The haunted bridge and seven black cats

The 3rd stage of Rekreatur 2014 is finally marked out. Apologies, we are late due to the enthusiasm of Slovenian road contractors who were happily working on the routes we wanted to ride! Part of the route has just been dug up and we are worried that this could also happen just before the start of the Rekreatur!

About 2 weeks ago, we cycled the 3rd stage and measured the logitudinal profile. There are some new track details for you. The biggest effect of the construction works is that the route is now extended from the original 85.0 km to 103.5 km. But do not fear, Kranjska Gora is about 500 m higher than Kranj, so you will mostly go downhill… well, almost

We are reliably informed that there is a real chance that we will be the first ones to ride the new bike path sections “Ratece – Obrežje (from Italy to the Croatian border) / Mojstrana – Jesenice.” Construction works are so fresh that you can smell the asphalt!

Now to the main title of this update: When you leave the first part of the bike path before Mojstrana and connect to the local road, you soon  cross the bridge over the river Sava Dolinka. And this bridge has a most interesting legend that goes something like this:

“Jake Lakota, was a little bit tipsy while crossing the bridge and in the middle he saw a black cat almost as big as a bull, with eyes like balls of fire, his tail flashing through the air like a Turkish sabre! Jake was not afraid and fought the cat as best he could. But the cat did not run away … Even worse – 100 more black cats all as big as bulls suddenly appeared… Jake grabbed his shoes and ran as fast as he could! ..*. “(* DELO newspaper,19.08.2011, page 17). And the evidence that the legend is true are the 7 black cats, which still stand on the side of the bridge!

Along the the 3rd Stage route you will find “Kopivood”, the taste of an ironworkers meal, you will feel the temperature of the water at Lake Bled and taste the sweetest thing in Radovljica. There will be many more stories as we follow the Gorenjska roads most of us barely know. Believe me, we have some wonderful roads in front of our noses! And as tradition commands, at the end of 3rd stage stage there is 300m long uphill at Jelenov klanec, finishing in the picturescue Maistrov trg market square in the ancient city centre of Kranj.