September 3, 2022
From Ljubljana to Celje via Zidani Most (Sept. 3, 2022)
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It’s Dave again: We left Ljubljana excited to be back on the road, but sad not to be in this wonderful city.
We took the train to the little town of Zidani Most where we began our 30 k ride to Celje. Given our previous train experience, we knew that schlepping our heavy bikes and panniers could be problematic, especially if the train was busy and didn't have roll-on/roll-off capabilities. From a previous reconnaissance (and Jill’s prior experience in Ljubljana) we knew that the Ljubljana train station had elevators. Initial bad luck: BOTH of the station's elevators were inoperative, so plan B was put into effect.
We took our paniers off the bikes and Jill and I then hauled the bikes up 2 flights of stairs to our platform. Bad luck: Jill pulled a back muscle. By the second bike, we figured out a much better way to manage the job with less strain.
By the time we got our bikes and gear onto the platform, we had some good luck, as our train was arriving 45 minutes before it was set to leave. This allowed us to be first to board and we needed all the time available as - bad luck - there was no bike car and we needed figure out how to cram the bikes into the limited space available. Later arriving cyclists were forced to stand with their bikes in the train's vestibule. Good luck: We were able to be seated for the journey.
We weren’t sure how we would exit the train given that the exits were now blocked by other cyclists and their gear. Good luck- the conductor was super nice and asked the other cyclists to take their bikes off first so we could exit and she held the train until we and our stuff were off and the other cyclists could reload. We apologized for the inconvenience, but she said that it was fine and not our fault. All in all, this little excursion went pretty well for us. Lesson learned: Next time we have to haul our bikes up and down stairs, we'll not only take the panniers off, but the very heavy batteries as well!
We started our bike ride on a very good, but busy main road. Jill plotted a course that took us away from the road but it was up the side of the mountain!
As you can see from the profile above (note those squiggles on the map) it presented us with a very steep (upwards of 19% grade) uphill slog. I continue to be amazed at how powerful our bikes are on roads like this and we were able to surmount the climb with little trouble, but lots of effort. The descent down was as steep as the climb which always makes Jill nervous. Regardless, we made it back down without incident and rode into a small village where we stopped for a beer (David) and mineral water (Jill).
From here on in, our trip to Celje was wonderful. We mostly followed the river and railroad tracks on a lightly used road, designated as D10 for cyclists. With the exception of two navigational issues, the ride was delightful. The weather was exceptional, warm but not hot, no wind, reminding us that fall was in the air.
Our first navigational faux pas occurred after I stopped to take a few pictures. Jill kept going and seeing that she was getting pretty far ahead of me, I opted to shove my phone into the pocket of my shorts rather than remounting it on my bike in a hurry to chase her down. We both took an accidental fateful turn off the D10 and began yet another steep climb up the mountain. As I began the climb, I lost sight of Jill and knew given the steepness of the terain, I wouldn't be able to catch her anytime soon. As I struggled up an 18% gradient, a nagging thought came to me. I had looked at our profile earlier and didn't remember another climb like this. I took out my phone, and sure enough, I had turned on the wrong road! I figured Jill had already discovered this error and was back on the main route, so I turned around and started back down the hill. By the time I reached the D10 again, Jill called me. She was even farther up the hill than I had gone and had just realized that we both had made the same mistake. She too had to turn around and descend back down. Once reunited, we resumed our pleasant, mostly flat(!) route. (Jill: thank goodness for cell phones, as being able to communicate saved the day).
Outside the town of Lasko, Komoot had us veering away from the D10 on yet again another climb up the adjoining mountainside. The route then called for a sharp left turn off the road onto a so-called"singletrack" path:
Back down the mountain we rode, where we rejoined the sensible D10. From here on into Celje we rode on a beautifully maintained cycling path that paralleled the river with perfect weather and scenery.
The front desk clerk at our hotel, Hotel Evropa, suggested we dine at the hotel: "We have the best restaurant in the city, and I'm quite serious about that." Oookay. We took his advice and -as has been our usual habit, - sat outside. We enjoyed a good meal although our poor waiter for the entire restaurant was run off his feet and the service was slow, but the food, was good and warm. If you should come across a Slovenian wine from Bastic, give it a go. We very much enjoyed a rose from them in Bovic and we had a cuvee white from them at dinner here--delicious.
The hotel didn't have a garage or storage for our bikes, but the front desk told us just to bring them into the lobby and they would take care of them. The next morning when we were checking out, the front desk clerk said to follow him to retrieve the bikes. We descended two flights of stairs to a cleaning closet where the bikes had been stored. "Where's the elevator?", I asked naively. "No elevator.", said he. "We carry upstairs!" And we did. Schlepping heavy bikes up 2 flights wasn't the most elegant solution to be sure.
We and a nice visit with a Swiss couple at breakfast, also cycle touring. They trained from Switzerland to Graz, Austria and were riding for a month in Slovenia. They had come from Maribor so had some good route suggestions for us.
Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 846 km (525 miles)
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