Reaching Ljubljana
After a quiet trip through the night I arrived in Ljubljana at 4 a.m. At that time, getting a hotel room would have been a waste so I got on the bike and started rolling, slowly. The movement kept me warn in the five degrees cold and it's not like I had anything else to do anyways. With the roads almost empty I was free to roam around the Slovenian capital so I zigzagged through its center for a while before I found the road up to the castle.
By the time I reached the fortifications -- the interior of the castle was closed, sadly -- it was around half past six and the temperature had reached its low point. Finally however the sun rose over the hills in the east so I stopped for a power nap in the first gleaming rays by a bench with a stunning panorama over the town and the Alps in the background. I grabbed breakfast down near the Dragon Bridge, observing a farmer's market to the left and seagulls over the Ljubljanica river on the right. This being my first time in Ljubljana, I'm already a fan of the place.
All I wish for is warmer nights -- though since it's well established that wishes are unreliable, I did drop by an outdoor store to buy a pair of merino underpants as a safeguard. You never know what the nights out there in the mountains have in store for you.
Registration
In the afternoon Bruno, the organizer, assembled the riders in a park near the town center for the obligatory tracker and goodie pack hand-out. Turs out there was a lottery among participants of a new backlight so now I have three of those. Yeah for more visibility!
Among the riders the main topics being discussed were a) the weather, and b) bears. The bear shitpost from the Quickbite made waves; let's hope that's all we'll be seeing of those animals. A few interesting conversations later I was back on the bike heading for the hotel; I've got some sleep to catch up after a night on the bus after all.
The alarm is set.
gps tracks
gallery
