And So It Begins

 

“Farewell sorrow, praise God the open door,

I ain’t got no home in this world anymore.”

 

And so it begins. Nine days of biking in Slovenia with my wife and three friends. The first minutes of the first day always brings that blessed sense of release as you start wheeling through the woods and fields cradled by mountains. No more attention to the claims of identity, of accomplishment, of the busyness of business. Touching back to that 21-year old first setting forth in the world, one’s life spread out before you like an open book that hasn’t been written yet, all promise and possibility. Grateful for it all.

 

That was my Facebook Post, with a few photos thrown in. Here are some of the more mundane details of our first official day of biking.

 

The trip actually began in the van hauling the bike up a hill some seven miles long. With our electric bikes, I think we could have done it, but we were fine with starting downhill. Probably another seven miles or so without needing to pedal much, giving new meaning to being “over the hill.” Finally straightened out to some flat land and hit our stride. Some car traffic, a few towns and finally arrived at the lake near Bohinji. Quite a bit bigger than the one at Bled, with kayaks for rent and a bustling little tourist area. We found a bench to have our lunch and then set off alongside the lake to see a recommended waterfall.

 

Lovely to bike with the lake on our right through wooded roads—that is, until the rain began. But as the Swedes say, “there is no bad weather, just bad clothes.” So I donned by new raincoat I bought last week at Sports Basement and it did the job, but was no help for my blue jean pants getting soaked through. By the time we arrived at the base of the waterfall, the rain had mostly let up. We locked our bikes and began the ascending the hill with intermittent steps, some 600 plus by the end. Stood in proper awe of the double waterfall and equal awe that us folks in our 70’s could do that walk after a few hours of biking! Back down, reverse trip with the lake on our left and then a new road to begin the last leg to our hotel. Ended up on a beautiful dedicated bike path next to the river, exactly like the kind I know in Salzburg and lo and behold, the rain began again. 

 

Finally arrived at our hotel, grateful to get out of wet gear and rest a bit before searching for dinner. Which we found at a quaint restaurant called Strudel that served traditional dishes like sausage in barley stew and mushroom soup and strangely, not a green salad in sight. But we made do and topped it off with a apple strudel. 

 

Weirdly, tomorrow is a “rest day”—ill-timed coming so soon at the beginning of the trip when we’re just ready to hit a rhythm and truth be told, not as much to do here as at Bled. But it’s all good, this life of just being and I hear the hotel has a pool.

 

So ends the official Day 1.