Mixed Weather for the First 9 Days in Croatia
When I landed in Zagreb 9 days ago, the temperature was below freezing. I didn’t feel to hot in my spring jacket. But as soon as I got off the bus in Rijeka, after going over the snow covered mountains, the warm coastal air hit me like a wave of what felt like spring, even though I arrived rather late at night.
The weather otherwise has been a bit of a mixed bag, but overall, I can’t complain (fingers crossed). It’s not Mallorca with its 20+ degrees, but for my Scandinavian self, it’s been perfectly fine. Mostly cloudy with some rain, very little wind. 10-13 degrees is about the average daytime temps, some days we’ve had been above 15 even. I’ve managed three out of seven rides in shorts, and the rest with leg warmers—pretty decent for January. Up top, a jersey has mostly been enough. But the neck warmer stays on. It’s my security blanket. It only comes off when it’s warm enough for just a t-shirt.
Fitness: Not Great
I’ve been keeping my routes relatively close to home, mostly heading south along the coast – but it’s such a scenic road that I don’t mind doing it as often as the weather allows me to. Not to trafficked either.
Two reasons for this:
- I’m not fit enough for anything too ambitious.
- I’m here alone for the first three weeks, meaning my ground crew isn’t around. If I get caught in bad weather and need a pick up, I’d have to rely on relatives for a service car, and I don’t want to make them drive too far to pick me up.
Right now, three hours is about my limit fitness-wise. Anything beyond that, and I start feeling both tired and bored.
Today’s ride to Krk felt a bit better, but even then, by the three-hour mark, I was struggling a bit.
Too Cold in the Mountains
Longer climbs are out of the question for now. Even at just 200-250 meters above sea level, I can already feel the temperature drop. Climbing up is fine, but descending is another story. That said, even just going 1/3 up a mountain is enough for me at the moment, giving me about 15-25 minutes of uphill if I feel like it.
With no leaves on the trees I have even more sea view from the first floor apartment. Although a new house is being built behind the stone wall, so we’ll see how much is left of the view once it’s done.
I packed well before leaving Sweden 🙂
The urge to go fishing hasn’t really hit me yet. But I’ve been considering it the last couple of days.
