3 day ride on the Parenzana trail over Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy…

May23

I cycled the Parenzana trail over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

What is it? It is a converted rail trail and the first two days were some of the most beautiful rides I’ve ever done. Day 3 was along the coast and a bit more urban/busy. The trail is ~123km in length and goes from Istria Croatia to Trieste, Italy. It spends around 13km in Italy, 32km in Slovenia, and 78km in Croatia.

Istria, Croatia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. This is my 3rd time visiting Croatia, and I can’t wait to return. It is one of my favorite countries in the world. 

Lindsey and Calico were my support crew and met me every day around lunchtime (or after). It was nice not to bike with a full load of bags. Huge thanks to them! We stayed in a really nice B&B in Slovenia and did a tasting menu which was a blast. I’ve never done a fancy tasing menu and I really enjoyed it (Calico did a great job as well and did his own kid’s tasting menu).

Rough itinerary?

  • Day 1 – ~38km and 440m elevation over 2 hours 25 minutes
  • Day 2 – ~30km and 374m elevation over 1 hour 55 minutes
  • Day 3 – ~60km and 300m elevation over 3 hours 7 minutes
  • Day 4 – We explored Trieste Italy a little but didn’t see much. It was Sunday and very hot. We saw a fort, a restaurant, and some gelato :). I hope one day I can go back and walk around it more. It is hard with a 5-year-old as they can do more but don’t walk the same distances as when they are in a stroller.
  • Day 5 – I woke up at 6 am to do a 25km bike ride around beautiful Slovenia and then we drove home. I would love to ride more of Slovenia one day.

Rough map of where we were exploring:

From my trip to Parenzana:

Day 1

I snapped my bike tool, probably going the wrong way when I got a flat on my front tire. Luckily some nice Austrians saved me (especially as I embarrassingly packed my wrong pump as well). My support team picked up a new tool and pump for me :).

Day 2

Day 3

From my bonus ride in Slovenia:

Very fun!

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44 Countries! Crazy!

October12

Wow, I realized when I was cleaning up my travel list that I have visited a total of 44 countries!

Other random thoughts while thinking about this…

  • I’ve spent 3 of the last 4 years living outside the USA.
  • I lived for a year in Melbourne Australia and Cairo Egypt!
  • I lived for ~9 months in Dublin, Ireland.
  • I’ve spent at least a month in 15 different countries, a few twice!

I love all the countries I’ve been too, but I especially love Croatia. I’ve been there twice for a total of ~6 months and can’t wait to go back. Amazing weather, fantastic food, great people, and a fantastic mood.

Where do I feel the most at home? Ireland, the entire country just feels like sitting down in a bean bag after a long day at work, ie “this is where I belong”. Plus they don’t have snakes.

I’ve got a lot of places I’d like to visit in the future (if I am able too). And, quite a few places I want to go back too. I’ve been really lucky to be able to travel so much!

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Island Adventures: Korcula and Brac

June9

Lindsey and I managed to spend the last two weekends on the island of Brac and Korcula (Croatia). They were both incredibly relaxing, and we had a blast! Croatia is such a beautiful place, and I can’t recommend it enough!

We went swimming on both, even though it is a lil cold. And, we did a lot of hikes. In Brac we managed a 2500 foot climb to the highest peak, and ended up on a semi unintended 17 mile walk about. Fun :)

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Split Croatia, one of the most beautiful and relaxed places on earth :)!

May10

I love Split, I spent June and July here in 2013 and I am amazed how much it has grown since then. Tourism is really booming which is good for the economy :)

Here is a great pic as a big storm was rolling in yesterday…

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2015 Plans Extravaganza!

January10

So what is the plan for 2015?

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Where will we be in 2015?
We are headed to France in late January, and we are going to stay there through April, and then move over to beautiful Croatia through June. I am really excited about living next to the ocean, I always find it peaceful.

I am also looking forward to being in Europe because the work schedule is amazing, I can focus on project work in the morning, and meetings in the afternoon/evening. Whereas in the USA I do meetings in the morning, project time in the afternoon. It should be a nice change of pace for us :). Lindsey is in the process of applying to grad school, so by June we should know where we are headed next.

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2 Year Travel Summary! Dec 2011 to Dec 2013…

April24

From December 2011 to December 2013 I lived the life of a digital nomad, I traveled around the world while working remote :). It was challenging, immensely fun, and I learned a shit ton :).

So, where did I go?

Panama for a few weeks.
Cusco, Peru for a month.
Buenos Aires, Argentina for a few months (1, 2, 3, 4)
Chile for a month (1, 2)
Easter Island
Melbourne, Australia for 1 year (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Bali for a week.
Singapore for a week.
Tasmania for a week.
New Zealand for a month.
Hong Kong (1, 2)
Split, Croatia (1, 2)
Freiburg, Germany for a month.
Romania for a month.
Amsterdamn for a week or two (work).
Spain For The Via de la Plata (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Scotland for the last month (1, 2, 3)

And then back home to settle down in Fayetteville, Arkansas :)

What did I learn?

#1 – You learn a whole lot about yourself when traveling for 6 month stretches alone. Lots of time to think, read, and just be with yourself. It was super helpful for me and I cleared a whole lot of bullshit from my mind, and I have a much better idea of who I am and what I want to do. Which is an good feeling :).

#2 – Living with your brother is really fun, especially when it is in Australia for a year. Especially when he refers to himself as your life coach :).

#3 – Time zones are hard, but also nice because they force you to prioritize what meetings need to happen. I just switched to a format to try to force this at home with meetings only on MTW from 9am to noon. We will see if that helps.

And I was reminded just how kind and awesome 99% of the people in the world are :). And how they just want clean air, good health care, opportunities to better themselves, opportunities for their kids, and for politicians to go fuck themselves (especially the corrupt ones, which usually means all of them in lots of these countries). Maybe one day a global political party can really get some traction.

Favorite places or experiences?

I loved them all but I especially loved Croatia! I can’t wait to go back as the weather and beach and people are amazing. Followed closely by Scotland, it felt like home :).

Highlights of the trip?
– Christmas and New Years in Panama with friends and family :).
– Taking Ayahuasca in Peru and seeing old ruiens + reading about them.
Touring the Mendoza wine region one weekend with Rose and Steve.
– Running at this great park in Buenos Aires while I was there + getting a lot of big picture working while I was there at local cafes.
– Finding the weirdest wines I’ve ever had with Joel and Laura one night in BA.
– Hiking Patagonia for a week near El Chalten. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.
– Getting to see Easter Island and do a lot of biking, running, and walking after the polluted capital of Chile.
– Living with my brother Nick for a year in Melbourne Australia :)!
Riding a train from south to north australia for 3 days, I had a blast and it was an awesome trip!
– A week vacation in Bali where I read the entire Wheel of Time series over + the final one. And had some amazing food and total relaxation.
– Doing a short week camping adventure across Tasmania with Joel! And seeing a platypus in nature up in the mountains around old growth forests plus so many other beautiful areas. Tasmania is amazing!
– Heading back to Singapore for a week for delicious food and great company :)!
– RVing across all of New Zealand with my brother the navigator :). And seeing Hobbit town!
– Going on a boat with some work friends in Croatia that happened to fall on my birthday, exploring old military bases and a sub base was a life long dream :)! Not to mention how amazing that entire country is!
– Amazing hospitality in Serbia, and fantastic food and history!
– Running and mountain biking in Freiburg Germany, so many amazing trails everywhere!
– All the little trips I did across Romania, an amazing country and I’m hoping to go back when it is warmer :).
– Walking for 7 days across the Via de la Plata in Spain. It wasn’t what I expected, and I wish I had done it 8 years ago when I first found it. But it was still an amazing and challenging experience. Lots and lots of alone time when you are working all day.
– Scotland with family and friends! It was so great to have so many visitors for the last month.

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Going To Sea + Other Adventures (Croatia=Awesome)

July27

I had an “awesome” birthday week, and hopefully Rose is as well :). Since I had to work so much the first 3 weeks I was in Croatia I took 3 days off to see more of the country and do some touristy type trips. I got rid of as much stuff as possible after Australia so I only have my old iphone 4s for pictures. And thus, the quality of photis is not great.

Sunday, a friend & business associate invited me to join his family and friends on a huge ship off the island of Vis for 2 days. It was a fantastic trip filled with a lot of great Croatian wine, absolutely amazing food, and good company. I was particularly proud that I slept on a boat, and that I didn’t end up puking everywhere given some bad seasickness experiences I had as a kid :). The water around the island is crystal clear, and I swam all over along with a little bit of snorkeling. I’m hoping to come back in a year and bring my flippers and snorkel gear to do more.

After waking up we headed to the Blue Cave. You might think the below photo is faked but it is 100% like this when you enter, incredibly surreal experience. You expect mermaids to start jumping out of the water at any moment.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Later that day we did an amazing tour of a few military bases on the island of Vis. I highly recommend the Alternatura tour/guide as his english was great and he explained everything + knew the history of the island. I love military history and climbing through old tunnels and abandoned gun turrets is like a dream come true. Plus I got to go in a submarine base which has been a dream ever since watching indiana jones :). Best tour ever, and hopefully in a few years I can go explore some of the old Russian bases that have been abandoned too. A few pictures too…

And then I woke up really early on Tuesday to drive up to Bosnia and see Mostar and a lot of other stops along the way. The group on the trip were fun and we had some nice 10am grappa shots + a cold swim to end the day at Kravice.

And on Wednesday Dubrovnik, I think I found a few places they filmed Game of Thrones too. When I left split they were just about to start filming there and screening for extras for season 4!

And on Thursday I flew & trained to Freiburg Germany where I’ll be for a month. It is near the black forest with an amazing trail system and I should be getting a bike to use next week :)

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Cruising / Sailing Croatia Recommendation

July26

If you are looking for an amazing sailing / cruising experience around the islands of Croatia I highly recommend MV Cruising and the Korab. I spent a few days on the ship touring Vis and it was an amazing experience. The cabins are fit for a king and the crew incredibly friendly. The food is one of the best parts, amazing chef :)

Plus the owner is local to Vis and knows all the best places to go. Highly recommended and the prices are very fair. Check out some pictures here too.

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Croatia is Beautiful!

July19

Fantastic trail running in Split at Marian hill and just loving it. I highly recommend a visit to Croatia and nearby Belgrade :). I can’t wait to come back!

This is bwb’s personal blog, so he can share his thoughts with the world, however scary or silly they might be. Plus family and friends can track what I am up to, and where I am in the world.

I am pretty simple. I love Mangos. I love the ocean (although mostly at sunset, as I’m a ginger). I love to travel, eat exotic food, do long bike rides, read, and use my imagination. At some point, I decided it was better to be a pirate captain than an admiral. I am a globalist and see the entire world as my responsibility and playground. And I am married to an amazing woman who makes life even more fun :)! And we are now the proud parents of Calico Jack :).


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