Kranjska Gora To Bled Dayride.

July 24, 2023

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Looks like a perfect riding day. A look out from our room this morning.

The shutters on the weather window are closing in on us. Tomorrow looks like a complete washout, with what looks like at this point a very heavy storm approaching from the west. Today, looks like a good day for a ride, though, as the incoming storm is expected to arrive later this evening and looks to intensify over night; which pretty much dampens our plan for our planned ride over Vrsic Pass into Bovec tomorrow. Bummer.

So, as all seasoned cycle tourers know, you have to remain flexible and adapt accordingly. For those people who know me, those are adjectives that may not entirely be in my wheelhouse, and Sue gently reminds me from time to time that I may need to work on those kinds of things. So, I suppose we'll have to take that shuttle over the pass and into Bovec tomorrow after all; if the weather forecast is correct, that is. But, I am always a skeptic when it come to weather. Funny thing about weather. It always changes. So, we'll keep an eye on the forecast, cross our fingers and toes and hope for the best. But, deep down, I know it doesn't look promising. So, as I write this, Sue is in communication with the shuttle service as a back up plan, just in case.

Just leaving KG heading east along the Alpe Adria. We must say that we're getting spoiled with this cycle route.

So, with full bellies from a great breakfast, we were off on the road before 8am. From the several weather websites we looked at, the rains looked like they would begin late this afternoon. What was especially fantastic about the beginning of today's ride was the consistent 2% downhill gradient which whisked us away for 25 kms. We enjoyed this while it lasted, because we knew we would have to reclaim this elevation on our return. A beautiful and cool morning.

I've never seen an arched truss bridge like this. It really was appealing in its design.

For the bridge nerds out there. You know who you are.

The Alpe Adria kicked us off and onto the road for a brief spell. But, the traffic was light and the drivers courteous. Sue up ahead.

The Sava River. The Sava is 990 kms long and, according to Wiki, is the longest tributary of the Danube River.

When we approached the town of Jesenice, the ride began to get a little unpleasant. We were moved onto busier roads with more traffic than we'd like until the town of Lipce. It's here where we encountered our first climb of any significance and brought us up leg-screaming gradients of up to 18%. Up and over this knoll was followed by a fast descent into the Bled Lake basin.

The iconic Assumption of Maria Church sits on a small island in Lake Bled. I joked with Sue and told her that I was going to rent a row boat and row her over to the island and ask her to marry me. We've been together for 31 years and besides, she thought it to be a little cliche. What's a boy to do?

Another one of the iconic Lake Bled places. Bled Castle.

I typed into ChatGPT: what are some weird facts about Bled Castle and this is strangely one of the facts it gave me:

Haunted Tale: Like many ancient castles, Bled Castle has its share of ghost stories and legends. One such legend is about the "Lady of the Lake." According to the tale, a young widow lived in the castle in the 16th century. She fell in love with a young man who was a commoner, but their love was forbidden. The couple tried to escape on a boat across Lake Bled, but a storm sank their boat, and they drowned. Since then, it is said that the ghost of the Lady of the Lake appears on stormy nights, haunting the castle and the lake.

Humm....maybe renting a rowboat might not be such a good idea after all.

Although Lake Bled is beautiful, we had our fill of the crowds. We had a nice salad lunch and thought we'd make haste as the skies began to close in on us. We were still only half way through our ride at this point and still had to consider the fact that we had another 35+ kms to ride back to KG.

Such a trooper. The mountains behind increasingly shrouded by the approaching storm.

Climbing out of the Lake Bled basin with incoming stormy skies in the distance.

Approaching the Radovna Valley. You may not be able to tell, but there was a deep and clear pool of water after the waterfall begging for a swim. I was tempted, but I also imagine that that water was also ice cold!

List of soldiers from the Radovna Valley who died during WWII. Note the Red Star.

I remembered reading in Scott and Rachel Anderson's journal about the event below when they travelled through here several years ago. I had forgotten all about it, until we happened upon this tragic site, and it jogged my memory.

The ride through the Radovna valley was perhaps the best kms of the day. Tranquil. Quiet. Excellent road. I regret not choosing to go this way on our way to Bled, and I'm not sure why we didn't? If you ever come this way, you must ride through this incredible route.

As we passed through the valley, we came upon a mass of destruction! It was clear from the thousands of downed trees that a severe storm had passed through here. We supposed that hurricane force winds must have been responsible for this scale of damage. It was actually quite alarming to see the scale of the catastrophe. We cycled for about 5 or 6kms through areas of downed trees; many uprooted trees had been recently trimmed and removed to allow access to the road. It was something. We thought about our ride to Venzone and wondered if this was the same storm responsible for this destruction. If you were a cyclist cycling through the Radovna valley when this storm hit, you would likely be dead.

Like this for at least 5 kms! 90% the trees were down.

Once out of the trees, the valley opened up revealing incredible vistas.

We had a few hard humps to get over before we found ourselves back along the Sava River.

Sue tackling one of the short punchy 18%'ers.

Heading back into the Sava river valley and headed for home in KG.

We arrived just in time as the sky opened up. Time to have a beer and write this journal.

Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 224 km (139 miles)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	6

David MathersLooks like a great day ride, except for the 18% bit! Glad you missed the rain and the falling trees!
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9 months ago

Scott AndersonTo David MathersI’m sorry I didn’t say something about the ride through Radovna. I thought about it. It’s such a great road, and this would really be better as an out and back.
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9 months ago

Patrick O'HaraSo true, An out and back would have been better..
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9 months ago

Patrick O'HaraTo David MathersHey Dave. The 18%ers were thankfully shor. The destruction and downed trees were something , alright. Glad we weren't riding through here when it happened.
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9 months ago

Rachael AndersonWhat a great day! Congratulations on making it over all those climbs!
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9 months ago

Patrick O'HaraThanks Rachel. You probably remember these!
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9 months ago