Hello motmcd,
Croatia is a great country for cycling, on the road or in the nature. If you are visiting Italy and Slovenia, the closest part of Croatia is Istra. Istra is a very beautiful place, full of bike paths, and cool places to visit. On this link you can see some of the trails in Istra.
http://www.istriaholiday.com/zupan/bike/slike/01.jpg
But, if you wanna explore more in Croatia, I´m recommending you to visit:
Rijeka – a cool little city, full of history and great places to ride,
Zadar – also a great town, full of history. Before Zadar, I highly recommended you to visit lakes Plitvice
https://www.google.hr/search?q=lakes...w=1366&bih=622 .It is a great place to visit and ride but it is little crowded in the summer.
Also, you can visit Split and Dubrovnik. I`m planning a little bike tour this summer through the Croatia, so maybe I can join you on your adventure, show you around, acquaint you with our culture...If you have any question about Croatia, feel free to ask me, I would love to help you.
And don´t be afraid, Croatia is a safe place
Btw, here is a plan for my bike adventure.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...42773683_n.jpg