Bikepacking Slovenia- A solo adventure
- freckers1984
- Sep 13, 2018
- 16 min read
Last Year I took my first venture into solo bikepacking, Sweden to Norway Coast to Coast, and I was completely and utterly bitten by the bug. I wouldn't be lying to say that virtually every day since then I thought about that feeling, the freedom and happiness I'd got from just getting away from everything, nothing to think about but pedalling the path ahead. I knew I had to get planning the next trip... Slovenia was the one!
I’d arrived late in Ljubljana from Gatwick so had booked an Airbnb for my first night. The owner, Jana collected me and the bike bag from the airport, provided breakfast and even had a huge garage I could put my bike together in and leave the bag until my journey home. That was transport, storage and accommodation obliterated in one €30 hit. This trip was off to a good start!
This time I had my own Bike, which i'd built up specifically for Bikepacking trips, a Brother Cycles Big Bro, running on a 4 Season Gravel Disc wheelset from Hunt Bike Wheels, Perfect for a 10 day adventure around the gravel roads of Slovenia! (More detail in the Bikes and Kit section of the website)
Day 1
In the Morning I constructed the bike, loaded up my bags and decided to put the extra cages I had bought along onto the forks, I was later very glad id done this! I was on the road by around 10, the rain and clouds had cleared and the blue skies highlighted the snow topped peaks in the distance. I was so excited to get riding.
The first half of the day was mainly on small roads and gravel tracks, through small villages and farms. There are apple trees everywhere, plums, pears and sweet corn too, there was no need to worry about going hungry, I could scrump as I rode! Everywhere was so quiet.. where are all the people?! The first proper climb of the trip took me up to about 830m, I was looking forward to a nice long fast decent but when I looked at the red line on my garmin it took me straight down into a steep, rooty woodland footpath, if it could even be called that! Some of it was rideable but one section I had trouble even pushing my bike, (or should I say stopping it from dragging me uncontrollably into a tree)
Lake Bled was my first major landmark on the route, I took some time here to get some food and relax in the sun and photograph the iconic castle in the lake. It seems id discovered where “all the people “ are. There’s a campsite at the end of the lake and it was literally gridlock with camper vans trying to get in and out. I happily pedalled on by with my tent in my seat pack wondering why anyone would want to "camp" crammed into an oversized carpark filled with shrieking children!
After the lake I stopped by at Vintgar gorge, it was nice to take of my spds and go for a walk, despite some funny looks from other tourists as I wandered around in my cycling gear. The gorge walk follows the river along narrow walkways and wooden bridges, I was glad I came late in the day when there were fewer people. I was nervous about leaving my fully loaded bike out the front so I sped along the walkways, overtaking people when I could, although it was, of course, fine. Bike and gear were still there on my return.
The next part of the journey took me into Triglav National Park, I arrived there just before dark, I’m careful that no one spots me as I sneak into the woods by the side of a river to set up home for the night...
Day 2
Day 2 was pretty relaxed until about 15 miles in where I turned off of the smooth roads and cycle lanes and headed up towards the border of Austria. Unfortunately my Garmin was showing me as being off course so I had no elevation profile to look at, it was all going to be a lovely surprise! Tarmac switchbacks started the climb with a pleasant 12% gradient. The next part is gravel, it was getting hot and humid but the climb was still manageable. It was at this point I was very glad that I decided to mount the additional water bottle cages on my forks too. It was thirsty work!
The higher I got the steeper the gradient and the worse the surface became, pushing was my only option now and it seemed to go on forever. The forestry track ended eventually and open up into a green valley near the summit, it was silent apart from the distant sound of cowbells and I saw Marmots scatter into their burrows as I rode towards them. I stopped here for lunch in the hope they'd come out again if I sat still, But the only wildlife that was interested I'm me was a load of flies around my tin of Tuna.
From one part of the ridge you are at the border and look down over to Austria, I sat here admiring the view, rewarding myself with a Curly Wurly my friend had sent me over with for these kind of situations! An older man with a huge moustache rode by, he stopped to chat and recommended a restaurant for my dinner that evening in his hometown, Kranjska Gora. Just when I thought the hard work was over there was another couple of miles of singletrack I wasn’t able to ride. It was narrow, rooty and partially collapsing into the steep valley below, it just didn’t seem worth risking when riding alone on a loaded bike, even when pushing there were a few hairy moments. The last couple of hours had been very slow progress.
The descent was much better, long and gravelly downhill to Kranjska Gora, I passed the ski resort bike park and stopped for coffee before finding a place to camp for the night. After setting up my tent and changing out of my bike clothes I rode back into town for a huge turkey schnitzel, as recommended by the man earlier, I’d certainly earnt it today!
Day 3
Today starts with breakfast on the way out of Kranjska Gora by the most amazing lake.. It was like one of those scenes you see photos of on the Internet and doubt because it just looks too perfect. From here on it’s uphill for some time, the route takes a gravel path along side the river before joining back into the road at the bottom of the Vrsic pass. I knew from the elevation profile that this climb wasn’t going to be as tough as yesterday’s, plus large sections were on the road, easy pedalling!
There are plenty of restaurants on the way up so I needn’t have carried 3 full bottles of water like I had the previous day, but what’s another couple of kilos eh! I stopped to look at the Russian Chapel, a cute wooden building set back into the woods. The road pass takes 24 switchbacks to weave you up to 1611m but I’d been told about a rock formation in the shape of a ladies face that you can see up the path to the left of the road summit, another few minutes climbing on a gravel track takes you to this, some more epic views.. (and a Cafe for Coffee and Strudel)
The journey down is a whole load of fun, racing motorbikes down the next 26 switchbacks bought a huge smile to my face and I even let out a whoop of joy at one point! (And another small internal one once I’d got to the bottom without losing my shorts and socks that were clipped onto my bike to dry) After Vrsic pass comes the Soca valley and a few miles along I pulled my bike over to marvel at the clear turquoise waters, I couldn’t resist... grabbed my bikini from my bag and hopped in for a swim. The water was refreshingly cold but unbelievably clean, I've never seen water so perfectly crystal clear.
I stayed the night in a campsite just outside of Bovec as I wanted to do some kayaking in the morning, it’s a real outdoors activity town, rafting, kayaking, canyoning, rock climbing, ziplines, paragliding... it’s got it all. I got myself a huge slice of €2 pizza from a bakery, a load of fruit from a market stall and sat people watching in the town centre. Lots of people came to look at my bike, it seems there’s lots of traditional tourers and mountain bikers here but not many with a setup like mine. Only one Austrian, an older guy and steel frame aficionado, knew of Brother Cycles, much kudos received! Day 4
A more water based day, if you’re just here for the riding you’re going to be disappointed. I joined a kayak school for a trip down the Soca river, we got picked up at 9, kitted up and driven down the road for a little instruction before paddling our way along, passing the section of the valley used to film “Narnia” if felt like my own fairytale world, the mountain looming to each side as we navigated through some small rapids on the clear blue waters. I decided to do another day of the course the next day so stayed in Bovec another night. The kayak guy had recommend a cycle to a waterfall for me to do that afternoon. It’s only a short ride from town and definitely worth a visit, it’s the most stunning waterfall I’ve ever seen, and the pool formed was clear and green and inviting. I hadn’t bought any swim stuff but decided it would be worth wet shorts for the trip back to my camp so left my jersey on a rock and hopped in. Id thought the river was cold, it was nothing compared to this pool, it took my breath away at first but I dived down under the surface, the visibility was so good I could see all the fish down there with me and it didn't even sting my eyes, quite a change from the English Channel..
Day 5
First up was another mornings kayaking on the river Soca, less learning and more rapids which was great fun! I took a dip once but really felt I was getting the hang of following the leaders lines through the rocks, the smaller group today meant we got much more done too. Once I’d got showered and into my clean bike gear it was time to get back on the road! Out of Bovec the road travels along the Soca, I took a stop for a little walk to the Boka waterfall, the highest in Slovenia. From here I decided to take a trail on the other side of the river that I’d seen some mountain bikers riding from my kayak earlier that day. It was part of the Alpe Adria trail that id previous ridden/pushed on the Austrian border day, although this section was much more bike friendly! The trail takes you up into the hills, past abandoned farmhouses and small villages, before I turned off the trail, down a rocky path, past a small waterfall and into Kobarid. Korabid is a small town with some adventure sports places like Bovec but more rustic, I stocked up on food and water (and spare brake pads) and carried on my journey. I was sad to be leaving the mountains of Triglav national park but the route still follows the river Soca for a while.
I was looking on my map for a place to stay for the night, I thought id head towards Tomlin, via side roads and small villages.. Just outside of Tolmin there is a gorge that I rode up to but it was closed for the evening so I took the road back down across the river to find my camping place for the night, a sandy spot hidden down on the riverbank.. Dinner tonight was a meat Burek, a traditional rolled pastry that id picked up in a Bakery in Korabid earlier, I love a picnic by a river! Day 6
That night was interesting, the thunderstorms started at 11pm and continued all through the night, torrential rain, lightning flashes that lit up my tent and thunder that made the ground shake. I was relieved to find my tent was still waterproof by the morning, with only a bit of water coming up through the groundsheet. Luckily Id but all my things inside dry bags the night before, and my sleeping mat kept my sleeping bag off of the wet floor. I delayed getting up until about 9.30 but it didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon... Packing up the soaking wet tent in the rain, getting everything covered in sand was definitely the low point or the trip so far but once I got on the bike and moving things didn’t seem so bad. Ive found this is applicable to nearly every situation in life.. Just get peddling and things seem better!
I have a good waterproof jacket so at least my top half was dry and warm, luckily the route was mainly on roads today because the off road sections were very wet and squelchy! Still, road spray and rain soaked the rest of me to the skin in no time at all, droplets would run off of the peak of my cap or the end of my nose at regular intervals. I stopped at a bus stop to eat the soggy leftovers of a roll I bought the previous day, an elderly Slovenian man with a huge umbrella shuffled past, smiling and chatting away to me in Slovenian, we made hand gestures and looks to the sky and both laughed, he then waved and shuffled on, no doubt back to his nice warm dry home. As the day went on the rain subsided and I passed over the biggest climb of the day into Slovenia’s wine region, it was starting to look more and more like Italy and by mid afternoon I passed over the border. First thing I did over the border was find a small farm cafe to order an espresso and a tiramisu to celebrate, what else is there to do?! I ignored the sign for Gorizia along the main road and took the smaller roads through the agricultural land, the route undulates through vineyards and small villages before heading over the river into Gorizia. There was one reasonable climb up to a church on a hill, an Italian man on a road bike passed me at one point, saying something which I believe translates to "This hill is a bastard".. Try it on my bike buddy!
Downhill from the church I crossed over the river and into Gorizia, It was a weird time of day where most things were closed, I cycled around the town and got some Gelato, I chatted to the guy in there for a while, He'd seen my bike and wanted to know my tales, he was into cycle touring too.
Later that evening I had pizza for dinner, along with some more amazing espresso and scrumped vineyard grapes.. If you’re going to do Italy in a day you need to squeeze in all the classic Italian cliches!
Day 7
The sun was out for the start of my day, heading back over to Slovenia. The city of gorizia is attached to Nova Gorica in Slovenia so the border is just across the railway line, not quite as interesting as the other two borders I’d been at. Somehow my Garmin was missing sections of the route so after a bit of confusion I got back on track, the first half of the day was mainly through fruit farms and fields. The aftermath of the rains were more obvious here, with puddles, small fords and mud to contend with I felt like I was back at home. There were tiny villages where you just know they never see tourists. Children and the elderly would stop in their tracks to look at me as I rode through, but always with a wave and a smile. As I was taking the small roads there weren't any shops or cafes for food, I found a water tap to refill my bottles and eventually crossed a highway to buy some lunch and snacks to take with me.
Again there was a chunk of route info missing so I had to wing it a bit, There was a long soggy climb into the hills and I made a few mistakes along the way but eventually I emerged from the gravelly forest roads into civilisation. Predjama castle was just off route so I took the road down for my tourist photo opportunity..
I decided to sleep in the woods just past the castle and found a nice area to set up camp and eat the remaining food from my lunchtime snack stop, a tin of mackerel and a bread roll.. Living the dream! Day 8
It started to rain again at about 1am, so getting up and packed up was a bit of a drag again! This time I hadn't been so lucky with keeping everything dry, although i think this may have had more to do with me knocking over my water bottle in the night. Idiot! This time my down jacket and sleeping bag were wet, along with the tent, I was carrying a bit of extra water weight today for sure! I made my way to Postojna town for coffee and a croissant in the hope that it might stop raining by the time id eaten. It was still raining when I finished the coffee and I saw on the menu they sold Bombadinos, something a friend at home had mentioned I should have in Italy but Id forgotten. Its a warm drink made of advocaat and brandy and topped with cream, usually drunk on ski holidays. As I sat cold and damp at 10am on a dull grey morning, it seemed like an appropriate thing to drink..
The road out of Postojna is fairly unpleasant but soon you turn off onto more quiet roads and gravel tracks that took me into Rakov Skocjan, an area of forest with caves and gorges, I took a little time to go see the amazing natural rock archway and get bitten by mosquitos.
The rains soon started again and were to continue for the rest of the day, I went around Cerknica intermittent lake (which is mostly a big flat area of grass and marshland at this time of year) and then decided to book a room for the night, everything inside and outside of my dry bags was soaked and cold and I wanted a hot shower! I stopped in the entrance to a barn to shelter from the rain and looked on my phone for accommodation on the way up the Ljubljana, Tourist Farm Strle was the place I chose, it was about 30km from where I was, little did I know a large portion of this was up a very long hill, elevation profiles are not available on booking.com!
The road twisted and turned up the hill and it turned out the farm was virtually the last home on the road, as I rode up a young man waved at me so I turned up the driveway, Urban introduced himself and looked at me like I was crazy riding my bike all the way up there! He showed me to my room, put my bike in the garage and bought up a tray of coffee, homebaked buns and fruit from the garden. After drinking my coffee I ran myself a bath and had a good long soak while my clothes were in the washing machine, could it be any more perfect?!
I made myself soup for dinner and watched the mist roll into the valley, the little church on the hill looked like something from a fairytale as the sun set behind it. I went to bed warm and content, life is so peaceful up here on the hill.
Day 9
A good nights sleep, a shower and a clean set of clothes already made for a good start to my final full day. The morning got even better once breakfast was served.. it was.. epic. Fresh local produce, homebaked bread, pancakes and eggs from the farm... So good! Once I’d devoured all I could and made a sandwich to go I packed my bike up again ready for the ride to Ljubljana.
I knocked on the door downstairs to say goodbye and was greeted by Urbans mum, Judita, she doesn't speak English but Urban translated. She asked what I was doing next and if I’d like to go mushroom picking with her in the woods, it was such a shame that I had to leave. I thanked them both for making me so welcome and for the amazing food, Judita gave me a huge hug as I left and I walked round to get my bike. As I turned back she was there to wave me off, it bought a tear to my eye and I sobbed my way down the road. I wanted to stay there with them, I loved the peace and tranquillity and warm hospitality of the countryside, I didn’t want to go to the city.
From the farm I cut back down towards Ljubljana, via a little lake at Rakitna, which lies at 800m above sea level. There are signs warning of bears in the surrounding forest but sadly I didn't get to see any. Todays route was mostly downhill off of the plateau so I got near to to the capital earlier than I’d planned, I wasn’t ready for the hustle and bustle of the city just yet so I took a detour though more quiet roads and gravel tracks. In my infinite wisdom I even managed to find a road with a 3.5km 18% gradient, not the best fun in the heat but it took me up to more lovely gravel forest tracks. Up the top I stopped to eat the sandwich id bought with me from the farm, a local man on a mountain bike stopped to chat and ask where I had been cycling. It later turned out that he was the Uncle of a man I had chatted to about Slovenia through a Facebook Bicycle touring group! I had become a topic of conversation at a family gathering that weekend, Such a small world!
I was approaching 60 miles by the time I got to the outskirts of Ljubljana, the traffic got quite heavy but there are cycle lanes everywhere. I spent some time riding around the centre, sitting by the river and people watching from a cafe. It felt strange to be back in civilisation after the time id spent alone on the bike, I much prefer the countryside.
My accommodation for that night was a hostel north of the city nearer to the airport so again I had the cities outskirts to get through, not the best end of the day, especially given the emergence of millions of flying ants. I treated myself to another hot shower and an amazing chicken burger in the restaurant next door, I was really craving salt and protein after the chocolate hit id consumed in Ljubljana!
Day 10
Today was my final day, I wasn't flying home until around 6pm so I decided to take a ride around the area, its amazing how close you can be to an airport and still have quiet lanes, forests and lakes to explore! I had to collect the bike bag from Janas house on my way through, just outside of her village I had a quick wash in a stream before getting out of my bike clothes ready for the flight home. Not the hot shower I would have liked before sitting on a plane but at least it got most of the sweat and dead flying ants off of me, delightful.
This trip has been incredible, Slovenia is just beautiful, the people are wonderful, it felt a little like going back in time, away from the stresses of everyday life, I loved the peace and solitude of the endless gravel roads, mountains and forests. Slovenia, you've kept a little piece of my heart.... Ill be back one day for sure. xxx
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