Slovenia

Hello sports fans. I made it through France, the Swiss Alps, the Italian Dolomites and then Slovenia happened. What? Slovenia is full of bicycles. One of the new cycling destinations. The people are friendly and most speak English. What can go wrong?

Well my route went wrong. One of the roads, highway really, has a cycling prohibited sign. My simple efforts to get around the section have failed and I retreated back to a hotel in Kranj last night.

So here I am in a Kaffe shop with a new detailed map of Slovenia in hand. No GPS for me. Instead I'm going old school analog.

Also,  the fellow in the petrol station was super enthusiastic and suggested I go through Ljubljana instead. I think this is similar to what the race winner did. So, it's no longer a reroute around the bad section. Instead it's a whole new route to Croatia.

Here's the rub, however, I'm to be in Berlin on the 21st. That's 13 days from now. I estimate about 5 days needed to get the bike boxed for the flight out to Berlin plus time for immediate recovery and other preparations. That leaves about a week which means Turkey is still possible but time is tight.

Or I can bag the race and tour the area. Slovenia is super friendly and cheaper relative to the rest of Europe. I could swing down to the Croatian coast which is also supposed to be fantastic. I can actually see things other than the white shoulder line which I follow religiously to avoid getting clipped on the busy highways.

It's a tough decision. Physically I feel I can still keep going. Mentally I'm frustrated and fatigued. I hit a hurtle and have been knocked offstride in a way I wasn't expecting.

In other news, although I try to remain vegan it's been impossible for me to maintain under race conditions. Also I'm enjoying a coffee, espresso really, for the first time in over a year. Tastes great but I have to watch for a gut rebellion. Lastly the fellow from the petrol station told me that Skopje, a city I'm to pass through, has had massive flooding with more than a meter of rain in an hour. Twenty dead.