Tuesday, October 27, 2009

71 and Summy

We finally wake up to sunshine and warm weather. What an incredible day for our last day of biking! The Traveling Hillbilly decided to take a quick walk and sit by the Adriatic before having to meet everyone for our day of biking. After a few moments of sitting with my feet dangling in the water, I decided to take a dip in the Adriatic. Wow! How invigorating! It truly made the Traveling Hillbilly feel alive. The water is so clear; you can see the rocks below. The salt makes your skin feel so soft, not sticky. There could not have been a better way to start the day! Well, maybe one, but that was not in the cards for the Traveling Hillbilly today.

Shockingly, the day started out with a relatively flat ride. We were all enjoying this part of the day, knowing we had a very tough ride coming up in the afternoon. But for now, we all rolled along, enjoying the scenery, stopping to take pictures and chatting. Yes, for once we were actually able to talk with one another without huffing and puffing. It was truly an enjoyable ride. We even stopped in a great little village, Veboska, for a quick lemonade and even more picture taking. Veboska is another seaside harbor with cute little stone bridges reaching across the canal. It looked like a mini-little Venice.

After our leisurely morning ride, we arrived in scenic Jelsa. Matej had a little surprise for us here. His family has a home in the village that has been in the family for many generations. He gave us the opportunity to finally see what one of the original stone homes looked like. It was quite enchanting. We hopped back on our bikes for a very short ride, through beautiful trees with a view of the sea on our left. It was like being in Lake Tahoe. We had a lovely picnic of true Croatian foods, overlooking the sea. The Traveling Hillbilly has to say that for once, the guides spoke the truth. Matej told us Vanja was the picnic master and I must admit, he did a great job preparing our lunch and picked the most scenic spot. . All in all it was a very moving experience, especially knowing it was our last day of biking.

After the picnic, it was time to get serious and start the “real” ride of the day. After our guides informed us that this was going to be the toughest ride yet, several people in the group decided to skip the afternoon ride and go directly back to the hotel. A few people opted to take the van to the top of the hill and just ride down. Just six of us decided to take on this beast of a hill. It was the longest and steepest we’d done yet. I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to make it. The Traveling Hillbilly truly had doubts about this leg of the ride, a steady six mile climb on a steep grade.

It was tough and there were times when I thought I could not go one inch further, times when I felt like I was pedaling and getting nowhere. Did I mention that my iPod died just before lunch so I was having to do this without any inspirational music? What was I thinking? But, I’m proud to say the Traveling Hillbilly made it to the top! Certainly not in record time, but made it none the less.

My sense of accomplishment however was brief as I realized we had more miles to go. Plus we had just turned the clocks back an hour, so it was starting to get dark. We continued on as it kept getting darker. I wondered if the others had already made it back to the hotel. Were they already sitting in the hot tub relaxing their sore muscles? And I’m still don't have my music. I have to admit, I was a little scared. In the dark it’s tough to see the potholes and rocks/pebbles that make you slip and potentially skid off the road and over a steep cliff. Luckily I had a guide with me who led the way. Matej was really great about pointing out potholes, rocks and any other potential dangers along our path. Others were not so lucky and were alone for a bit in the dark. The guides though are never far away and we all made it back to the hotel safely. Another great adventure!

P.S. The Traveling Hillbilly unlike everyone else still feels the ride the day before was tougher!

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