Lasko to Novo Mesto.

August 3, 2023

A very hard day on the bikes. RideWGPS planned this route for us. I should have known better than to trust an algorithm for our route planning. But, I really blame myself for not doing my due diligence with route planning for today. But, it was an adventure alright.

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Another beautiful day for a bike ride. We set off after a filling breakfast at Villa Monet, and continued to follow the Savinja River downstream; its flow and volume much reduced after the previous rains. With some route finding blunders out of Lasko, we were soon on our way.

I could tell I was fighting the bike today. Sue mentioned this as well as we both seemed to have no legs. Even when climbing the most minor of gradients, our legs burned from yesterday. But, sometimes being on a bike is just like this. And, sometimes the legs just need to be woken up a bit by a hard effort....

Just leaving Lasko, following the Savinja downstream. Morning light backlighting Sue.

We followed the bike path which paralleled the Savinja river and trainline out of Lasko. This was blissful cycling until the Savinja valley began to narrow. With no room for both the bike lane and the train tracks to occupy the same route, the bike path reared up and forced us to climb up steep gradients high above the valley floor; the train tracks far below. These steep pitchy and undulating climbs continued for some time, and these efforts really did a good job of waking up the legs for what was to come at us later in the day.

These structures have been our roadside companions on this tour. They are called Kozolec (translated as Hayracks) and are multipurposed; seemingly used to store firewood, dry hay, corn and store farm machinery and the like. We have passed hundreds of these.

Seems quiet and tranquil, and it is; except for all those deceitfully short and steep leg-breaking climbs.

We continued south towards Zidani Most where the Savinja River meets the mighty Sava. It's so strange to meet with the Sava River again. If you recall, we followed the Sava River about a week ago as we rode out of Kranjska Gora. At that point, very near it's headwaters, it was a clear alpine creek, and now it is a huge and muddy slow flowing river.

The bike path ended just outside of Radeče, and we found ourselves on quite a busy road with a marginal shoulder. This wouldn't last long, and we crossed the old green truss bridge over the Sava River and rode into town. We thought we'd stop for a break, have a coffee and get ready for the next part of our ride, but offerings in the town seemed to be lacking, so we rode on and only noticed at the last moment that a café was open by the Sava River. In hindsight, we should have stopped and sat, but we kept pushing on.

The green truss bridge over the Sava River.

Another sexy bike shot. I can't help it.

A field of beautiful green cabbage. Green is the colour we will always remember Slovenia by.

Once away from Radeče, we turned off onto route 738. I must say that RWGPS did a good job of providing us with the shortest route to Novo Mesto, but sometimes the shortest route is not always the best route for cycling. This was a direct route, up and over some of the steepest features of this landscape. It was very challenging cycling, but it did bring us into some cycling territory that few cycle tourists have ever been.

Sue battling steep gradients away from Radeče.

We're into steep sided grape growing territory, here.

A pleasant reprieve to take in the views.

We crested the top of our first climb at Budna Vas, and began a steep, brake-squealing descent into another land. The road turned to gravel, and the gravel continued to descend into a darker and narrower valley that we thought we'd never get out of again. We really felt like we were in the true wilderness of Slovenia, and I said to Sue, that I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a rare Slovenian bear.

Creek crossing and gravel riding in the deep green abyss.

There's not only one creek crossing to negotiate.

We finally emerged and crossed route 215, and we were onto our next test of the day. Sue and I both don't mind climbing if it's in the 7-9% range, but when the gradients get into the 12-18% with loaded bikes, then it becomes kind of silly. What else is there to do but churn away on the pedals? I might have heard a faint whisper of a curse from behind me, but maybe it was just the wind.

Finally descending towards Novo Mesto. It was amazing how quickly the temperatures soared as we descended out of the hills.

Beautiful rolling terrain as we descended to the Krka River.

After a long day, we arrived in Novo Mesto. We seemed to beat the incoming storm that is expected tonight. Looks like 100% chance of rain in the forecast for tomorrow. We're both proud of our efforts today, and are now enjoying the comforts of air-conditioning and a cold beer at Hotel Center in Novo Mesto. Thanks for following along.

Some shots of our night out in Novo Mesto.

Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles)
Total: 667 km (414 miles)

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