Real time update:
Grant has been home for just over a week now.
We were fortunate enough to spend some time at the beach while the children were on their mid term holiday last week and we have now returned to the Big Smoke and are etching out some kind of return to normality.
The blogs will continue and I am hoping to finish the travelogue in the next two weeks.
The site will remain open for donation through Given Gain as a documentary of Grant's ride is currently in production in Austria and will will aired sometime in December in Europe, so we are hoping for monetary donations as a result of that.
It has been an interesting four months!
Thank you to all of our friends and supporters and donors for your unwavering enthusiasm and support throughout this time.
A heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who have donated funds-you are helping to make dreams come true and we hope to show you our progress in the months to come!
Leaving Trieste was a nightmare.
The layout of roads and highways that link it to the rest of the country are largely un marked.The lack of signage make navigating the roads and avoiding hi ways where it is illegal for cyclists to be near impossible and it took Grant an hour to leave when it could easily have taken a mere 20 minutes on this warm morning.
Exasperated, Grant headed for the coast hoping to find a continuous cycle path heading to Muggia, but alas, the wind had other plans and Crazybikeguy had no choice but to change his route and head inland towards the border of Slovenia, where he would ride for a short time. Crossing the border post was a pleasure and heading out of Koper, Grant cycled along the coastal path for a while passing Izola, through the most beautiful and pristine natural scenery. Wonderful well maintained cycle paths and the cloudy sky cover made for very pleasant cycling and Grant loved the ride through Slovenia. Making his way up into the hills again to cross over into Croatia leaving Slovenia
at yet another seamless border crossing into Croatia and onwards toward Pula.
The climbing started in earnest as he left the post and up through the hills he went eventually reaching Plovanija, a small town.
Following on to Novigrad and staying inland as to avoid the coastal wind Grant then made his way to Rovinj and then onto Pula.
The reason for wanting to travel this far South to this seafront city was in part to see the amazing Roman ruins.Perched on the edge of the Istria peninsula it has a huge harbour and is one of the larger Croatian cities.
It has a remarkably well preserved Roman amphitheatre right in the middle of the city which is now used for concerts and exhibitions in the summer months, when it caters for tourists escaping the busier centres, with it's pine groves dotted on the coast, sidewalk cafes and good restaurants.
The old town was fascinating - packed with tourists with a cross cultural range of food stores and restaurants. A seafood dinner hit the spot and an after dinner stroll in the evening was a great end to a good day on the bike.
A long day, 140km in the saddle with a 1300m climbing profile.
Our mission. Their future.