This was planned to be the highlight of the season. Unfortunately I failed.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/dde71253-0bae-49cd-b4b1-1a8e3e10c350_rw_600.png?h=9979848c34ac8d1ba4ba562fd6d6f056)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/c612ae48-d117-4a4f-abb5-32af8c313d1c_rw_1200.jpg?h=9a38535123d148b63d3ed4aa3823403a)
I had quite a few all-day cycling adventures planned in 2019. I was specially preparing for this one and it took me quite some time to plan the whole route and to calculate whether I would be able to succeed in one day ride. I also had quite a few physical workouts the month before and the whole preparations went great. Since I am this kind of person that learn most of the mistakes while performing certain activities, this was also the case here.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/6d59a17b-daf8-4c6b-9a68-b4d2e28c9986_rw_1920.jpg?h=c9f4e4f0733dd3fd8f957085e2954ed7)
![Ria's breakfast mmm](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/2f7c2ecd-8d57-41be-9630-1357e6251e9f_rw_1920.jpg?h=a298904a07bfb2774579efe61b60cec9)
Ria's breakfast mmm
![Fully loaded the day before](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/4048cf19-a043-439e-9502-2a6fedabc3d5_rw_1920.jpg?h=93175d4c4c9f5e2654909f985028d2b9)
Fully loaded the day before
The first mistake was that I packed too many stuff,... again! and I could definitely save a kilogram or two with the right packing approach, given that I was planning to get to my destination in one day. Weight is very important, especially on these long rides with a lot of climbs.
The route I planned had a total of 260 kilometers and 4300 altitude meters. I spent some time route planning, so I knew it by heart.
![Start 4:50](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/3f482196-9cfc-41c7-bf54-cc2567bd7384_rw_1920.jpg?h=db197bf05d3ddc6dd9eac397783be15b)
Start 4:50
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/3a3cc08f-c28b-485c-b598-6eea375c2cd1_rw_1920.jpg?h=254d6d44e36d7f3c11dbe8bafecef3ae)
![Bela krajina](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/8880896a-a6a8-4e4f-8560-d0619634a559_rw_1920.jpg?h=295b57cf1c957c9ebcfd2a674c82de0c)
Bela krajina
I started early in the dark and had some luck avoiding rain. Everything was fine for the first 100 kilometers. At around 120km I had some steep but quick climbs to make and after those I felt a little pain in my right knee. I said to myself it's just this kind of a ''exitement pain'' that sometimes occur.
![Snack at Sabljaci lake](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/22bc857c-e033-4472-b6c2-2a931a210287_rw_1920.jpg?h=6eddb6c289aa8531b93d30f1ed2329b9)
Snack at Sabljaci lake
![Ogulin](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/a64c8996-f79c-4b50-8929-51f0340ff15c_rw_1920.jpg?h=0629a224129674b62bdbd30fb5457051)
Ogulin
![Modrus](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/6b2798bb-4d20-476a-afe6-fef9c299c828_rw_1920.jpg?h=9f10fcf21dc3104f199f1c867ddd668b)
Modrus
The route continues over two climbs through the woods. It was really interesting to ride as there was a minefield around me all the time. Signs of minefield caution everywhere. Crazy.
![Minefield](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/6e049080-7f52-4b5f-ae39-bc179d1defb3_rw_1920.jpg?h=410e417d7bf7f74b0c4a097432bb8f0a)
Minefield
![Dabar](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/c5b0e62c-3128-4a3a-b661-3fb5211e9e5c_rw_1920.jpg?h=bca5ebc74366a829589928f9ac7bd455)
Dabar
![Otocac](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/263f1807-cf2c-473b-9ea7-27ae4476220c_rw_1920.jpg?h=406f4e25a1e30bc26c33a6ec04a70e24)
Otocac
But my knee got worse and worse. I somehow managed to make it over the first climb, but the descent was not pleasant as well. I really didn't want to end on a mine so I made it slowly to Dabar village and another ascent awaited me. The knee really sucked and when I started to climb the last one, it was already hurting so much that I was actually screaming and kind of biting to the top and made it barely.
Welcome tears of anger.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/6be480e9-37fb-4f80-a368-a249f48d0df7_rw_1920.jpg?h=58b83a550bb76fdf20f70fe01dd82258)
![Fake smile](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/8fcaf866-ce5e-4dd6-ba51-ca507c9e8546_rw_1920.jpg?h=bf04476b992f72aac35d5f3d0cc3780e)
Fake smile
The descent to Otocac followed, where I had planned a lunch with my wife before leaving for the real hills. Yes, the real hills just didn't started yet. After the lunch I felt that I had to give it a try, albeit with pain. I continued my ascent towards the wilderness of Velebit but unfortunately I did not succeed.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/ecc8c849-9f09-474e-9914-056f6151b556_rw_1920.jpg?h=866ff37b643ebd529f4a3e076ff12a10)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/a98ec561-e786-42ce-ac97-37a178589fc0_rw_1920.jpg?h=6e8a4dfa10f2553f0b589464686b48ec)
The pain was too hard and with each press of the right pedal, I gasped. It no longer made sense. Fortunately I told Ria to wait down in the town for about half an hour more, just to see how I would feel. She was with me right away and I had to pack my bike and continue the journey by car.
But this is not the end of this story.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/946af807e30281c7ee2a47fb6e845248/fdc37672-03b7-40b0-9654-e3ecdef5e01a_rw_1920.jpg?h=2d3492878de1ae07909a93f537ac8d88)
I got home after this summer vacations and the first thing was to examine my knee problems. I searched for some informations and quickly found the possible reason. With the help of my hairdresser who is a very keen cyclist, I found the right answer at bike fitter.
I went to meet Niko, a bike fitting specialist who properly set me up on my bike and voila. After a few months, I slowly got back in shape and the pain was gone. Body fit on a bike is so very important, which is why I really recommend it to all cyclists. And I must admit that I didn't make any kind of focus about bike fit before that happened so yeah, like I said before, another lesson learned. I will definitely do this route again and finish it properly.
Thanks again to Body Geometry Fit tehnician Niko Korber.