Istra Land

Istra Land is the late-summer gravel loop of Exploro.cc, the small cycling club behind the Trans Balkan Race, and it calls itself the last long ride of summer. It is self-supported and navigated by GPS track: some riders go for the podium, others treat it as a sunny bikepacking escape to the sea, and the people who have written about it describe bakery and pizzeria stops, long empty stretches between them and a cold swim on a small beach along the way.

The loop starts on the karst above Trieste and crosses Italy, Slovenia and Croatia within minutes, then climbs into the wild, quiet Čičarija highlands, where most of the effort is packed. It goes up through Učka Nature Park towards Vojak, the high point of the peninsula, drops through pastures where horses and goats wander free, follows the Raša valley to the Adriatic and then runs past the fishing villages of the east coast to Ližnjan and Cape Kamenjak, where the track hops between gravel paths and rocky singletrack right above the sea.

The organisers insist the whole route is rideable, built for flow and speed rather than hike-a-bike, and that riders can go solo, in pairs or in small groups since there are no categories. The weekend traditionally opens with a barbecue on the eve of the start, which gives it the feel of a gravel party as much as a race.