My bike trip to Bohinj

started off rather well, I managed not to get run over by any stray cars while crossing the road and I started the climb uphill to Talež, where the worst should have been over (that is what I get for not being able to read the maps).


(green marks the way back)


30 minutes into the trip (a whooping 3 km and around a 300 m vertical rise) I met a friendly man who was picking wild strawberries and I chatted with him as an excuse to rest for a bit, and then off I went again, spending another 40 minutes for the next 3 kilometers (another 400 m rise), before meeting another excuse for a chat, a guy who was going to cut some shrubbery on his land or something, it turns out he knew my late grandmother, small world.


After cycling for another 10 minutes I met the strawberry guy again (no I was not that slow, they had a car), now together with his wife, and we chatted some more. Off I went and soon came to Goška planina, where I met some more people and asked them if I was going the right way and we chatted for a bit (who would have guessed). I really did not expect to meet so many people, it was good because it was harder for me to get lost, and both times I did I was lucky enough to meet people within a minute or so of taking the wrong turn who set me back on the right path. On the other hand it is a bit unsettling to get in the groove of things and let go of your imagination when you are met with a hearthy hello.


The road was mostly surrounded by trees, but there were a few places with a really nice view, I also tried my hand at taking pictures while cycling, but it did not work so well in the forest because things were too close and the road was too bumpy.


It was surprising that the first 6 or so kilometers tired me out the most, then I broke through the tiredness barrier (there is probably a more fancy name for it) and just kept going and going and going, thinking random thoughts, kind of disassociated from the body, but I felt really good.


This enabled me to delve into the age old questions that pester mankind, 'where am I?', 'where am I going?'. I already knew the answer to the second question (to Bohinj), but it only caused another to arise, 'which turn should I take, oh my god are there any bears here?'.


I met only one cyclist who assured me that I am on the right track and that there is not much more climbing to do, after being emboldened by this, I continued a bit more energetically and soon the road leveled and then slowly started descending.


I met some Slovakian or Czech tourists happily ambling around the road looking for Pogačnikov dom, but I had never even heard of it before so I could not help them. I also passed a bunch of scouts and soldiers having some sort of competition.



(Luckily I met no cows)

Seeing the valley opening up ahead of me really filled me with joy, as I knew that I will not be eaten by stray sheep or bears and that I did not have much more to go. It was similar to when we used to go to the seaside, before the highway was constructed, and after seating for 4 hours in the sun in a car you finally caught a glimpse of the sea you were ecstatic (and similarly, then realization dawned that it will still take at least half of that to actually get to the sea).




The road became pretty steep and I was whizzing down enjoying the breeze and not moving a muscle except for braking.


I sped through Bohinjska Bistrica, barely under the speed limit, knowing that Bohinj is not far away, stopping only to ask for directions, forsaking the chat this time, I continued on my way.


Hoorah! Clouds gathered to say hello to me, and I did not spend much time in Bohinj before rain drove me away.



I weathered the most of the storm under a shed it did not last long so I soon continued back home, this time I stuck to the main road since it had no hills to climb.


The journey back was pretty uneventful and I was not run over by a car (despite all the prophecies I have heard).


Taking pictures while cycling worked out much better this time.


For the end I managed to almost get lost but luckily Sava Bohinjka was close and I just followed it downstream.


Here is the hero of the day.


Altogether I did about 90 kilometers. And it took me around 6 hours. Next time it should be around 4, if I meet no people and I do not get lost on the shortcuts they told me about.

p.s.: clicking on a picture makes it larger, if you want to have an even larger picture msg me and I will send it to you.