Having survived another scare the weather started to clear quickly. At last I thought, I didn’t shave my legs for no reason. However the speed with which the clouds cleared would turn out to be a curse rather than a blessing. After a nice lunch we started to notice a lot of white horses on the sea to our right then we turned a corner and it hit us. The Mura wind.

I’ve experienced the Mistral in the Rhone Valley and had the trail end of Hurricane George trap me in a tent for 18 hours on an Irish mountain but in my opinion the Mura is the daddy of strong winds.

We couldn’t ride at all. The fully laden bikes were being lifted off the road by this malevolent breeze. We’d only ridden about 20 miles when we decided our host may be right after all and we sought sanctuary in the nearest village. That village was Jadronova and I doubt many people reading this have ever heard of it and that is one of the joys of touring. The discovery of hidden places. We found a Sobe, a pizza and some Croatian beer and felt the wind drop and the longed for heat arrive that evening. Julie also managed to have a Schnapps inspired conversation with a Czech communist biker about dogs and climbing despite him speaking no English or Yorkshire.

So the next day the sun was out and we finally covered the miles. The road drew us on and apart from a short lunch stop we rode and rode….. and rode. After a short ferry ride we disembarked in the moonlight on the island of Pag, where the first impression was they farm rocks.

I will admit that I was having a bit of a diva strop at the time but in retrospect this is one of my favourite memories of riding a bike. Our lights seemed to bounce back at us off the moonscape in front of us and the warm night air soothed our aching limbs. The restaurant after we finished was also amazing as we scoffed the famous Pag Cheese and had more beer.

By now we were buzzing with the joy of this type of holiday and the day ahead was the one we’d looked forward to the most. We’d be riding to Zadar an amazing Dalmatian city we’d visited the year before. The harbour at Zadar is one of the most chilled and pleasant places on Earth. A sea organ powered by the waves, the Salutation light show and the best sunset in the world. Go there I mean it.

But anyway getting there. We rode off the island of Pag and back to the mainland. The road was quiet and the sun was on our backs. Just before Zadar we saw a steep hill in front of us so I clicked up the block and got ready. I hit the hill. “Stop it’ll get run over” Julie shouted. Oh *** **** **** I may have replied but then Julie pointed out the Tortoise. A wild tortoise. We pointed it in the right direction and rode into Zadar where I celebrated by repeatedly bunny hopping my fully laden bike, which may have led to later events.

After a rest day we carried on with the aim of getting to Troghir. We didn’t. The mechanical demons would strike that day. As we approached Sibernik the gear cable on Julie’s bike broke so we diverted into the city. On the way in the drive on the back wheel on my bike went totally which may have been damaged by the bunny hops. The trip looked over unless we could get my bike fixed. So we went to a local bar to discuss our options and ask if there was a local bike shop. There wasn’t but if we came back that evening the local cycle team would be there.

We went to find a room got approached by a lady who showed us an amazing room in the old town got showered and took the broken wheel to the bar. The guys turned up on 500cc scooters signalled for us to get on the back and tore up through the town to their club house where they tried to fix the problem. They couldn’t they were Campag guys and I had Shimano so the ride was over.

I wasn’t sad though. Sibernik was the type of undiscovered gem I talk about. Easily as beautiful as the better known resorts of Split and Dubrovnik and the welcome and helpfulness of the people there warmed my heart.

Our first cycle tour didn’t go to plan but maybe that’s the point of cycle touring. Why plan? Go discover and have an adventure. We discovered towns, villages, restaurants and dishes we’d never heard off. We really got under the skin of the country away from the sanitised tourist spots as I write this I smile and remember more about the trip, like the street art or the strange fish dish, and can’t wait to go again.