Finally, the time came for a slightly bigger tour or better said an adventure. A couple of days ago, I came home, and my dad was on the terrace and started the conversation the usual way when he wants to discuss something serious “Hey Nevs”, I thought “what now?!” And the question was – “Do you wanna go to the Majstorska cesta (Master’s Road, a famous historical (off)road on Velebit) on Saturday? Without much thought, I agreed to the idea, completely forgetting that I had told Silvija that we would go to the seaside on Friday, I simply overlooked it. On that same evening, we strolled and watched the bonfires when I told my plan to Silvija… oops! But as we agree on everything easily, the weekend was quickly planned. Silvija went to Baška and I headed to Majstorska cesta, and after that towards Baška.

While sitting on the wall next to the Kupa river, Silvija, my sister, my friend Mata and I commented on the plan to go to Velebit and the famous Majstorska cesta. My sister and Mata showed photos from friends from our local motorcycle club, who tried to ride Majstorska cesta without much success. I blame all this on inadequate bikes. We’ll see first hand. Let me emphasize right away, Majstorska cesta is not an extremely demanding off road, but it is also not as simple as it looks on a lot of videos that can be found on the internet. I will soon put a real “raw” video of Majstorska cesta to our Youtube channel, so you can judge for yourself.

On Friday, we prepared and set up a fixed plan, which was as follows; In the morning we gather at my home, have coffee and go.

Saturday morning – while having hot coffee we were waiting for Dražen who joined us from Zagreb. After coffee we set off to Velebit. The weather was very sunny and not too hot, in Lika we even closed the ventilation on our gear. After a short break in Korenica, when we had coffee and cola, we rode through Gospić all the way to Sveti Rok. We stopped in Sveti Rok to mount the cameras. The deal was to rode in the same formation – Bex was the first, Dražen in the middle, and me at the back. We took a couple of photos before the climb and finally went to that famous road.

At the beginning the road is paved and winds through the forest by several houses. After a couple of curves the offroad part starts. For some reason, that first part of the climb through the woods is not showed in many videos. I mentioned that because the first part was the trickiest, since my GS is quite heavy. The macadam is quite deep and soft in most places, so those first few kms were more difficult for me than the rest. I was quite loaded with 3 large Givi cases on the GS, which in itself is huge. Speaking of the bikes, here are a few details: Bex was on his V-strom, Dražen on his BMW R1150GS and me on my R1200GS.              

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We rode on that 189-year-old road to Mali Alan pass. Along the path to the pass Mali Alan the macadam was quite deep but we successfully managed to deal with it. Despite the road tires and a couple of slides Bex managed to pass it without a problem, but it can still be concluded that offroad tyres are a better choice for this kind of trip. Dražen happily rode on his 1150, also sliding occasionally, but it seemed that he was actually enjoying it. I was riding at the back, both standing up and sitting down. Speaking of tyres, I have to say that the Mitas E07+ is great for adventures like this.

After the forest, just before the pass Mali Alan, there is an intersection and from there onwards the macadam and the surface are much different and easier to ride. Regardless of that, one should not relax. The scenery and landscapes are amazing, but it’s not very smart to look around while riding. Someone might be more fascinated by the landscape, but I was more impressed by how they managed to build that road so well in 1832. Really, all the curves, all the slopes are made perfectly. This road really deserves its name – the Master’s Road.

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We reached Tulove grede and stopped near the chapel of Damir Tomljanović Gavran. Of course, we commented on the part that we had just rode. While the guys exchange experiences, I reveal the little secrets of big cases. The 48-liter side case hides a fridge filled with cold drink and refreshments – a classic moonshiner style. After the break, we moved on. We turned on the cameras and rode downhill towards Jasenice. This part of the road is most often seen in pictures and videos. That is not surprising since it is really beautiful and even despite the serpentines it is less demanding to ride because the road is really good.               

Dusty and white, we reached the asphalt and headed towards Rovanjska, where we planned a lunch break. We stopped at the restaurant Rovanjska and turned off the cameras. Full of impressions, we unpacked and sat in the shade of the terrace. Having a cold drink while waiting for a meal, we watched some of the footage on our cameras. The experience was definitely different than expected. We all thought that it would far easier to ride. After lunch, the guys decided to follow me on my way to Novi Vinodolski. Along the way we still stopped for gas. For the second time this year, we were cruising from Rovanjska to Senj, where we stopped for coffee. We rode together for another 25 km from Senj to Vinodolski where we parted ways – they head to the mainland and I head to the island.

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All in all, Majstorska cesta is a great trip for anyone looking for adventure. True, in many videos it looks easier to ride than it really is, but still, the views and experience are worth the effort!