2017: Balkan Bike Tour

Mileage: Today-15; Total-130  Vela Luka to Split via Ferry  Slatine (Ciovo Island) to Trogir. We took a small ferry from Split to Slatine to avoid the urban traffic of Split, a large city, then cycled the relatively flat, beach-side, two-lane road into Trogir. Nice ferry rides with limited cycling in the hot afternoon hours. Darkness settles much earlier this far south. Apartments Vela is directly across the harbor from the ferry port. We used blinking LED lights to increase our visibility to drivers as we cycled the flat roads around the harbor, about 2 miles, to the ferry port to purchase tickets for the 6:15 am ferry and then back for dinner at an Italian restaurant on the waterfront. Then, a stop at the bakery for a few items to take on the 2-hour ferry to Split. Apartments Vela was our most modern and spacious lodging so far. With two rooms plus bath, each room featured an attached balcony with sea views. Stuart took the bedroom with the double bed; I ...

Mileage: Today-30; Total-145 We were both tired from yesterday’s climbs. The route from Korcula to Vela Luka was shorter, with a major climb to 1650 ft. Obviously, coastal rides start a sea level, but the road is seldom a continuous up, then down. Climb, descend, then climb again.  We rolled into Vela Luka, stopped at a waterfront café for a drink, and then found an excellent apartment, Apartments Vela. I found it on hotels.com, spotted the location, and then rode to the hotel. Same rate, but nice to see the owners get the full rate without the 15% booking deduction. Sometimes you can get a discount; we didn't ask. The standard seems to be apartments offer varying degrees of cooking facilities; rooms offer bed, bath, and perhaps a coffee maker—whatever the host supplies. Sometimes they work. We plan to relax, catch up on laundry, and then take the 6:10 am ferry, about 2 hours, to Split. In 2013, Stuart and John found cycling out o...

Mileage: Today-40; Total-115 Steep, Hot, and Beautiful Should have started earlier , a typical touring sentiment. Mornings are wonderful, nearly always 70F, but as soon as the sun appears over the horizon, the heat builds fast and we have yet to see a cloud. We started the day with OJ, coffee, and yogurt in the medieval street outside our apartment, strolled about for a few photos, and a stop at the pasteria or bakery. Should have started earlier. Perspective. On Day 1, we rode to Montenegro. Day 2, back to Dubrovnik. Day 3, Dubrovnik to Ston on lower Peljesac Island. Day 4, Ston to Korcula, the city, at the eastern end of Korcula Island. Day 5, Across Korcula to Vela Luka at the western end of the island. We did not look at the profile, just relied on a paper map. The map showed multiple 8-percent grades, with a short 14-percent near the end. We were dreading the 14-percent while the repeated 8-percents nearly finished us off. The hot cli...