By Paul Bloom
Biking vacations are a great way to see new places while burning enough calories to allow guilt-free consumption of the local cuisine. Indeed, depending on your itinerary and the terrain it covers, you can easily come back from a carbo-loading bike trip lighter and fitter than when you started. My wife and I just returned from such a trip to the country of Croatia, and we believe that many other cyclists and triathletes would love the experience as much as we did.
We have traveled overseas frequently, both for racing and for pleasure, and we have become pros at booking flights, finding accommodations, packing up bikes, figuring out travel routes, and finding great food – all on our own, without using travel agents or expensive bike-tour companies. We have done trips to France (five times), Italy, Australia and Canada at about one-fourth the cost of what one of the bike-tour companies would charge and always had a wonderful time – and never gained a pound!
However, this summer we decided to try something different in honor of my wife’s 60th birthday, and we booked a one-week bike-boat tour through the Dalmatian Islands of Croatia, along the Adriatic Coast. Knowing very little about Croatia (part of the former Yugoslavia), and being skeptics about organized bike tours, we had very modest expectations about how we would enjoy the trip. But it was a blast – the biking was stunningly scenic – with numerous challenging, steep (300- to 400-meter) climbs – and the food, service, camaraderie and culture were unbelievably pleasurable.
The German company that ran the trip (see www.islandhopping.com) clearly knows what it’s doing. The trip leaders (who spoke both German and English) were familiar with all the bike routes on the six islands (and one mainland port) that we visited, and they were great at keeping our bikes in working order and suggesting entertaining things to do. We had a private cabin with a bathroom on a charming boat that transported 25 guests plus crew, along with three meals per day and a very functional hybrid rental bike, for less than 900 euros per person for the week. Very reasonable! And my wife’s sister, a recreational cyclist who joined us on the trip, was able to rent an electronic bike that allowed her to keep up with us on the steep climbs!
The company has experience taking groups of serious cyclists for training trips where they ride their own bikes but have the routes and meals completely prepared for them. A week of daily 40- to 60-mile rides over gorgeous countryside, if done next May or June, would be an outstanding way to prepare for next summer’s triathlon or cycling season. If you are interested in being part of such a group, please send a note to me at paulnbloom@gmail.com.
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Paul Bloom is a USA Triathlon Level I Certified Coach with Triangle Multisport in Chapel Hill.
