Dave and his Bike

Days 15, 16 & 17.

Day 15

We woke up to a beautiful day. Sunny, warm and a light breeze. Once I had avoided the dual-carriageway past the airport I found a lovely route almost out to the coast at Jesolo where we met for coffee. Very quiet roads and flamingos on the lagoon made it a great ride.

After coffee I tracked the coastline until our lunch rendezvous at S. Michele al Tagliamento after about 60km. The traffic from then on increased – not sure why, and the weather deteriorated. Further inland were some serious storms, with thunder audible. The cross-headwinds were gusty to say the least, but I only felt a few drops of rain, and my waterproof jacket was not required.

Other notable points from the day were hitting the lowest altitude so far, -1m, so technically below sea level, and having to out sprint an angry dachshund (I’ve clearly still got the speed!).

I felt quite weary on arrival in Palmanova; probably the headwind. The town probably looks more impressive from the air than it does from the ground. Pleasant but a bit clinical and not much character. Unfortunately (for us old people) there was a fairground set up in the main square (hexagon?), which was too loud and not really in keeping with the history of the town, so not adding to our experience. Good restaurant though! (Back streets and quiet – bah humbug).

Slovenia tomorrow. That is quite exciting 😎

Day 16

Another clear blue sky when we woke, but quite a bit chillier. A casual start after a leisurely breakfast, as we knew it was going to be a short mileage day having opted to split the ride to Ljubljana into two.

The ride out of Palmanova was glorious. Blue skies and superb views of the mountains to the north, none of which had been visible yesterday. The first 30 km to the Slovenian border flew by, followed by a coffee stop as soon as we had crossed the non-existent border.

Weary café legs up the first climb – something I have not been used to for the last week or so. Peaceful roads, possibly due to it being Sunday, and a few little climbs meant an early and very leisurely lunch, followed by a 15km final stretch to the campsite. We were welcomed with a glass of homemade wine (not Jane’s favourite), onto the tiny site with great views. After pitching the tent, we drove the couple of kilometres into Vipava (didn’t fancy the 4km round trip), which is a pretty little place with much history. We had a beer in the local hot-spot, and I watched Pogacar win the world championship road race on their TV – a popular result with the locals as he is Slovenian.

Back at camp, we chatted with an English couple in a camper van, and a pair of Scots cyclo-tourists, here for a five day circuit. Jane then threw the pasta in the hedge. She says it was an accident whilst draining it, and absolutely nothing to do with beer or wine. Dinner was fine without it. Made me laugh.

Once it gets dark here it gets cold. Early into the tent. Ljubljana tomorrow, and some sizeable climbs on the way there I think.

Day 17

It was very windy overnight. The tent flapping woke me up a few times. It was also very cold – about 5°C when we got up.

The big chainring is definitely a bit more redundant now; steep climb straight out of the campsite. 10% steep to be precise. The ‘lacets’ or hairpin bends later on were actually quite a relief, and a more rideable 5-6%. The further up I climbed, the nicer the weather got, in terms of sunshine at least, although it was still cold.

Once over the col, at the village named, erm, Col, (imaginative!) there was no immediate descent but instead beautiful rolling countryside. The downhill did come and I got bloody cold, although it was great fun. Coffee stop in Logatec in the sun and put extra layers on to warm up. Set off along the valley on the best cycle paths so far – absolutely immaculate! The countryside was so stunning I could honestly have stopped every 500m to take photos. Stripped off some layers (obviously), and met Jane for lunch at Horjul.

The last 24km was mixed, as the nearer to the capital I got it clearly got busier. I opted to go through town, which was probably a mistake due to traffic, traffic lights and constantly stopping to check navigation. Otherwise it was fine. By the time I arrived at the grandly named Ljubljana Resort Hotel and Camping Jane already had the tent up and insisted that we went for a beer. Apparently it was to get change for the washing machine. Who am I to argue?

I’ve just changed the tyres on my bike, so new rubber when I set off on Wednesday. Washing done (and dried), so tomorrow I can have a proper kit check and we can explore Ljubljana. Hopefully not in the rain!