SLOVENIAN KAMNIK ALPS LOOP BIKE TOUR with Stanley

I like my Blog  to focus on bicycles and the positive contributions bikes can play in our lives.    I had already ridden & written about the Kamnik Alps loop bike ride. MAP.  I’ve been wanting to re-do the ride because of the nature and people this tour provides.  Stanley wanted to visit Slovenia, so this was the perfect ride to show off Slovenia (& a little of Austria too).
We rode 3 hours to Jezersko the first day and stayed with Mateja (the tea guy).  I offered to take them out to dinner for hosting us, “why not?” was his response.  The next morning we had breakfast at the Senk Farm.  Senk Farms have great apartments and camping sites, with stunning views of the Kamnik Alps.

I think biking offers the best compromise while travelling, the people, nature and the pace all give you the apprectiation of being alive.  The next morning we head up to the Austrian border and I meet a “newbie”, (his first bicycle tour).  He was so excited, he wanted to take a selfie of us.  The climb to the Austrian border is pretty easy, then a great downhill.  The next up hill qualifies me as a professional bike walker. It took me  1 1/2 hours to  walk up hill. But near the top I started feeling petty good about myself, I passed a car that didn’t quite make it.  The downhill again was awesome all the way to the  Lagarska Dolina. (google photos).  Last time I borrowed the E-Bikes from the entrance station, to ride to the waterfall. Well, we borrowed the e-bikes again, it made visiting the waterfalls possible.

My goal of this repeat tour was to spend time at NATURAVANTURA.  The hosts are super people and too, I wanted to  tour the local roads.  We had a great trout dinner at the campground.  The back roads tour, Luce festival, and the campground were all great.

I love bike touring, but still avoid riding in the rain.  The weather was calling for thunderstorms and showers.  We decided to leave a day early and ride the 3 hours to Kamnik.  That turned out to be a great decision.  Kamnik is having a festival with crafts, cruiser bike display, live music, and “free” beer.  I quit drinking maybe 14 years ago?  But I’ve had a few lately, retired.  There was a local brewer  giving away his product for people to try.  I told the guy I was from Portland Oregon, he was very excited to see what I thought of his beer, it was SUPER!  I told this young couple from Spain about the free beer, he ran over but couldn’t find it.  We went back together, just as the beer ran out.  I felt bad and bought us all the same beer in a bottle. We walked around to Magna Rota bike club’s cruiser bike show.  Kamnik is a must visit city, especially during KAMFEST in August.

For me the best part of bike touring is setting up camp and to go exploring, without all your gear.
Here’s a video of our day ride out of camp.

It was a great trip that I would repeat and repeat again.  It’s great to leave my house and within a couple hours there’s waterfalls, mineral springs, nature, huge mountains all with  nearly car-free roads.  I hope this encourages people who have thought about trying bicycle touring, to make the move and give it a try.  I’ve been touring since I was 16, now I’m 60 and still riding.

Hope you enjoyed the blog, be sure to leave a comment if you like :).
Ride On,
Jeff
NEXT:  I VISIT VELENJE, SLOVENIA AND TEAR UP THE TOWN WITH AN E-BIKE, CASTLE MUSEUM HAS AMAZING AFRICAN ART DISPLAY, WHOLE WHEAT CROSSIANT- FILLED WITH CHOCOLATE., COAL MINING TOUR.  IT’S A GREAT VISIT.