It’s exactly two weeks ago since I left, I have done close to 1000km so far and I am feeling way better than in the beginning. My body is getting used to the exertions and so is my knee. The last two days from Italy through Slovenia and to Rovinj Croatia I didn’t feel my knee at all, and I had some big hills to pass. Temperature is on the rise the further down I get. It is usually around 30 to 35 degrees and I am losing a lot of sweat every day. Staying hydrated is my highest priority and I try to drink around 7 to 8 litters a day.
During the last few days I passed through some beautiful cities. Especially Venice and Verona were fabulous. I usually camped, however, in Venice I had the chance to stay with Francesca, a friend of my brother Michael. It’s always very interesting to be taken around by a local, they usually know a lot of nice little places.
From Venice on I did a 140km day because I did not want to stay at a super tourist campsite. I stayed at paradise island, sounds great, nevertheless, the only great thing about it was its name. The facilities were super nasty, I was glad I could pitch my tent somewhere on the island, far away from anything. From there I stopped at Trieste, and finally in Rovinj! The way to Rovinj was full of hills and my GPS led me through some spectacular landscapes, however, the roads were about equally spectacular… My border crossing from Slovenia to Croatia was through a small river, no checks nothing, just in the middle of a valley were only 2-3 farmers lived. I had to push the bike a couple of times. If the slope gets steeper than 8-9%, and it’s a gravel road, the pressure on the first gear and the belt is just too high, as well as on my knees. Speed wise I am as fast as if I was sitting on the bike. Feels like back during the army, except that it is me myself who is kicking my ass.
So, this is my first time in Croatia. I feel terrible about it. My good friend Luka who I spent most of my school and university time with is from Croatia, and I never managed to visit him. Now, Luka is in Havana and I am staying at their house with his Mother Iva.
She is really taking care of me. It totally feels like home, which is the reason I decided to stay here a bit longer. Croatia is sooo beautiful!! It’s like a vacation from vacation, and since I don’t need to catch any flight or bus, I am free to do whatever I prefer.Now I have like 25 days left to make it to Athens. I am going to do like 350 km during the next 3 days to make my way to Zadar, where I will meet my good friend Roman and hopefully Nicole, an old friend from school. A saying says that Zadar has the most beautiful sunset… I am really looking forward to enjoying a nice beer and watch it myself.Many people asked me how I eat and cook my food. So, breakfast I usually eat Oatmeal and if I am too lazy to use the burner it’s just some bread with cheese and fruits. For Lunch I usually go to a small store and they prepare me a fresh sandwich with meat and cheese.
Lunch takes me around 45 minutes. I always try to keep it short, as I want to arrive at my sleeping spot no later than 6pm, to have some time to relax. For dinner I mostly prepare some pasta or rice on the stove, to fill my body with energy again. Food wise it’s nothing spectacular, but I am just happy if I can still my hunger. Last week I bought a pesto sauce, since I am all by myself, that sauce took around 7 days to finish, so I had pasta with pesto every night and sometimes even for breakfast.
I am really not picky about anything, food in particular, I just don’t like to be hungry so I eat everything. The water is still not an issue, I just drink tap water until Greece, before I start filtering it.For now, the most valuable piece of equipment I took on my trip is my foldable lightweight chair. 
It is so comfortable to sit in a chair after a long day in the saddle and relax. Totally worth the extra 500 grams. Usually I spend around 6-7 hours in the saddle every day, not including any breaks etc. If you want to see all the detailed information click here, and click below on the second tab “detailed information” to see all the statistics I am taking
Cheers and thank you for reading my blog 🤟😊
Shortly before Flüelen, my knee startet to hurt again like I experienced last year after a roadcycling race. Sjoerd, my physical therapist told me that it has to do with my kidneys being cramped up. I am trying to loosen it up again 2-3 times a day by stretching. The pain still follows me through out the day, but as it seemed yesterday, my knee is getting used to it and it hurts less. I hope it will go away soon and not become any worse. It is not only slowing me down, but als tough on my feelings… I know my first couple of days were long, maybe I overdid myself a bit, now I just need to deal with the consequences. Other than that, I am doing good, still getting used to be traveling again, especially with a bicycle, since I haven’t done any cycle travels yet.
Lukas Steiner 