Several hours later we were back on one of the more than 1,000 islands in the archipelago, Brač. A crossing from the north-facing port of Supetar directly through the island’s hinterland delivered us to a south facing point in the town of Bol, a well-known holiday destination. For good reason: sitting securely at the foot of the islands’ highest peak, sheltered from the worst Bora winds and bathed in glorious rays, the pretty old harbour looks out across a calm bay towards Hvar, its locals and tourists spending long mornings gazing over postcard scenes of rhythmically bobbing fishing boats.
But not us. We had a mammoth ride planned – our sixth day would start by climbing harshly from sea level to a plain at around 700 metres. My notes from the trip detail this simply as ‘disgusting’. Large chunks of gravel and a sharp gradient made the going as tough as it could be, leaden legs non-compliant in this act of grievous bodily harm. It’s impossible to say whether the climb might have been a breeze in other circumstances, but after a week of 50-90km rides with thousands of vertical metres daily, we were well and truly spent. All except Matej, a veritable source of energy and optimism, who was up and down the climb several times, encouraging the rest of the group and spreading his infectious smile among us. Anyway, at the end of the day, however dismal life seemed on this hill one glance over the shimmering Adriatic was enough to stoke our ambitions. Pedals were forced through revolutions and the show went on slowly but surely.
A tough day took its toll, with the final sting coming from a raging gale across the plateau near the ride’s end; any hint of warmth now removed from the equation. We slogged through forests and plodded up more brutal climbs, barely the energy to notice the truly fantastic place we were travelling through. Finally, just as daylight began to wane, we popped out at the highest point in the Adriatic, the summit of Vidova Gora at 778 metres.
At the dramatic mountaintop – more a place where land abruptly drops away than a peak – we were once again offered a window for reflection as we peered over the sea, its countless islands and endless potential for two-wheeled journeying, before plunging into the very best trail of the whole trip, a long, fast, flowing and technically testing singletrack back to Bol. This was such a memorable trail that we chose to repeat it on a relaxed final ride the following day, a perfect end to a tough but rewarding week on the pedals.