try not to laugh … Our commuting transport
The bay … across lies the city of Split
We have a good chuckle about our wheels - Not convinced that we will both fit. Anyway we freshen up and make our way to a seaside restaurant that Demmi hailed as her favourite. We nearly wipe out on the scoot, the steering took a bit of getting used to. I took one in the ribs.
Once at the restaurant, we could see why Demmi was in love with the place, the waiter was a replica of Ronaldo - the football icon. Anyway, besides the chirpy waiter, the food was something special – I had an octopus starter that was juicy, tender and just so scrumptious - the Greeks don't even make it that well. We were equally delighted by the quality of the wine - at that point we knew we were in for a treat - we cheers to the start of a great holiday.
First taste of Croatian cuisine … Octopus delight
Fab wine – chardonnay
In reflection
In reflection, there are a few things that the Croatian’s seem to have perfected: Coffee – it’s rich and creamy and always of an exceptionally high quality. You can have a “Coffee with milk” anywhere and you will inevitably enjoy it – never mediocre. Ice-cream – They’ve followed the Italian Gelato recipe – always a treat. Food – We ate great meals everywhere – never an average meal - always delighted with the flavours. Wines – They had some very interesting wines - even the average wines were very easy drinking. And the bread is to die for. I’ve never had such fresh bread that’s crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside – you can’t stop yourself from having a few slices with each meal – no matter where you go – it’s fresh.
Something about the Croatian people, they are mostly tall and slender – or better described as athletic. They are a very outdoorsy nation. They cycle and walk a lot. Adidas seems to have found a profitable home in Croatia, as most people are seen walking around wearing tracksuit type outfits – many with the three white-stripe branding. Track shoes and sunglasses seem to be the accompanying wear – everybody looks like they’re heading to the Olympics.
1st Adventure ride
Our first adventure ride takes us in an easterly direction back towards Zagreb but over the spectacular mountains using very little tar, which is exactly what we wanted to experience. The dirt roads are very different to those found in SA, mainly because they don’t seem to have “fine” sand. This has clear advantages – very little dust and none of those sand monsters that gobble up front tyres. But you can expect more of the marbly type roads that can make you nervous cause your tyres drift a lot and cornering has its moments. Margie was somewhat apprehensive in the beginning, but after an hour or so, she settled down and started to relax and enjoy the scenery.
Views from above – spectacular
It also took me an hour or so to get comfortable with the Yamaha 660XT, compared to the larger bore engines that I’m more familiar with. Having a large single bore is very different to a multiple piston motor. The motor vibrates at lower revs. But after I got in sync with the motor we were eating up the dirt roads with ease.
Nothing around for miles
Our fearless leader with his fireman’s shades
Some of the countryside
We find ourselves changing elevation very often so the roads are permanently curved and you concentrate all the time working the bike through the hillside. I catch myself smiling a lot.
We circled many lakes, dams and crossed the odd river and finally ended up at the source of one of the River Cetina. What a spectacular route with the culmination of reaching this water-filled hole that oozed the clearest and bluest of water from hundreds of metres below. It looked so pure and perfect you felt the urge to rip off your gear and plunge right in. The freezing water temperature quelled any urge do so.
The source of the River Cetina
Croatia has many natural springs that bring the clearest and purest of water to the surface.
Some of the countryside. Orthodox Christianity is a big part of Croatia – unlike some of the neighbouring countries. Croatia seems to be fairly close in many cultural aspects to the Western European countries.
Ancient Roman bridge - leaving their mark all over Europe
Ivan is a very accomplished rider, you can see the pictures of him and his two wheelers scattered all over his walls some dating back where the white in the pictures have turned yellow. It was a pleasure following him, he knew what kind of terrain Margie and I should be exposed to without placing any unnecessary risk on us.
We stopped in a little village (Rumin) for lunch. Another spectacular meal was presented to us with fish and chips. The chips are made properly – similar to the Greek style of preparation.
Food – the simple things in life are great!
... end of part 1 .....
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