April 19th & 20th: Varazdin - Zagreb, Croatia and a well-deserved rest.
- Grant Cameron-Smith
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
82 km with 350m Climbing
19/04/2025
Happy Easter from Zagreb! The climbing has begun….
The weather hasn’t been kind but at least the rain stayed away and there was some sunshine today as the Crazybikeguys hit the road with a daunting climb ahead of them. Grant isn’t feeling well and has been coughing and had a sore chest for a few days, so a day of extra exertion wasn’t ideal.
‘Today was a bit of a wakeup call for the upcoming climbing in Slovenia where nothing seems to be flat. I’m sure even the goats have two short legs and two long legs for walking around these mountains!’ -Grant
The first climb was a steep 350m just out of Varazdin where the gradient reached 23 degrees – a harsh start to the day. Burning legs and winding mountain tracks, where every curve mistakenly heralded the top of the mountain left Grant and Julian questioning their sanity, and with heavy panniers overloading the bikes, it does all seem to be madness.
The last 26km of the day which they thought would be an easier ‘downhill’ turned out to be more climbing and Julian did ask “whose idea was this again?”, more than once today.
Their bodies are tired, their legs ache and Grant sounds like he needs a good nap and some medicine. Both agreed that riding into Zagreb felt like they had indeed achieved a lot today and they were both grateful that they had managed to miss more rainy weather on their way into the city.
The toll of the everyday routine of an early wake up, the packing, the prepping, making sure they have enough food every day and trying to fine tune their routine everyday is exhausting and that doesn’t include the time on the bike.
I think Julian is also finding it hard to be in a different place every night and is finding ways to only unpack what is essential and becoming mindful of every part of the routine being productive rather than wasting time doing unnecessary things - I’m just hoping this translates to a neater room and no wet towels on the floor when he gets home! A mother can hope!
Julian’s Easter wish wasn’t chocolate, but a lie in until 10am on Easter Sunday, which I’m sure happened as everything in Zagreb was shut for the holiday.
A day spent in this beautiful historical city and a much-needed rest and anticipated bike maintenance seemed to be the order of the day!
20/04/2025
Rest day in Zagreb
A public holiday for Easter Sunday in Zagreb meant all the shops and most of the restaurants and grocery stores were closed. It helped Grant and Julian have a real rest day and a little exploration to loosen the legs and get some fresh air was about all they could muster.
They managed to do bike maintenance and get some sleep and were surprised to bump into South Africans at their lunch time spot and then some other Saffers at dinner time too!
Staying in the Old Town meant they got to walk through the World War II tunnels that were used as shelters during that war and then to protect citizens once again in the Croatian Homeland War in the 1990s. The old town was not as interesting as they expected but it was bustling with tourists, and the main square was filled with people mingling and smoking and drinking and eating at the few establishments that were open.
Grant used the day to rest as he is struggling with a chesty cough and not feeling well and both boys are stressing a bit about the long-haul climbs that await them in the next few days as they enter Slovenia on their way to Italy. Julian is cycling like a superstar and can’t believe how much his body and his legs in particular have changed in the short few weeks they have been on this trip.
Tomorrow an early morning start is on the cards and the lie in that the Easter Bunny organized will seem as it if happened a long time ago!
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Feel better soon, Grant! Well done to you both! Hang in there & try to get as much sustenance & rest/sleep as possible. Take care, guys! Sending healing hugs & lots of love to you both xx