koFce

Well, Luka is milking the time with Babi Inge, Zala is loving her alone teenage-time, Ryan is still in US and I get to go on a solo adventure! I love learning about and exploring new bike trails. It does mean stopping lots, route finding and looking at an app of sorts instead of flying down a trail… BUT it also means stopping to look around, pick fresh berries along the way, enjoy the views, notice all the cool huts and places that I pass, sit on many benches along the way and take lots of pictures. I love it.

I tried to connect with a local mountain bike guide from Bled to go for a ride together but our timing didn’t align. He said he was riding Kofce later in the day. I only had time in the morning, I looked it up a bit on internet and decided - Kofce trail above Tržič it is!

The climb starts with a spectacular Dovžanova soteska, through a high-valley town Dolina and even though the climb gets steeper towards the Kofce mountain hut it covers such diverse geography in 10km that you get there before you know it. If you were just going for a ride you’d skip the top portion towards the hut and hit the flow trail to your left. However, I heard all these stories about the delicious štruklji (Slovenian traditional dumpling-like dish) so I rode some and hiked the steep sections all the way to the hut. Soooo worth it. I had one sirov štrukelj (cheese dumpling) and one ajdov štrukelj z orehi (buckwheat dumpling with walnuts). Yum! And then, I was ready to ride.

The top part was a full hiking trail with lots of roots and stair cases made of soil, mud and wood. Lots of on-and-off the bike action, some super steep bumpy sections that I rode and somehow didn’t crash… all good stuff. I was back on the road again, turned left onto the trail and all the fun was ahead of me! Long foresty sections, smooth trail then grassy terrain then roots and rocks and tight corners. This trail has it all! I rode past some funky old cabins, the views opened up and closed off again, the trail kept on going. I loved it!

I’m sitting at a cafe back down in Tržič, drinking some Schweppes and my second coffee of the day. Life is good!