Sunday, 11 October, at 11 o'clock: 11 cyclists, and about 11 degrees outside.
Ones all round — and, most importantly, not a single puncture in any of our tyres. Some of us came by bike from Trnovo, Trzin and Medvode, others by car from a little further afield; we gathered in front of the swimming pool in Domžale, which is apparently about to get its roof any day now, and set off together.
Along the Kamniška Bistrica
Uroš first took us to a petrol station, where he pumped up his tyres and promised a lovely ride by the water. A light cloud cover showed both dark and bright clouds in shades of white, grey and blue as we turned onto the left bank and its well-kept, mostly flat gravel paths along the Kamniška Bistrica river.
The riverside offers plenty to do: walking, running, cycling, tennis, volleyball, and playgrounds for children. The air is excellent too, with the scent of forest and mushrooms. The glitter and murmur of the river add a special charm and a chance to switch off.
Our little team managed to get past all the runners and stay on the path, right up to our first short stop by the Kamnik bypass. Here we wished one member a safe journey home to her poorly dog. Unfortunately, on her way back she ended up doing gymnastics on her bike with a phone in her hand, in a way that was not pleasant at all.
The Eko Resort in Godič
Our destination was the Eko Resort in Godič. A wonderful setting, lovely little wooden houses and even the small church of St Christopher — the unique architecture of genuine herdsmen's huts, which you don't get to see only on Velika planina.
Besides the cottages, garden, playground and petting zoo, the resort also has a very sturdy and imposing 18-metre wooden tower — a hunting observation post said to be the largest in the world, weighing all of 150 tonnes. Luckily the sun peeked out too, giving us a beautiful view all the way to the mighty mountains.
They also have an FKK beach by the river, a motorhome area and a jetty with a restaurant on an artificial lake. We ate our tasty meal in the warm indoors, right by the fireplace, where we also enjoyed a good chat.
A Sweet Return
The return was sweet, as we treated ourselves to huge scoops of ice cream in Kamnik. It was sunny too, because we puffed and panted so hard that we managed to blow away the grey clouds, and slowly made our way home along sunny paths by about six in the evening.
For some of us the counter showed as many as 61 kilometres, and the trip earned top marks — a five out of five. We'll be cycling again!