South of Zadar, we found ourselves using our middle chainrings as the ground flattened out. We rode through small villages where small village activities were going on — wood being chopped, sheep being shepparded — that sort of thing. These were not charming or picturesque villages so no tour buses were present which was what I appreciated most.

We camped at another German campground. Pretty much everywhere we’ve been in Croatia has been dominated by Germans, smoking and speaking German. Most people think I’m German, too, from the stewardesses on Luftansa who kept calling me Herr Steffens to waiters in restaurants that greet me in German. Unfortunately the only German I know is tanze samba mit mir which doesn’t get me very far.

Zadar to Split was very good cycling where we increased our speed and had great coastal views. We met a Swedish woman who was cycling the other direction who has family that lives in our Swedish neighborhood in Seattle. We’ve seen a lot of other bike tourists but haven’t talked to many.

We passed through the medieval towns of Trogir and Sibenik and eventually got to Split and decided to head to the southern Dalmatian islands of Hvar and Korcula, this time equipped with better ferry information.

Hvar was fantastic. We found a room in Stari Grad to stash our things then headed out to explore the island on lighter bikes, so we didn’t mind the 10% grade up to 450m on the deserted “old road” to Hvar town. Hvar is becoming more of a resort town, but the high season hadn’t started yet as things were still being cleaned and painted. Back at our room we made dinner with some excellent Croatian wine and a slice of cheese bigger than a dinner plate, taking a needed break from the squid and pizza. We also found time to look at our larger leg muscles (which you can see if the lighting is at just the right angle).

Now on the boat to Korcula, home of Marco Polo (“Mark Chicken” doesn’t sound nearly as adventurous).