With a Tylenol 3 for Ken and wine for both of us, we ended up sleeping quite well. We woke to sunshine over the marina and still a very painful elbow.    So, no bike for Ken and we planned on getting the xray at 2pm in the clinic.   He hung in the room and I headed to breakfast, which had a large selection of local meats, cheeses, homemade jams and breads.   I brought him back some coffee, fruit and yoghurt and left him for the day's bike trip.

As normal, there were several options for the route, and several of us chose the boost at the beginning which included a 7k climb. Once we saw the hills, we were SO glad we had grabbed the van.   However, after the boost, we got on the bikes and still had some climbs to go before another long descent (I am actually getting better at them) along another curvy, steep road. But like yesterday, the views all the way down overlooking the water were truly beautiful.   Once down, we had some "Croatian Rollers" which are rolling hill roads, winding through more vineyards and olive trees.  

When we hit the coast, we had a several kilometer ride along the turquoise water, ending in a small village that was bustling with tourists.   The whole group relaxed and enjoyed some much deserved gelato before getting back on the bikes for the ride to lunch.   One of the ride options was an additional 5k ride through villages or you could head straight to lunch which was about 7k.   Most chose the additional ride,   but Diane, from Toronto and I chose to do the lunch route.   It was a great choice, as we wound our way back through the vineyards and even with some hills, had a nice ride. The others reported that the additional 5k was hot and hard, so I was happy with my choice!

Our lunch was at a lovely home with a beautiful garden and small vineyard.   The couple offered us some homemade grappa and then wine from their grapes. Since many were done biking for the day, it wasn’t hard to enjoy their beverages!    They also made some delicious salads and homemade pastas with veggies from their garden.   Sitting on their patio with amazing food was a wonderful way to end my favorite day of biking out of all our trips.  The route, the views and scenery were just great.

After lunch, many chose to head back to the hotel, while some were back on the bikes for the ride back.   Since it was the same route we had taken in the morning, we knew it was going to be a long hard climb to the hotel.   I was happy to be in the van.  

I got back to the hotel, where Ken had enjoyed a walk around the town and relaxed for the morning.    The clinic was then opened, so we walked up the steep hill to where it was located.   First, we went in an emergency type room, where a medic took Ken’s passport and promptly informed us that it would be far cheaper if we walked across the hall to the private doctor. So, of course we did.  

After a short wait, Dr. Sucenna took us to a room and got Ken’s information.   She sent us back to Xray, where they immediately took some pictures of his elbow. Soon after a radiologist read the xrays and promptly advised that he had a hairline fracture of his elbow.   He showed us on fracture on the xray, gave us a CD of the pictures and charged us $60.   Then we went back to Dr. Sucenna and she told us that an Ortho doc could cast it tomorrow morning.   Then we paid her $60 and headed back to the hotel.   The process was very efficient and everyone did their best to communicate in English.

We met Katja on the way back and she called the doctor to get the scoop in Croatian. We weren’t sure he needed a cast, so we deferred until we got opinions from our fellow bike riders who were Dr’s. I also sent the films back to our sports medicine Doc in Houston.    The consensus was as long as it was immobilized, he would be OK.   So, we found a pharmacy and bought a sling, which is now snugly fitting on his elbow.

While on our walk around town, we took some small back alleys and found a wonderful wine bar where we had some local Grgich white wine. It was excellent and the owner brought out a great book of Croatian pictures which we enjoyed while sitting out in the small alley.    We were on our own for dinner, so went with Lucille and Barbara, two wonderful ladies from Brooklyn and New Haven CT to Divino.    The food and conversation was excellent, but the view of the sunset over the water was the highlight of the day.