Cycling on the Island of Krk

Krk-Stara Baska-Krk

This itinerary will allow us to visit the southern coast of the island, characterised by small beaches with crystal-clear waters. From the start the road is undulating and offers the cyclist stretches of uphill alternating with not very steep descents: there aren't many flat stretches. We leave Krk on our right to head towards Punat, about 6 km away. The weather isn't very favourable but, given that it's lunchtime, we stop to eat, sitting near the seafront. Just a quick tour of the town, then off again towards the day's destination: Stara Baska. The stretch of road separating the two towns, about 7 km long, first goes inland, rediscovering lush vegetation where flocks of sheep, very widespread on the island, are not lacking; then, as it approaches the coast, it presents hills with a barren appearance.

From the top of one of them, crossed by the main road we're travelling along, it's possible to glimpse in the distance the town we're heading for. Stopping at the edge of the road, we glimpse many small beaches which, given the clearness of the water, will certainly be very busy in the summer season. The beauty of these places is for a moment wiped out by our worry about tackling the long descent that goes down to Stara Baska... will we manage to get back before nightfall? We consult the map, from where we think we'll take a path from which, once we reach Stara Baska, it will be possible to reach the more touristy Baska, located further north: we go looking for the path that we'll tackle with our fat tyres. Stara Baska is a small town and, given the time of year, not very lively.

We find the path proposed by the map but, given the effort required to tackle it and, above all, because it's now five in the afternoon, we decide not to continue and to return to Krk along the road we've already covered. The sky clears, between the clouds appear the rays of the now low sun, offering us colours and contrasts in the landscape just as we're pedalling on dirt roads on a hilltop: fantastic.

Krk-Malinska-Njivice-Vrbnik-Krk

After a rich breakfast, necessary both to forget the cold night we've spent and to face the long stage ahead of us, we set off for the tour that will let us discover every corner of the island. The first part of the route, along roads that are not very busy today, winds through the inland of the island. As soon as we can, we take secondary roads that will take us to the town of Malinska, about 8 km from Krk. Maybe it's the morning hour or perhaps the fact that it's a holiday, but in the town you savour a very quiet and relaxed air. I strongly recommend, to anyone equipped with a mountain bike, tackling the coastal path that leads from Malinska to Njivice. You start from the seafront promenade, where the road is asphalted, to sink your wheels into a dirt track that winds through a pine forest wet, on the left, by the waves of the sea.

It's such a beautiful path that we meet more people than we expected: their looks seem incredulous at seeing cyclists along this path. But why? Here's the answer that comes right after passing through a wooden gate: the road, until now wide and safe, gives way to a path that forces us to get off and carry the bike on our shoulders, but don't be alarmed because it's only a few hundred metres (perhaps a little under a kilometre). Cycle touring is also this. After a brief visit to the town of Njivice, we get back to pushing on the pedals towards Silo: the sound of the waves that has accompanied us until now gives way to an almost surreal silence found inland. A strange sensation accentuated, at a certain point, by a "lunar" view; we leave the asphalt of the main road to climb a hill, following a dirt road, where the expanses of meadows are scattered with stones.

The island is of karst origin and its territory is rich in stones which, to make room for agriculture, are removed from the land to build dry-stone wall enclosures. Few houses and little traffic are other characteristic aspects of this stretch of the itinerary. "10% descent" reads the sign indicating the gradient of the road to reach the town of Vrbnik. From the very first moment we saw it in the distance it seemed to us the most characteristic town visited so far: it stands on a promontory whose walls are lapped by the waves of the sea. The beauty of the historic centre invites us to pedal through its narrow streets: we reach a sheer drop over the sea from which you can see the mainland. It's time to head back towards Krk, which today we'll visit by bike.

The thirteen kilometres we cover by bike to reach it are marked by views and sensations already rediscovered along the road previously travelled.