To Radlje ob Dravi

September 30, 2021

testing the borders

It had rained overnight but there was just heavy low cloud around in the morning. Breakfast was available in the main hotel building and when we arrived into the restaurant it was clear that we were the only guests overnight. The Gasthof Hartl is a family business. This morning, the first generation had the early shift. We were well taken care of as grandma was also responsible for looking after her very shy grand daughter at the same time. The cute little girl was getting ready to head off to the primary school in the village.

The weather appeared that it would improve with time and we were happy to wait as today's ride was not to be all that long. When looking at places to stay in Slovenia along the Drauradweg, there were few places between the Slovenian border and Maribor, Slovenia's second largest city. Since Maribor was beyond a day ride for us, we split this section in the middle and will stay in Radlje ob Dravi.

So why the Drauradweg cycle route?

"Drauradweg or Drava Cycling Route in Carinthia is a very popular distance cycling route. ADFC (German Cyclist’s Association), the most important international organization for classification of cycling routes, marked the Drava Cycling Route in Austria with five stars, the highest possible grade for an individual route in Europe, making this route one of only four cycling routes in Europe with the highest grade."

and, 'The Slovenian section of the Drava Cycling Route predominantly runs along less travelled local roads and to a lesser extent along arranged cycling paths and tracks. Due to various types of road surface and a more demanding climb between Podvelka and Lovrenc na Pohorju, the Slovenian section of the route is more suitable for better prepared cyclists." really? What are we getting ourselves into? demanding climb.....

But first things first. After about 10 kms of mostly downhill we approached the Austrian side of the border where we saw two guards stopping traffic and asking questions of those entering Austria. We thought it would be best to talk to them first before we stepped foot into Slovenia. They confirmed that we would be welcomed back with passports and vaccine cards. Yes!! And off we went down the road to Slovenia only to find no one at their border, just like the old days, so we carried on.

Leaving Neuhaus looking south toward the Austria - Slovenia border. Overcast, but improvement was forecasted.

Main street in Lavamund where we tried to stay but could not find a room on the internet. We were very happy with our stay in Neuhaus.

A short up to get the juices flowing. Notice the newly trimmed grass around the cycle path. The Austrians put much effort in maintaining these cycling routes.

Austrian border guards. No pictures please. But they were very helpful answering our questions.

Our ride started in Slovenia started off a bit on the wrong foot as we missread a sign and headed off in the wrong direction and needed to backtrack, but soon we were following the Drava (Slovenian spelling) on the hillside above. The route today was primarily along hillsides, forests and through small agricultural settlements There were some sketchy parts and some long uphills on dirt forestry type roads but for the most part the unpaved surfaces just kept our pace slow. No need to race as the weather was fine. A well placed coffee stop in Vuzenica fuelled us up for a steep 18 percent up just outside of town.

Dravograd is the first large town near the border in Slovenia.

Same cycle route. New colour signs. Pat is hoping that the routing signs are as good as the ones in Austria.

Our first error reading this sign right off the bat. We cursed ourselves for being so wrong. We took the sidewalk on the right rather than cross the busy road. We continued off track for a kilometre before we realized, as the sidewalk ended, that something was definitely not right here.

Brand new picnic site for cyclists! We passed a couple of these along our route today. They are signed in advance as Parking for Bikes, with the big blue P and a cycle picture, just the way parking for cars would be signed.

This cow knows just how far it can reach beyond the wire to avoid getting a shock.

Coming out of the forest and dirt roads.

An older model tracker made in Yugoslavia. From the web, it was made in Serbia with a Massey Ferguson licensed design. Total of 39 HP from the 1980's.

We reached our hotel in Radjle just after a German couple that we had passed back and forth on route. This was good timing as the door was locked and our host needed to be called to open the door. This is always much easier completed by someone who understands the language and the phone systems.

After wandering along the main Street and having a beer in the late afternoon sun we settled for a pizza near our hotel. Tomorrow we will continue on this cycle route to Maribor.

Somewhere on the ride. Everything is so green.

Heart

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Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 601 km (373 miles)

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