Zara
We begin our tour in Zara, a city that has seen a number of different civilizations. Founded in the 9th century, the city was passed to the Romans and Byzantines. Then in the 11th century to the Venetians, then the French, under Napoleon, before being taken over by the Austrians until the modern time. After the ride and a little rest our guide will pick us up from the hotel for a walking tour of the downtown.
Pirovac
We pedal to Zaravecchia for a visit to the Ruins of Basilica of St. Ivan Evangelist, before continuing onto Pirovac.
Trau'
Today will ride to Capocesto where we will regroup and stroll into a small island to visit Sveti JuraJ (Chiesa di San Giorgio). We will ride along the boarder between Spalatino-Dalmatia and Sebenico and Tenin Region, crossing the border right before Marina to continue along the coast entering Trau’.
Trau' Loop
We will have a small ride for those interested, the rest can take a relaxing stroll into town. The city, which was created by the Greeks, was chosen as the premium place to lay veterans to rest by the Roman Emperor Claudio. You can still see signs left behind indicating the Venetian domination and French period.
Split
Today, we will ride along the Tyrrenium coast riding around the Suma Marjan Park right before the end in Split. Split is the second-largest city in Croatia, and the largest city of the Dalmatia region. It lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is spread over a central peninsula and its surroundings. An intra-regional transport hub and popular tourist destination, the city is linked to the Adriatic islands and the Apennine peninsula.
Macarsca
We start right before entering Zelenka and then climb up to Panorama. This section will be challenging because there is about a mile that has grades between 8-13%, but it’s worth it. The views from Panorama are breathtaking.
After the deserved stop at the top of Panorama, we will ride down to town with some extra short climbs where we will see small coastal towns and ports and the wilderness of the coast with the typical “macchia mediterranea”. The center of Macarsca is an old town with narrow stone-paved streets, a main church square where there is a flower and fruit market, and a Franciscan monastery that houses a sea shell collection featuring a giant clam shell.
Neum
The Bosnia and Herzegovina coastal strip of Neum cuts off the southernmost Croatian territory from the rest of Croatia. This is a result of the Treaty of Karlowitz of 1699. With its admission to the European Union, Croatia had to apply EU regulations at its border crossings, including the passage through the Neum section.
The construction of the Pelješac Bridge, which would bypass Neum entirely, has significance for Croatia’s integrity and also for its future Schengen Area membership and the EU as a whole. It would significantly improve traffic flow and the traffic connection of Dubrovnik (Ragusa) to the rest of mainland Croatia, avoiding crossing the external borders of the EU at Neum, negotiating long, costly queues and strict customs checks twice within the span of 20 km.
Ragusa
Originally named Communitas Ragusina (Latin for “Ragusan municipality” or “community”), in the 14th century it was renamed Respublica Ragusina (Latin for Ragusan Republic), first mentioned in 1385 (it was nevertheless a Republic under its previous name, although its Rector was appointed by Venice rather than by Ragusa’s own Grand Council). In Italian it is called Repubblica di Ragusa; in Croatian it is called Dubrovačka republika.
The Croatian name Dubrovnik is derived from the word dubrava, an oak grove by a folk etymology, the Turks corrupted this into Dobro-Venedik, meaning “Good-Venice”. It came into use alongside Ragusa as early as the 14th century. The official change of name from Ragusa to Dubrovnik came into effect after World War I. It is known in historiography as the Republic of Ragusa.
Doviđenja (Goodbye)!
We say goodbye at 9am today! Hope you had an amazing adventure!
