The storm is over, the sun is shining. All the wet clothes are fermenting in a 30 l garbage bag and we have a plan: make the route, find a laundromat and make the wet clothes usable again. Our route leads through the Gail Valley along the Gail River. Once again we are happy about the great bike paths that spare us longer sections on busy roads. It rides well today and the rural area is very idyllic. Lush greenery lines the way and agriculture still seems to be in order here. Soon Triglav and its neighboring mountains begin to loom on the horizon. We are heading towards the Julian Alps. Only a forested range of hills along the border separates us from Italy and Slovenia. One particularly beautiful section takes us through a wild, fairy-tale forest. Not surprisingly, we soon discover a sign saying: Bear Area.
In a friendly alpine inn right on the bike route we decide to take a rest for lunch and reorganize the rest of the day. We have made good distance and all feel like tackling the Wurzenpass to Slovenia today. After we have translated the very Austrian menu enough, we dare to try Glundner, Kärntnernudel and Germknödel. While Germknödel and Kärntnernudel taste great, the Glundner is probably not the best menu choice imaginable if you want to cross a pass with a fully loaded bike soon….
Quite contrary to my memory of a bike trip 6 years ago, the Wurzenpass is by no means a nice, tame little pass. The road has some nasty serpentines and already from the first meters a gradient of 10-12% greets us. It is hot, it is hard and the clutches and brakes of the overtaking and oncoming cars spread a very unpleasant smell. Three curves further on, a first sign warns of a 18% incline! This is really pushing the limits of sustained riding! At least for me and Laura. We fight our way up the steep incline with a mixture of pushing and driving. Thomas probably exposes his upper body for the first time in his life while cycling and actually manages to bite through to the top of the pass. At the top we can hardly believe what we have just done. Shortly after, we cross the Slovenian border and speed down to Kranjska Gora. The Triglav now towers up in close proximity and provides an impressive panorama. The laundry is still dirty but sun-dried and so we postpone the laundry action to another time. After today’s ride, however, we have earned a hot shower and so we quarter ourselves in a forest camping.