Postojna - A Mad Dash to End the Day 115 Metres Underground - Poking Around Europe 5.0

October 1, 2018

Postojna - A Mad Dash to End the Day 115 Metres Underground

Ljublijana to Postojna

Last night on our walk to dinner we enjoyed the crisp clear blue sky as the sun hit the castle. This morning we woke up to fog. We weren’t too concerned as we knew it would burn off, and it did, very quickly. Today was sunny with cloudy periods and perfect riding weather.

We polished off one more fantastic breakfast at the Hotel Lev. I said a sad farewell to our suite and our robes. The front desk sold us a Europe to North America adaptor as Keith and I seem to have a fondness for leaving them behind. We have lost two this trip. We were very pleased because searching for one in Europe is a challenge. We know this because we have had to do it before. Sheesh.

Look at that fog. Bike commuters at about 7:30 AM from our room. Keith zoomed in.

We made our way out of town with only one minor glitch. We headed east instead of west. I was just following the CN, enjoying all the beautiful buildings and happy we were going through the historical center one more time when he stopped and shook his head. I was actually delighted. I got to see it two more times 👍. We also discovered something new, a wee alley that had sculptures all the way up. They were faces and evidently depict life from a baby to old age according to the young woman we asked.

More detail from the alley. This was a fountain.

This doorway was well out of the tourist zone but really interesting.

The rest of the ride out of Ljubljana was seamless. I always find the rides out of cities and towns so interesting as we are not on highways or even busy streets. You wind through neighbourhoods, past schools and past people living their lives. I always enjoy looking at the architecture of the houses and people’s flowers and gardens. The poor CN has to pay a bit more attention to where we are but I just follow along and enjoy. Once out of Ljubljana itself we wove our way on bike paths and quiet secondary roads for the first 30 km or so. It was basically flat, paved and just a great ride. We went through many small communities and farms.

Keith and I were killing ourselves laughing as we took a picture in a mirror at the fact that he has developed very short legs and we have both gained weight. The nicest man thought we were trying to get a picture of the two of us and came right over to help. So kind.

Then the second part of the ride began. We started to climb, and the first part was on gravel. It really slowed us down. I was just grateful it was uphill. I find that easier to manage. The CN told me we only had two more km to go when we stopped on a log for a picnic lunch, and those two km took awhile to cover.

Well, at least we aren’t down there mixing it up with the big boys.

Ugh. I don’t mind natural surfaces but loose gravel scares me. Keith is very patient.

Fortunately the loose gravel portion was a very small part of the day. Keith made some good decisions on the route. The secondary highway into Postojna was very lightly traveled and at the end of the day we decided to just stick with that. We had a series of switchbacks before arriving at our hotel and I was getting impatient for them to end because we didn’t want to miss the caves! Today is October 1 and the last tour started at 4 PM. The fall schedule started today.

There were a series of these. The first with an upright motorcycle and a check, next a motorcycle heavily leaning into the turn and an x, then this one. We thought the crosses in the background were a nice touch.

We have a cave to visit. Darn these switchbacks.

We arrived at the front desk at 3:40 PM, threw our stuff in the room, and ran the km to the cave. Yup, we ran. We made it with about five minutes to spare and it was so worth it. The Postojna Cave is huge. They take you in and out on a train. The train takes about 10 minutes each way. Then you walk for over an hour taking it all in. We are so glad we went.

Nothing like a good run after a day of bike touring 😜.

We thought we had lots of time, and then we hit that wall! The second half of the ride was slower than the first.

https://www.relive.cc/view/1877535118

The wind is absolutely howling outside and it is raining as I write this. The forecast tomorrow is for sun. We’ll see, but we hope the meteorologists are right. We certainly are glad we weren’t riding in this weather today. It is an ugly night out there.

Today's ride: 61 km (38 miles)
Total: 1,609 km (999 miles)

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