Kranjska Gora

I was headed up to Kranjska Gora which was to be the furthest north that I would go. Its tucked into the northwest part of Slovenia and is an equal distance from both Austria and Italy, which seems you could reach easily in half an hour.
I took my time heading out of Bled and took some more photos of the picturesque town and stopped in at the Vintar gorge on the way out. How they built the boardwalk is a feat in itself as it winds down the gorge for almost a kilometre.

Once I was on the road I could see the peaks of the Julian alps each time I passed through a valley. The perspective of them kept changing so it seemed like it would take forever to get there as I was stopping every 5 minutes to grab a photo.

I finally got into town and went to the TIC (tourist information center) and got sorted for a place to stay for the night. The next day would involve some pretty hefty climbing so I headed out for a meal and headed back to my place for an early night.

The weather in the mountains isn't always so predictable so even though the forecast said 20% chance of rain, halfway through the morning it changed to 80% chance of rain. I started out at 9:00 am but after 30 minutes and the rain getting heavier I turned around and got re-acquainted with my room again. 

The weather cleared up around 3:00 so I went out and wandered around Kranjska Gora. It reminds me of alot of what Whistler was modelled after. It has numerous hotels, patios and stores to buy anything needed for skiing or hiking. And like Whistler in the off season, was a bit of a ghost town. 

After the dress rehearsal from the day before I was mentally prepared at least. The Vrsic pass has 50 switchbacks and tops out at 1611 metres. You climb from 809 metres in Kranjska Gora to 1611 metres over 13 kilometres. So its a little steep. The town that the pass connects to is called Bovec and is 50 km to the southwest.
The road was built in 1915 to connect the north to the west in order to supply the front lines during the war. The men who built it were Russian prisoners of war and it was also unfortunately 400 Russian prisoners of war that died in an avalanche during the roads construction in March of 1916. In 2006 the Slovenian government changed the name of the road to honour the men that died and it is now called the Ruska Cesta (Russian Road). There is also a chapel and memorial dedicated to them as well.

Sign post marking which switchback youre on and elevation

All switchbacks are cobblestone

Monument to Dr. Kugy. Pioneer climber and writer of the Julian alps

Start of the Soca river

Having biked the climb in decent weather and knowing that it would only be a couple of hours of discomfort, I cant even imagine what it must have been like for all the young men who over the course of winters were carving out the highest road in that section of the Julian alps. Riding a bike over a mountain really doesn't seem like that big of a deal. More to follow on riding along the Soca river.