Day 93: Bjelovar to Varadzin

May 19, 2023

Patrick sees his shadow....this means no more rain

And on the seventh day there is no rest day, instead we cycle 86km more. Tomorrow we go to Maribor and then there will be a rest day.

The apartment works out great. There is a grocery store below where we bought groceries for breakfast and we have a good night sleep. We were both too wiped out last night to go for a walk around town, so Bjelovar will remain an anonymous town for us.

We leave the city on a bike path. Then turn off onto a country road. “I’m happy to be in a country where the dogs are behind fences,” Rachel commented. Yesterday through the countryside and today we pass many dogs barking but not able to give chase. Until today at one point after the first hill we have a gang of about 6 small dogs give chase. Patrick tries to run them over but they scatter.

“First he looked at you up ahead, then said something to me I didn’t understand as I rode by,” Rachel says catching up with Patrick referring to an older man standing at the side of the road. “I’m pretty sure it was something like ‘you’d better pedal faster’.”

Unless it's a bridge out, detours mean nothing to a cyclist.

Check out the detail on this abandoned house. Built in the 1920's.

A deer! Finally wildlife beyond snails and slugs

"I think we should take the shortcut," he says.

While Patrick is checking the tablet, the driver stops to give directions.

After the climb, we start a nice downhill. Just as Rachel is thinking the Croatians don’t like coffee we finally see a café and stop. After following secondary and lesser roads, we reach Koprivnica where RWGPS puts us back on the main road. But to our surprise the road has a shoulder that is designated bike path. Only a section is torn up for a pipe otherwise makes the cycling much nicer separated from the traffic.

Storks are back. Lots of strawberries for sale, and a bike path.

“There’s more uphill on this section than expected,” Rachel says. “It’s either slightly up or flat,” Patrick adds. Not many “free” kilometers today. Briefly Patrick sees his shadow, hoping that means there’s no more rain. We take another break at a nice restaurant for soup and eggs with ham. That will get us down the road.

Finally, a restaurant and we stop for hot soup and eggs & ham.

The bikepath / shoulder continue until we branch of again to approach Varadzin on secondary roads. Traffic picks up, but it still is a good ride. We are now in the floodplain of the Drava River and with a slight tailwind the miles pass quicker.

For tonight we found a room at a “craft beer pub”. How could we not go there? Patrick navigates us to the pub. Gear is carried up to the room, and then we go and have a beer before settling in and cleaning up. They do not brew their own beer but they serve a nice selection of Croatian craft beers. Patrick tries the IPA, Rachel goes for an Irish dark beer. Excellent stuff! When Patrick asks to buy glasses, the owner gives him two. We have dinner at an upscale restaurant just around the corner, return to the room and are now contemplating heading downstairs to sample some more of the good stuff.

We are very close to the Brewpub where we stay tonight.

Brewpub owner, he is promoting craft beers from around the country.

Before we settle into the room, we have a beer!

Patrick asks if he can buy the beer glasses and he is given the glasses for free.

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Today's ride: 86 km (53 miles)
Total: 3,566 km (2,214 miles)

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