19 May, Cres Town to Lopar via Valbiska

May 19, 2023

Today is a cheat day. My route and Strava shows 51km but in reality I only cycled about 10km. The remainder was done sitting on a ferry. Nevertheless I am claiming the mileage for the tour 🤣

To get the first ferry I needed to head to Merag and given how few roads there are on Cres I could simply have followed the roadsigns. However I wanted a route to save here so I created one and loaded it onto the bike computer. And off I set with a short stop at the supermarket for fruit, rolls, salami and nuts.

It was a long climb straigh from the supermarket. I turned right and kept climbing until I got to a split in the road. My route was to go left up what looked a very steep and basic road. The main road veered right continuing to climb. I checked on the app and it was pushing me left regardless of what sort of cycling I chose. I had loads of time as the 2nd ferry didn't leave until 1820. Sod it, I'll try the rough looking route. The basic tarmac soon petered out to be replaced by rough concrete and then loose gravel. I met a couple who had stopped for a snack and in broken English they confirmed that the, now, path was ok for a bike. Keep going then!

It stopped climbing which was good but it got rougher and rougher and rougher. Then it started downhill, through a clearing with a picnic table (looked like it had been there a while but hadn't been used) and then it really went down and down. It was rough, really rough which combined with the gradient and, eventually, the 3m vertical drop on the left side of the track/path/clearing in the trees, more or less made it unrideable. So I walked down holding back the bike by using both brakes. I probably walked for a km or two before it levelled out and eventually became suitable to ride again. That soon changed and whilst the surface was tarmac the downhill gradient was far too steep to contemplate riding so I walked again.

Eventually I made the terminal but missed that ferry by about 10 mins so I had a 90 minute wait.

Once I crossed to Valbiska I didn't have much to do as my next ferry left from here in about 4 hours. I did notice that the local Porsche appreciation club was on tour with many 911 and 911 variants waiting for the next ferry to Cres. The modern versions looked sporty and powerful (and expensive) but I think the best was the old 911 (1960s I think) in that stunning blue was the best of the bunch. I'd love one of those but I'd have to clear the garage as I couldn't leave it on the driveway. A quick check online confirmed this was a Porsche 356, circa 1962. https://www.fantasyjunction.com/sold/1962-porsche-356b-twin-grille-roadster-1/overview

I settle d myself into one of the two cafes, ordered a beer and a sandwich. Once I had their WiFi details I was able to spend a little time doing some route planning, accomodation booking, surfing and eventually some Netflix.

The time passed quickly enough and soon I found myself f boarding the ferry alongside a couple from Vienna who were also touring. They were laden with camping gear which they hadn't used since leaving Rijeka. Given the cost of rooms on the islands just now doubt they will use it at all.

The journey was long enough to justify getting settled with food and a beer. Then it was a short, uneventful ride to Lopar accomodation.