Nova Gorica

I spent the day riding the Vipava trail. Had not heard of it but it seemed to zigzag far away from any cities, so off I went. I spent this 35⁰ C day climbing gravel uphill. There were no other bicyclists on this trail, I wonder why.

This was a gravel path going through peach and wine country. It's interesting to see the land transition from forest to farm. I had 3 or 4 swims in the Vipava each chance I got.

When I arrived in the eponymous town, I found a beautiful restaurant with a terrace overlooking bright green algae in the river. There were large trout and carp swimming around. This seemed like the place to end my Vipava ride. I got talking to Luka, a large and friendly guy from Ljubljana. In the short amount of time that is two beers, we spoke of everything from fishing to tattooed librarians to scrap metal depositing to the history of Samarkand.

Feeling happy at the way this ride ended, I left the restaurant and got on Schopper. What's this? A flat tire! Argh, not now. I went to the gas station a few minutes before they closed. So I got to try finding and fixing the hole in the tire under the watchful and impatient gaze of the station attendants. With six hands, we got it done within a few minutes and they were off on their way before I finished my thanks.

This made my day even more eventful than I had wanted. I scouted for a place to sleep in town - and met a farmer who was ok with me pitching my tent. There was a little stream next to the spot! So I got to wash up and cool down from this terrifically hot day before going to sleep.Read more