Bencyclopedia – The Mid-life Cyclist

Category: Blog

  • Rest day – 87km

    Brake time

    I found myself with this dilemma: yesterday I had already explored what I wanted to in beautiful central Ljubljana on foot, so what to do today, a day with no linear ride required?

    I figured there are a couple of ways to see the city that I hadn’t already done: from on high (always my favourite), and in the parts that are less well reached by tourists. I had my bike with me, so why not use it?

    Accordingly, I took the morning puffing up hills, and the afternoon going in a massive circle around the city outskirts (the screen shot of the circumnavigation at the foot of the page looks pretty cool). It was a joy to ride a bike without the 20ish kg back end full of baggage.

    A large metal observation tower had been built on one of the highest hills overlooking the city so I headed there first, pedalling and plodding up forest trails for what was a truly spectacular view of the city and surroundings.

    Ljubljana, where I’d come from, in the distant background

    From there I went across to a ruined castle. A very similar ride for very similar views! I’m a sucker for a castle though.

    For part two of my Ljubljana exploration I took the “Trail of Remembrance and Comradship” a cobbled together (but well signed) cycle path around the city taking the route of the barbed wire fence that encircled the city during the Second World War.

    Here was the Ljubljana that tourists didn’t often see. The gasworks and graveyards, the tower blocks, shopping precincts, garages, interchanges, back gardens and playgrounds, sometimes through woodland or through tunnels under motorways, often over gravel tracks or pavement running next to arterial roads. It was fun to see some different parts of the city, even if I was only whizzing through.

    Topped it all off with a burek. Delicious!

    Tomorrow I fly back to the UK for a pre-planned half time break. Part of the break involves some family time, part of it another adventure (using a very different transportation method) which I might post about here. Yes, Jenny is truly a saint.

    Cycling returns on 9th September. Other adventures on 5th September.

    Rest day highlights video