Day 26: Novigrad to Rovinj

June 29, 2026

Day 26: Novigrad to Rovinj

After writing my previous blog post, I ended up walking around the town center of Novigrad and met up with Ervin at the Fish Food Bila stand for dinner. Ervin was so nice and paid for my fish and chips meal.

We chatted about our family backgrounds. Ervin has three half siblings and one step sister. He’s working as an interior designer and furniture maker.

After dinner we got some drinks at a bar and sat outside. Soon, David showed up. He didn’t go to the concert after all. We had a great time conversing about the 90s since the music at the bar were all hits from that era. It was very easy to talk to these guys about anything. We really hit it off! After a brief visit by a friend of theirs, I had to go back to the guesthouse since it was getting late. I didn’t go to bed until 10:45 PM.

I made sure to wake up early today, at 4:30, so I can book a place in Rovinj. I ended up getting a studio apartment near the center of the town. It’s unusual that I booked something on the day of, but I was indecisive.

I left the guesthouse in Novigrad at 5:30. The ride today was full of variety. It included riding along the coast, on the road, on the gravel path, in the woods, on rough terrain, down a steep hill, then up a steep hill, next to cars, and in insolation.

There was a long stretch where the ground was so bumpy with rocks that I felt like I was mountain biking. There were actually two mountain bikers riding the same trail as me.

But the worst was the steep hill that I had to cycle up. It was just steep enough that I could pedal with the lowest gear. Very slowly, at about 4 miles per hour. There were cars, trucks, RVs, and buses on the same road as me. Given no shoulder to cycle on, I was very glad that the drivers in Croatia were careful enough to wait and then go around me. After about two miles of uphill, I surprised myself that I cycled the entire thing without pushing my bike.

It was a tough day. After 39 miles, I finally made it to the Studio App Lenny apartment at 11 AM. Checking in was a bit difficult because the host didn’t reply to me quickly enough as I was sweating outside trying to figure out how to store my bike. I ended up putting my bike in the room on the ground floor.

When I brought my panniers up to the apartment, I saw that one of the screws had broken off the plastic railing that holds the handle. Without it, it’ll be a matter of time when the next screw breaks off. Then my pannier wouldn’t be able to attach to the rack. I can’t believe I had to fix something again. Yesterday, I rigged an outlet adapter and today I have to fix this hole.

I ended up securing a zip tie to the hole since the end of the zip tie is just big enough that it acted as a plug. I’m curious to see how long this fix will last.

Inside the apartment, I relaxed, made some ramen for lunch, and took a shower. It’s past 5 PM. I plan to explore the town a little then get dinner. Tomorrow won’t be as hard as today. No major hills and only about 23 miles to Pula.