October 18, 2016
Oct 18 - Trieste to Piran, Slovenija: First day on the road
Rooms Alibi 11
THE first day of riding on the '30 Years Later' tour. And staying true to the UK trip in 1986 I haven't trained enough and may have underestimated the hills. Again. Common trend for me. Not to mention that I was expecting a 31 km day. So much for guidance by gps. I suppose the actual across-the-water distance is 31 km, but I did not come across the water. I cycled over all of those hills. Correction: I cycled and walked here.
All of this mentioned, Piran is beautiful. Even in the mist and rain. But as luck would have it, the skies are clearing and the sun is supposed to be out shortly and for tomorrow.
The day actually started mysteriously misty as I headed away from my bnb and searched for the parenzana bike trail. When I arrived to Muggia I found that I had overshot it by about 2 km so backtracked to search again. Not at all easy to find, it was signposted as the D8 cycle route which I found and lost through parts of the day. As the mist increased and a few drops started to fall. As the rain increased into heavy rain and finally into pouring rain so if there was any chance of staying somewhat dry, it was all lost. So hard was the rain that it was difficult so see out of my yellow glasses (to brighten gray days).
Though the weather outside was frightful, the scenery was really beautiful, and had it been a sunny day would have been unforgettable, I am sure. The route went through overhanging trees, up steep hills and through pretty towns and villages.
When I thought I was almost to my finally destination, I found that it was only Izola and still had almost 10 km to go. I veered from the gps route thinking that it would be shorter and prettier. It was pretty but had some killer uphills and wild downhills which wore my brake pads almost to zero. I will need to stop at the next bike shop I see. With these hills I am going to need good stopping power.
Piran is out on a spit extending into the sea which means two things. I had to ride all the way down to get to my hotel in the old centre, and, tomorrow I will have to climb all that way back out. The road closer to the centre hugged the water's edge and past all kinds of fishing boats - certainly a good sign for me. My room was in a building deep within the old centre - the gps was really helpful in finding it, but the place was locked up tightly with nobody around. That is where lunch came in, so I decided to return when reception opened at 2 pm. Which I did to find they were still not open at 14h30.
Luckily, a fellow came along shortly thereafter to open up, apologizing profusely that his receptionist had to be away today so he was doing everything. I was able to keep my bike in my room so after a nice warm shower I headed out to wander the old town, get some great photo shots, and look for a usb charger for my device - which I was unable to find. These days, not only is the device a means of communicating with home, but it is my journal, my book, my evening entertainment and my travel research. I must find a charger - easier said than done on a bike.
After an afternoon snooze, I headed out for some artsy photos around the main square and stopped at another restaurant for fish and salad. They also let me charge my device while I had dinner. Now back at the room, I will read until my device dies and end a first day of this epic trip.
- Piran, Slovenija
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- Piran, Slovenija
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- Piran, Slovenija
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Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 52 km (32 miles)
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