Schlink Attack: Cycling in Slovenia

Friday, July 7, 2023

Cycling in Slovenia

For our final activity in Slovenia, we spent the last week riding bicycles from the Julian Alps to the Adriatic Sea. We hired a company called Visit The Good Place to do the logistical planning of bike fitting/issuing, hotels, routes, and luggage management. All we had to do was nag the kids to ride at least 20 minutes every day in anticipation of toughening up their butts. For eight weeks, the kids would sigh, fake smile, and get on a bicycle, probably thinking I was the worst. In the end, our persistence paid off, because they crushed over 300km and their butts were in fine shape. Deets even said thank you for it, rediscovering his love and talent for climbing mountain passes and bombing down them. Margo learned the best skill of all: how to minimize effort on the bike by drafting. She got so good at conserving energy and riding in the peloton, I wouldn't be surprised if she gets recruited to ride for the professionals.

On the plus side of taking this kind of tour, the company moved all of our bags every morning, so packed several cases of wine to bring back to Tashkent. We used an app that kept us on our personalized route, and we got to see many fabulous towns, rivers, and views, at the pace we wanted. The bikes they supplied were fantastic, and I am now partial to gravel bikes. Bike culture in Slovenia is amazing too. We felt safe on the roads and the trails, all of which were in good condition. I learned how to manage loose gravel better on this trip and crashed only once. We had mostly good weather too.

On the minus side, we had to repack all of our junk every morning which got tiresome and SO smelly. Every time someone would unzip a bag, I'd have to brace myself. There was not enough time to get anything washed except for scrubbing the essentials in the shower or sink. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who bothered to hand wash my bike shorts. Some of the routes ended up being too difficult for the kids' grandfather so he had to travel with the bags a few times. On the day it rained, we had no choice but to ride on, though this was actually not so bad. I had never seen Mark so happy, the kids learned how to manage wet weather, and it wasn't too chilly (when we were moving). Breaking for lunch, on the other hand, ended up being uncomfortably cold and I had to fight the urge to drink an extra glass of wine.

After the mountains, we rode into Italy for parts of the ride, through vineyards, and tree logged hills. Nearing Koper, a shipping town the Adriatic Sea, we rode through fields with signs warning of land mines. According to a Landmine and Cluster Munitions Report, they were remnants from World War I, II, and the War of Independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Although the country has since reduced the vast majority of the antipersonnel mines, some are still present for training and research purposes. Slovenia has such a chill vibe, it's strange knowing the country has gone through hell and back. The signs were sobering reminders.

Once we arrived to the sea, we celebrated with gin and tonics and ice cream. The kids played on an inflatable swim playground in the Adriatic and we watched the 29th European Handball Festival competition. The city partied so hard into the night, making for some very grumpy Schlinks the next morning, but at least we didn't have to drive. The tour company took and our mess of stuff back to Ljubljana. We also experienced an impressive amounts of traffic- we'd been warned that beach hungry Germans and Frenchies clogged up the highways in the summer forcing everyone to add several hours of travel time. On our last night, we celebrated a family dinner for Deets' 13th and Mark's 46th, eating steak at Restavracija Špajza, the place our Tour de Slovenia pals recommended. The next day would entail overnight flights, a family locked out of the house, and eventually completing six loads of ~~decontamination~~ dirty laundry.

from the Alps...