Tuesday April 18

I met up with Stephen again today, who had a day off from teaching in Nova Goricia, and we debated whether to ride or not because of the predicted rain. After waffling all morning we decided to skip the bike ride (and skip getting cold and wet) and walked across the border to Italy to go shopping. In Italy we found a farmers market, a great candy shop (I’ve been craving licorice), a bazillion bakeries and a great restaurant. It is about 2 miles from where I’m staying to walk to Gorizia, Italy. After all the biking I’ve been doing a walk felt great.

During lunch a well-dressed gentleman walked in to the restaurant we stumbled across and as soon as he placed his cane on a chair, his lunch was delivered to his table. No words were exchanged between him and the waitress as he happily read the newspaper, drank his wine and ate his lunch. There is no better way to choose a restaurant, or a place to feel like a local, as the silent recommendation of such a regular customer. I was happy to have good “restaurant karma” while in another country – it doesn’t always end up that way but when it happens, it’s a meal to cherish. Too bad I won’t be able to find that restaurant again – we were totally lost. And that's a shame because there I devoured the most amazing artichoke I have ever encountered. It was tender, stuffed with cheese and grains and tasted like a million bucks.

After shopping, eating, walking and deciding the skies still looked a lot like rain, and we decided (again) to not ride. Then we changed our minds and got on all our gear, prepped the bikes and headed out of town. And in just a few minutes, the weather turned… beautiful!

Today’s ride made me wonder when I began considering a 24-mile ride “short”. What was supposed to be a short easy day turned into what might be considered a “class 3” climb in the Tour de France.

We were aiming for an easy loop starting in Nova Gorica and staying on the flat roads through the valley. But in the tiny town of Volca Draga we turned right in order to explore a narrow road thinking it would be a fun and easy side trip. Wishful thinking.

Rather than turn back, we chose to continue on this road that climbed 1,300 feet in a series of about 15 amazingly steep switchbacks. In 2 miles we crawled along at about 6 mph on 8% to 14% grades. When I was about ready to bail out and turn around I took a big swig of energy drink and grunted up the last three turns. It was worth it! The views of the valley towns, castles perched on hillsides, beautiful forests, cherry trees in bloom and river winding along the valley floor were breathtaking (not that I had any breath left anyway). Luckily, I didn’t bring my camera and will consequently not be disappointed by how the photos completely fail to capture the incredible view. In other words, my poor photography skills will remain a secret for yet another day.

Once we crested the top of the mountain, the rest of the ride was a series of sweeping downhills. We darted into and out of towns in the blink of an eye, and it felt like flying. An hour and a half later we were back home, and the threatening rain clouds had disappeared to the north. We laughed at the local weather report on the website that still predicted rain and cold temperatures.

Wednesday April 19, 2006

No biking today – I needed recovery. I visited a local member of the Nova Gorica cycling club and he graciously took me on a private tour of the largest winery in the region. In the town of Doborov we arrived at the Goriska Brda winery and he whisked into the giant caves full of oak barrels and casks of wine. It was an incredible experience and well worth taking a day off.