A day of surprises
Day one, getting to know my new solo trip around Slovenia. The plan for today is to take it easy. The distance is short and the profile doesn’t look too steep, so I’ll pedal calmly to the lake. As I’ll get there with time to spare, the idea is to look around the lake and then find somewhere to sleep.
I soon pick up a cycle path that, although confusing at times, gets me out of Ljubljana safely, without mixing much with the traffic. These cycle paths are very welcome: you can get around the city on the most direct and fastest streets, but without mixing with the traffic.
Once out of the city, the traffic drops to a minimum. I pass the odd car now and then, and that’s it. Mind you, the road gets tougher and the first steep climbs begin. Within a few kilometres I leave the road and head onto forest tracks, which are also very quiet. And so, little by little, I get over the first pass. I drop back into the valley and can already see the mountains in the distance. The landscape is very green and very, very beautiful. As the stage isn’t very long, and looks easy, I don’t fill up the CamelBak. I try to make do with my bottle.
After the valley I head back onto the forest tracks and the odyssey begins. The vegetation closes off the path completely; it’s impossible to get through. I keep turning off onto other paths that I can get along for a while, but they close up further on. I try to stray as little as possible from the main route, but it isn’t easy. Sometimes I find myself barely 20 metres from the main track, but there’s no way through. And reaching the main track doesn’t guarantee anything either, because I cross it in places and it’s completely blocked. All this, together with the weight and bulk of the panniers, makes my progress very slow.
Without my noticing, the hours go by, I run out of water and I start to think the best idea would have been to turn back.
Suddenly, a clearing opens up in the forest and I come to a house. Good, at least I can get some water. A woman lives there who doesn’t speak a word of English, and needless to say I don’t speak Slovenian, so I explain myself as best I can and she gives me enough water for the rest of the day. I check and see that the track leading to the house goes down into the opposite valley from the one I want, so the best option seems to be to keep going. Onwards, then!
I still had another hour of more of the same ahead of me. At last, the vegetation opens up and I reach a track. Then a road, cars… and Bled. A tourist spot if ever there was one, its traffic and bustle are a sharp contrast to the hours of solitude I’ve had today. I find the campsite, right on the lakeshore, and pitch my tent. A wash, a good dinner and time to rest: the 70 kilometres have taken their toll, especially the kilometres spent pushing the bike. Tomorrow I’ll have to watch where I’m going; maybe the route I downloaded is out of date. But don’t get me wrong: I had the time of my life.
