A Bicycle Tour of Slovenia | EPISODE 5: POSTOJNA

Leaving Vrhnika, we encounter a steep climb out of town, and the din of a loud highway, but soon we’re riding through what our tour operator claims is the “real Slovenia”, beautiful countryside, but perhaps fewer tourist attractions. We have one of our best days of cycling as the day is a continuous stream of rollers on lightly travelled roads. The sky continues with its dramatic showing, and by the end of the day we end up in a bit of a deluge, before we decide to head to our hotel early to warm up and dry off. Dinner that night was exquisite.
Music:
Meghmalai - Maree Docia
Epidemic Sound
Bumblebee - Mike Franklyn
Epidemic Sound
Come Daylight - Victor Lundberg
Epidemic Sound
Heaven Was Mine After All - Zorro
Epidemic Sound
Extra Careful - Spectacles Wallet and Watch
Epidemic Sound

[@harhoffs]

I admire the setting - rain and farm bikes.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Haha... never heard the term "farm bikes" but it is an apt description.

[@TerrapinCyclist]

Sketchy brakes! You brought back memories and, thankfully, no real nightmares. Glad you slid your way to a fantastic dinner! Cheers, John

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Hello John! After years of riding on discs, it was a wake-up call to find myself in that position. We did okay though. Cheers!

[@maxdugan5319]

Great video. Cinematic ending excellent as always!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you Max!

[@Liborskompas]

What a great adventure, indeed Europe is ideaal for cycling. The landscape is on every corner diffrent... Europe is the alle world in one continent...😉greetings from the south of the Netherlands

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Europe is just the best. We'll be starting a larger tour (Julianna and I) in Amsterdam come May, if all goes according to plan.

[@johngorentz6409]

As a fair-weather bicycler I guess it was just as well that we were back home in the U.S. by the time you got to these last rides you showed us. But my wife and I promptly came down with covid, which put an end to my October bicycling plans. I sure would like to get back to Slovenia to see these places that you showed us in your video.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yeah, covid keeps getting in our way as well. There is always next year, and the year after that...

[@dondonner1095]

Very nice once again.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

And thank you once again, Don!

[@tonyorme6446]

Another great video. Been enjoyable to watch these 5 episodes so far…

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks so much, Tony. Slovenia turned out to be a great destination.

[@dennispiciullo8060]

Another great video, looked like fun, just like France and cross the US. I only experienced rain once it really didn't bother me that much, but I wouldn't want to do it again.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks Dennis. I'm usually okay with rain, I rarely take off when it's raining, but once I've warmed up it doesn't seem like a real problem unless it's coming down hard. disc brakes make a big difference.

[@PumpkinVillage]

What a great family adventure and some more beautiful country. Love the discussions. Take care, Al

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I got lucky with these fine young ladies!

[@garyseckel295]

SO, much fun to watch these videos! Thank you.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks Gary! We loved this ride!

[@claudemarie9136]

Bonsoir (it’s already dark, here) Bailey, Kelsey et Roland, What an exquisitely charming attention this « filmed by B, K and R ». En vrac (literally « in bulk », in no particular order, randomly), what a good singer with a charming voice !! Never a boring moment, cycling metaphorically, with the three of you in beautiful Slovenia. Name and address of this restaurant requested ASAP, Please. Else, I am sold ! Sold to the following concepts, one yearly long distance, Roland & Julianna exploration trip, every year + one (at least) short, not necessarily abroad or far away, everyone has their time constraints, Roland and girls both of them or one only, bicycle trip in between. Surely where we ride influence us (what type of bike, too, these rented bikes have a lot to answer) but who we ride with, also has an influence on our behavior, appreciation of the scenery and even the elements, somehow this Slovenia tour is different from your previous rides and *equally* addictive, in its own special way. Can’t wait for next episode and for more rides with your daughters in the future. Of course, like everybody else, I miss Julianna, it needn’t being said. C.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Ahhh merci, Claude! It would be lovely indeed to be able to get my daughters away once a year, Unfortunately they are at that time of life when each moment with them is savored, as they are deep in their careers, and their relationships, and personal passions, etc. etc. I will always endeavor to make this happen, prepared for the least and hoping for the most. As I'm writing this Julianna is beside me, we are taking a brief cycling escape from the Colorado winter. We're in Tucson, where it's cold but rideable and very lovely in that desert kind of way. Video(s) to come. We are building our strength back up for a ride from Amsterdam to Venice come May. Hope your winter is kind to you. Bistro Štorja, Ulica 1. maja 1, 6230 Postojna, Slovenia.

[@claudemarie9136]

Bonjour Roland, Again, in no particular order.... « en vrac », Winter.... 🙁 simultaneously mild and wet, very wet, resulting in floods in the North-West of Europe and abnormally dry in the South-West of the Mediterranean Sea. Barcelona harbor authority is hastily building a water terminal (5m€) in order to receive shipments of drinking water from Murcia, Tarragone and even Marseille. Unsurprisingly, the situation on the other side of the border, Perpignan, an area you’re familiar with, isn’t any better. Career, rat race, been there, done that, beefing up resume working abroad, mastering imperfectly a foreign language + a broken command of several others, missing out on the really important things in life which are *not* a house, two cars in the drive and a fleet of grown-up “toys” (bicycles, dirt bikes, a classic car, in the garage and a sailboat moored in the harbor... etc). My [brutal] advice to young people like your daughters would be, be good to yourselves, take care of your health (mental health included), stay away from “food” that slowly but surely will kill you, in order to achieve that : ride bikes with your loved ones ! Sorry but Mum and Dad “business model” is so passé, excuse my french, and not sustainable, anyway. Unless they reassess their priorities, fast, you have a generation of young Americans *and* young Western Europeans (they are no different) which will find out in 30 years time, if not before, that they’ve pretty much wasted their life. My 2€ cents. Bon dimanche !!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Well, Claude, i feel that life is a balance. For me, i alternately worked hard and played hard, worked hard at something that I loved (sometimes too hard) but was able to raise a family with time for the meaningful things, quality time as we like to say. My daughters struggle with the tension of those opposites, but are working on bringing things more into balance. In any case, materialism, money for money's sake, power, ego, etc have little use in a healthy and well-lived life.

[@claudemarie9136]

Couldn’t agree more with your last paragraph !! Have a nice day, Roland.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

D'accord!

[@boyan64]

1:25. tank road. during Yugoslavia there was a strong army tank unit on Vrhnika. and some such roads were intended for tanks to go to positions in the event of an attack on the country

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Very interesting insight! And makes sense.

[@boyan64]

Laze...very good 👍 pronunciation

[@TheBicycleTourists]

thanks!

[@Liborskompas]

P.S did you go also to the Postoinja caves????

[@TheBicycleTourists]

We intended to but the morning was very rainy which altered our plans a bit. So, no, we never did the caves :-(

[@smeaty100]

hi enjoyed the route, trying to figure out a similar route. Would you be able to share experiences re your accommodations, which to recommend and those to avoid. thanks for any help......greetings from Luxembourg

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I can share the route we took, but the accommodations escape me. As always when touring in Europe, inns and guesthouses seemed plentiful and affordable. Here is our route: www.komoot.com/tour/1296530776?share_token=ac1L0NOZu8F2NCgWETA6xnXSUzqn8jGZwT9REzJQ66I83wfbsA&ref=wtd

[@dougpeterson3356]

It's not the rim brakes. It's poor choice of pads. Manufactures don't pay much attention to that detail. Still, rental bikes should have decent brakes.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Not much good with the mechanics, I only know rims don't seem to stop as well in the rain...