Wednesday, October 21, 2009

31 Miles Down, Many More to Go

Let the bike tour officially begin! Today we biked to the village Pucisca and then on to Skrip, the oldest settlement on the island. In Pucsica we caught a chance to tour the stone cutting school. It’s a high school and kids have the option of going for three years and then getting a job or they can do the four year program and then go on to university. The school has a great reputation and we were informed that for the kids that go there can get a job anywhere. It’s a public school too. In Skrip, one of the local families provided us a sample of their wine and olive oil. The house they live in is over 300 years old and has been in the family for generations.

Now for the ride itself. Honestly it was tough! Now I never ride my bike in 1st gear at home. It makes me feel like Fred Flintstone, just pedaling but getting nowhere. I usually ride on 2nd or 3rd gear and then adjust the speed for hills and such. But I have to admit, I had to shift into first gear and more than once today. We had hill after hill after hill. There is just no flat riding here. It’s either up or down and we had more up than down today! Plus the roads are really curvy so you can’t even take advantage of the down hill to build up momentum for the next hill. After some major hills we were all exhausted and quite dismayed to discover that our last journey to Skrip was the worst incline of the day. But we all figured we’d come this far, what’s a few more miles? Boy were we cursing about 5 minutes later. It was nothing but a steady incline, there was just no break. Let’s just say the Traveling Hillbilly was in 1st gear after the first 2 minutes and pretty much stayed in first all the way to Skrip. Some folks opted to Skip the ride and took the van in to Skrip, while others wound up hopping off their bikes and walking them up the hill, or should I say mountain?!

So yes, it was a tough ride, but we were rewarded with some simple magnificent views. Coming back from the death hill leading to Skrip, we had a stunning view of the water, with another island in the background. It really was a picturesque ride. Everywhere you looked there was something stunning to see; blue, blue waters, mountains, grape vines, olive trees and beautiful countryside. Along the way, we passed goats, sheep, donkeys and lots of locals. The Traveling Hillbilly has always liked to take train rides when traveling. It gives you the opportunity to see things you otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to see just by sightseeing. That is one of the reason’s I decided to do a bike tour in Croatia. I wanted the chance to see more than just the key sites and beaches. So far, VBT (Vermont Bike Tours) has delivered! Tonight we are off to a local family’s home for dinner. But first, we have a quick lesson in Croatian. I believe our guides want to make sure we can speak to the families, in a polite manner!

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