Simple plan: Riding as far as possible in just one week

Two requirements: Riding over the Großglockner, the highest mountain of Austria, and going somewhere warm to the sea, as i haven’t been there for a while.

Prolog
Miesbach (GER) – Rijeka (CRO)
6 days – 785km – 14132 hm

I started in a small town in Germany, quite close to the Austrian border. Through Austria, Italy and Slowenia, I reached Croatia and made it until Rijeika.

As i didn’t know the track, i really had to rely on my Strava planing. For about 90% I would ride the track exactly the same way again. This concerns mainly the 3rd day where I had to ride 50km straight on a very busy street. I´m sure there are alternative routes – I just haven´t found them. The highlights next to the Großglockner are the Plöckenpass (11km / 700 hm / strava) and parts of the last stage of the giro 2014.

In the end I rode this etappes:
1. Miesbach – Zell am See 156,3km 2248hm
2. Zell am See – Großglockner – Kötschach Mauten 119,8 km 3837 hm
3. Kötschach – Plöckenpaß – Triest 166 km 2216 hm
4. Triest – Pula 167 km 3005 hm
5. Pula – Brovinje 90,8 km 1128 hm
6. Brovinje – Rijeka 84,7 km 1672 hm

Stayed the night in a cozy room in the “Gasthaus in Zell am See” with superb breakfast included for 35 €.

Etappe 2
Zell am See – Großglockner – Kötschach Mauten
119,8 km 3837 hm

Started in the rain, wearing everything possible i brought, ended up riding short/short. For my luck, I packed a rain pant and bought some long gloves the day before. The only thing good: there was very less traffic on the slow ascend to the top. After the descend I made it till the Alpencamp Kötschach Mauthen for about 17€ rider + tent

Etappe 3
Kötschach – Plöckenpaß – Triest
166 km 2216 hm

Only after some hundred meters the Plöckenpass starts ascending. The pass has about 11km and 700hm. After reaching the top, a long flat descend waits for you. The track continues on wavy roady, leaving Arta Terme and Tolmezzo behind you in the direction of Udine. I drove around Udine south-east on local roads with less traffic.

Parts of the track even let me on the 21st stage of the Giro d’Italia 2014, where you can still find some relicts on house walls.

Etappe 4
Triest – Pula
167 km 3005 hm

This was my hardest ride on this trip. After 3 days of riding, I started to get tired. The track really had some nice parts through SLowenia and along the coast of Coatia, but there were also annoying long streets between Porec and Pula, just straight, that constantly went up and down.

After a short lunch break and my first swim in the sea in Novigrad I continued cycling to Pula. I kind of underrated the ascend and the heat and the whole was stage really exhausting.

Etappe 5
Pula – Brovinje
90,8 km 1128 hm

Actually I just wanted to cycle some miles away from the last camping spot for a well deserved rest day on the beach.  The day ended with 90km and 1100Hm and no time spent on the beach. I started searching in Premantura, in the nature resort Kap Kamenjak. But at the only entrance that I found, I wasnt allowed to enter with my bicycle. My strava track shows three more unsuccesfull attempts reaching the beach.

Etappe 6
Brovinje – Rijeka
84,7 km 1672 hm

I changed my actual plan and built a new track on the fly. Starting at the sea I cycled away from the coastline into the heartland. Small roads leading from one village to the next until you reach the foot of the Učka mountains, a small mountain massif at the north coast of Istria. I made a quick stop, refilled my bottles, had a coke and than cycled up the Poklon, starting in Vranja, which is on the Westside. The Poklon is a well known mountain in Croatia and and also part of many stages of the Tour of Croatia.

After reaching the top, it goes down for about 20km until Riejeika where I booked in a camping spot next to an old race track with direct access to the sea.

Rest Day

In Riejeika I took a train to Ljubljana, from where I had a train ticket home to munich the next day. The train left at 11:45 and depending on the border controls takes 3 hours.