Slovenia here we come! 😃 We're all looking forward to this bit - it's new to all of us (we've never been to Slovenia before) and we have a three night break in Bled to kick back and enjoy ourselves.
After a pretty tough day's riding the day before, we were hoping today would be a tad easier. In some ways it was, in some ways, it wasn't. Read on and you'll see what I mean....
Today's route would see us retrace our steps back down the SP110 towards Chiusaforte and then head east on the SP76. Crossing the Passo Predil on the SS54 would get us to the Slovenian border. With plenty of things to stop and see along the way in Slovenia, this was going to a full day. Bring it on!
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| Route Map for Day 8 |
I woke pretty early and when I looked out the window, the weather was still pretty damp. Twas a real shame because the location of the hotel was stunning with the lake nearby and the mountains in the background.
Over brekkie we decided to stick with the original route and see how the weather behaved as the day progressed. Stuart and Aynsley opted to head straight for Bled as the weather was currently looking iffy and they didn't fancy another days riding in the rain.
We set off south on the SP110 in our wets. This was the same road we'd ridden north the evening before but at least the conditions were a bit better. It's actually a lovely road to ride, no matter what the weather.
As we rode south towards Chiusaforte and then onto the SP76 the weather gradually improved which was great. Not only did the roads start to dry off but the lovely scenery started to show itself as the cloud level raised.
Along the SP76 we spotted a stunning waterfall - the Fontanone Di Goriuda and we pulled over for a better look. Wayne suggested popping up the drone to see if I could get some nice footage of the waterfall.
All went well until I managed to clip a tree and next thing the drone was stuck. So the hunt ensued - I crossed the river to try and locate the drone and the others soon followed. On my way over I almost stood on two black snakes who scuttled off hastily. Hopefully not to inform their mates of my presence! Being Irish, I've not had much exposure to snakes as St. Patrick got rid of them all long before I turned up!
The footage from the drone was still running and showing lots of leaves. So we were shaking trees to see if the image jiggled at all and eventually we found the right tree. Thankfully no snakes came raining down on us as we searched. So cue Seán doing his best Tarzan impression and after some swinging out of branches the drone was recovered mostly unhurt.
All this tree shaking and climbing had us needing a break so we crossed the road into the café for a much needed beverage. Oh, and some cake of course!
My drone related shenanigans earned me the pink jersey of shame. This was reserved for whoever cocked up on the day and yours truly was the first person on the trip to wear it with pride. But it wouldn't be staying on my back for as long as I thought... 😄 Shame, as I think it goes well with my RevIt gear!
Back on the road we passed through some lovely towns and scenery. Tunnels, turns, riverbeds, there was loads to keep our attention as we rode along...
Once we'd crossed the border into Slovenia we came to the junction that was left up to Mangart and right towards Bovec. We turned left, but as we ascended the hill, it became obvious that we were just riding into the clouds and wouldn't be able to see anything once we got up there.
Knowing that we had plenty to see in the Soca valley where things were clear, there was little point spending our time riding around in the mist. So we took the executive decision to turn around and head back down the hill towards Bovec. It's a shame we missed out on Mangart, but it's another reason to come back and visit again.
Back on the 203 and the roads were just class! They were like a rollercoaster made out of tarmac! We pulled in beside a graveyard just outside of Bovec as I wanted to swap over the GoPro battery.
Whilst I faffed away with the gadgets, Pauline had a look around and the lads bantered about the savage roads. We were all excited as Slovenia was a step beyond the likes of Germany, Italy Austria. Well, it was to us at least, so we were like kids at Christmas!
All sorted we were back on the move again. As we rode along the 206 into the Soca valley the roads only got better - this was biker heaven! We caught up on a German registered bike and I was in the mood to play...So I may have fumbled with and then dropped the hammer a wee bit...😊 Sure ye need to every now and then.
The downside of this was that we rode past a few spots in the Soca valley that were meant to be lovely with gorges and swimming spots to dip our weary feet. Ah well, there's always next time!
The road was just awesome - so easy to just have fun. I tucked in behind Wayne for a bit and it was just a joy to be riding the bike!
But as we ascended the Vrsic pass, things started to dampen a bit. First a wee bit of rain and then we were engulfed in mist. Visibility dropped, and we dropped back the pace accordingly.
We pulled over at the Russian Chapel (well, Wayne, Pauline and I did) for a look. The others rode on a hundred metres or so and pulled in.
After a few minutes of taking pics and looking around, one of the lads (Brian perhaps? :-) ) beeped their horn to hurry us up. So we took some more pics. And then a few more! :-)
We got going again and were soon passing through Kranjska Gora. A nice wee town but we didn't stop as we were staying just down the road in Bled.
There is a scenic waterfall, Slap Peričnik, just up a side road from Mojstrana which is meant to be well worth a visit. Wayne had spotted it online before we left and we were both keen to take a look. But I knew some of the lads were keen to land at our accommodation so we pulled over to discuss. Brian and Derek decided to b-line for Bled while Wayne, Jim, Pauline and myself would go check out the waterfall.
My unfailing sense of direction had us going round in circles in Mojstrana for about 10 mins - I swear we were riding through folks back gardens at one stage! But eventually we found our way, and oh boy, was it worth it!
It was a few minutes trek uphill to get to the base of the waterfall - well, suffice to say it was a toughish walk in biker gear!
We hung around for ages, strolling around taking pics and video, and just standing there listening to the cascading water. But eventually it was time to head back to the bikes. The others had WhatsApp'd us saying it was bucketing down in Bled, so Jim headed off ahead of us as he didn't have waterproofs.
After some off road fun and giggles which earned Wayne the pink jersey of shame (a story for another time), we decided to try a bit of selfie-stick filming with Pauline's help...some very gentle off-roading to show off our bike handling skills - not! :-)
As you can see, neither of us had a clue what we were doing...but it didn't take away from the fun we were having!
So we headed back to the 201 and made our way towards Bled. We managed to make it to the apartments in between the heavy rain showers which made for a nicer final leg in the day's riding.
The apartments were really nice - clean, with plenty of living space too. Once we were checked in, unpacked, and showered, we headed out to meet the others who had setup shop in the aptly named Devil's Bar (no surprises there!) down near the lakefront.
After we settled in beside the others the heavens opened - we're talking biblical stuff here! Even the locals were looking pretty shocked. You know that rain that actually looks like a wall of water - that's what was coming down. How happy were we to be off the bikes already!
Before heading for grub, we popped in next door to buy ponchos but they had only four left. :-( Cue a bunch of raggedy Paddies huddled in pairs under cheapo ponchos while legging it up to the Chinese restaurant. I'd say we looked some sight as we stepped in!
All in all a nice way to finish up the day. Despite the weather looking iffy at the start, we'd had great fun both on and off the bikes. Just what the doctor ordered! :-)
We set off south on the SP110 in our wets. This was the same road we'd ridden north the evening before but at least the conditions were a bit better. It's actually a lovely road to ride, no matter what the weather.
As we rode south towards Chiusaforte and then onto the SP76 the weather gradually improved which was great. Not only did the roads start to dry off but the lovely scenery started to show itself as the cloud level raised.
Along the SP76 we spotted a stunning waterfall - the Fontanone Di Goriuda and we pulled over for a better look. Wayne suggested popping up the drone to see if I could get some nice footage of the waterfall.
All went well until I managed to clip a tree and next thing the drone was stuck. So the hunt ensued - I crossed the river to try and locate the drone and the others soon followed. On my way over I almost stood on two black snakes who scuttled off hastily. Hopefully not to inform their mates of my presence! Being Irish, I've not had much exposure to snakes as St. Patrick got rid of them all long before I turned up!
The footage from the drone was still running and showing lots of leaves. So we were shaking trees to see if the image jiggled at all and eventually we found the right tree. Thankfully no snakes came raining down on us as we searched. So cue Seán doing his best Tarzan impression and after some swinging out of branches the drone was recovered mostly unhurt.
All this tree shaking and climbing had us needing a break so we crossed the road into the café for a much needed beverage. Oh, and some cake of course!
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| Yummy yummy! |
Back on the road we passed through some lovely towns and scenery. Tunnels, turns, riverbeds, there was loads to keep our attention as we rode along...
Once we'd crossed the border into Slovenia we came to the junction that was left up to Mangart and right towards Bovec. We turned left, but as we ascended the hill, it became obvious that we were just riding into the clouds and wouldn't be able to see anything once we got up there.
Knowing that we had plenty to see in the Soca valley where things were clear, there was little point spending our time riding around in the mist. So we took the executive decision to turn around and head back down the hill towards Bovec. It's a shame we missed out on Mangart, but it's another reason to come back and visit again.
Back on the 203 and the roads were just class! They were like a rollercoaster made out of tarmac! We pulled in beside a graveyard just outside of Bovec as I wanted to swap over the GoPro battery.
 |
| Graveyard near Bovec |
All sorted we were back on the move again. As we rode along the 206 into the Soca valley the roads only got better - this was biker heaven! We caught up on a German registered bike and I was in the mood to play...So I may have fumbled with and then dropped the hammer a wee bit...😊 Sure ye need to every now and then.
The downside of this was that we rode past a few spots in the Soca valley that were meant to be lovely with gorges and swimming spots to dip our weary feet. Ah well, there's always next time!
The road was just awesome - so easy to just have fun. I tucked in behind Wayne for a bit and it was just a joy to be riding the bike!
But as we ascended the Vrsic pass, things started to dampen a bit. First a wee bit of rain and then we were engulfed in mist. Visibility dropped, and we dropped back the pace accordingly.
We pulled over at the Russian Chapel (well, Wayne, Pauline and I did) for a look. The others rode on a hundred metres or so and pulled in.
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| Lots of cobbled hairpins which are actually quite grippy! You can see the others parked down the road a bit. |
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| Russian Chapel |
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| Wide angle view |
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| History behind the Russian Chapel - very sad |
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| How many pics can we take :-) |
There is a scenic waterfall, Slap Peričnik, just up a side road from Mojstrana which is meant to be well worth a visit. Wayne had spotted it online before we left and we were both keen to take a look. But I knew some of the lads were keen to land at our accommodation so we pulled over to discuss. Brian and Derek decided to b-line for Bled while Wayne, Jim, Pauline and myself would go check out the waterfall.
My unfailing sense of direction had us going round in circles in Mojstrana for about 10 mins - I swear we were riding through folks back gardens at one stage! But eventually we found our way, and oh boy, was it worth it!
It was a few minutes trek uphill to get to the base of the waterfall - well, suffice to say it was a toughish walk in biker gear!
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| Celebrations! |
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| Yaay! |
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| Are we there yet? |
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| See if you can spot Jim.... |
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| Simply stunning |
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| Obligatory selfie |
We hung around for ages, strolling around taking pics and video, and just standing there listening to the cascading water. But eventually it was time to head back to the bikes. The others had WhatsApp'd us saying it was bucketing down in Bled, so Jim headed off ahead of us as he didn't have waterproofs.
After some off road fun and giggles which earned Wayne the pink jersey of shame (a story for another time), we decided to try a bit of selfie-stick filming with Pauline's help...some very gentle off-roading to show off our bike handling skills - not! :-)
As you can see, neither of us had a clue what we were doing...but it didn't take away from the fun we were having!
So we headed back to the 201 and made our way towards Bled. We managed to make it to the apartments in between the heavy rain showers which made for a nicer final leg in the day's riding.
The apartments were really nice - clean, with plenty of living space too. Once we were checked in, unpacked, and showered, we headed out to meet the others who had setup shop in the aptly named Devil's Bar (no surprises there!) down near the lakefront.
After we settled in beside the others the heavens opened - we're talking biblical stuff here! Even the locals were looking pretty shocked. You know that rain that actually looks like a wall of water - that's what was coming down. How happy were we to be off the bikes already!
Before heading for grub, we popped in next door to buy ponchos but they had only four left. :-( Cue a bunch of raggedy Paddies huddled in pairs under cheapo ponchos while legging it up to the Chinese restaurant. I'd say we looked some sight as we stepped in!
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| Dinner time Chinese style! |
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