Bovec to Most Na Soci.

July 26, 2023

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Instead of bothering Sue at 5am this morning, I slinked out our first floor room patio door and crept out into a crisp and clear morning hoping to find nice light and anything worthy to photograph. I soon realized that there was no escape from the rear of our hotel as it was completely fenced in. I summoned the fence hopping days of my youth, and found my escape, and off I went into the quiet morning streets of Bovec.

It's always strange being out so early walking the streets alone. The morning working crowd seem to look at you funny, as if you've just had a good night out and are on your way home. But, that's not me. Not any more.

I wandered for awhile and followed some paths out of town and left the houses of Bovec behind, and it began to feel a little eerie as I entered the beech forests which seemed to swallow me up with their darkness. I began to think of the Grimm's fairy tales of the Black Forest, and, to be honest, I became a little creeped out; thinking I might be captured and put into a pie, shoved into an oven, and gobbled up later for some old hag's dinner. So, I turned around; looking behind me nervously as I walked swiftly back to town.

Some farming wall art. Okay. I admit it. At this point I began to get a little scared.

My hasty retreat from the forest and back into the approaching dawn.

Once I returned to our room, Sue was just getting up. Last night we decided that we'd get an early start as the first part of our ride today was on the busier main road, and we wanted to avoid the heavier traffic that would likely develop as the day went on.

The first 20 or so kms of today's ride was on the 203. It had no shoulder, but turned out to be fine as most of the traffic was headed towards Bovec, in the opposite direction we were travelling. The drivers were also courteous, giving us lots of room and also waiting for oncoming traffic to pass before having to sneak around us. The scenery through this section heading south along the Soca River valley was absolutely spectacular.

Heading south from Bovec following the Soca River downstream. Down hill most of the way today!

Sue heading south with her signature hi-vis jacket.

I crossed the street here to get another sexy bike pic.

Heading south with spectacular weather. Crisp and cool. You have to keep your head on a swivel through this part as each bend in the road had incredible vistas.

Cruising downhill following the flow of the Soca River towards Kobarid.

Might as well take a picture and drink some water.

Once we reached the town of Kobarid, we stopped and took a break. We sat, had a coffee and watched the swallows perform their impressive aerial acrobatics from the tower of the Kobarid parish church.

I tried to google translate this. What I surmised was that this was a monument to the Goriska Division with support from Italian partisan soldiers to protect the newly liberated territory of Kobarid.

I wish I had a zoom camera to capture the swallows.

Just downhill from Kobarid. This bridge crosses the Soca River. This is where the gorge across the Soca is at its narrowest. Bridges have been built and destroyed here several times throughout the ages and have spanned this spot from 1616 from the Venetians to Napoleon, to both World Wars. Sue in yellow.

Once across Napoleon's Bridge, we left the 2o3 behind. This is when the ride became exceptional. We were now on a tiny farming road paralleling the Soca and we were able to slow down and forget about any traffic. From this point onwards, we saw more people on bicycles than vehicles.

Quiet roads leading south to Most Na Soci.

We passed through a string of small towns like, Ladra, Kamno, Volarje, Gabrje, Dolje and finally the larger town of Tolmin where we stopped for a break just 5 or so kms from Most Na Soci.

During our break in Tolmin we noticed the black t-shirt crowd with Metal bands blazoned across their backs and chests. The Tolminator Metalfest was going on, and I actually thought about riding back to Tolmin at the end of the day to catch a few acts. For those of you who might not know, I am a huge metal fan. But, that idea was quickly dashed, as we looked towards the darkening sky. Once again, the weather decides.

We arrived in Most Na Soci, found our hotel that has little cabins, and settled in before the rain that was expected later in the afternoon.

Once again, we were able to dodge the weather. It seems that late afternoon thunderstorms seem to common around here.

So. A fantastic day. We're nice and dry. It's raining outside as I write this, and we're eating at the hotel tonight for dinner; so there's no need to go anywhere else. Perfect.

Tomorrow is a bigger day with some climbing as we head to Skofja Loka. The weather looks good, too! We have to put on our climbing legs, though. Wish us luck.

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 269 km (167 miles)

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Bob KoreisI've been to neither place, but your landscape photos often look much like photos I've seen of people's trips in Switzerland. Spectacular.
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9 months ago

Patrick O'HaraHi Bob. Thanks. It's hard to take a bad landscape shot around here. My photos for this journal are little landscape heavy. Going to have to mix it up.
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9 months ago