June 17, 2025
Alps to Adriatic day 1 - Ljubljana to Bled
Bike infrastructure galore
https://ridewithgps.com/routes...
We got a little delayed start as the brakes and saddles etc. needed some fine tuning.
Just for context: Ljubljana is the capital and largest city of Slovenia, located along a trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region. With a population approx 300,000, it’s one of the smallest capitals in Europe. The city symbol is a dragon.
The first five miles out of Ljubljana were on segregated bike lanes and we were marveling at all the bike commuters and ogling the bike lanes. Then we moved into the country and just enjoyed the ride.
We went through the medieval town of Škofja Loka, one of Slovenia’s oldest settlements. We checked out the castle and a 14th century stone bridge.
Then we were in just peaceful countryside as far as the eye could see. The bikes routes are well labeled. Some include single lane country roads but we saw more bikes than cars. I think we were on roads with regular traffic only 10% of the day! Cars seem to give us space and we’re still getting used to the angled crosswalks where we cross streets on bike lanes. Cars come racing to you but slam on their brakes always to give way to us first. I was comparing that to Streets in the US and this just so much safer and more pleasant riding than the us!
We had a steep climb into Bled, Slovenia’s most iconic town. Bled, a Slovenian resort town in the foothills of the Julian Alps, is set along the glacial Lake Bled. On a cliff overlooking the lake is the 11th-century Bled Castle. Atop a small island in the lake's center is a Church. I took a swim later and it’s about the temp of Lake Whatcom in summer.
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Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 188 miles (303 km)
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