Rachael Walker and Julia Hobson travel to Slovenia to explore the epic trails and travel by bike from the mountains to the coast. Big days, awesome views and a huge range of riding, weather and terrain.

It’s 12 years since my good friend Jonny invited me to join him on a trip down to Slovenia, Jonny had visited with his father back in 2006 and bought an old house in Luce, a small sleepy village around 10 miles off the border of Austria. Jonny returned from his 2006 trip describing Slovenia as “epic” and the mountain biking and snowboarding opportunities as “endless” and asked would I like to go down and help him renovate the house. Ever the one for an adventure I didn't hesitate, so January 2007 we loaded up and started the long drive down to the Balkans. The winter months passed with us doing one part renovations to nine parts snowboarding and exploring; we spent hours climbing mountains and getting lost, and boarding at every opportunity.

The snow finally melted, the anticipation to ride was high. The ski resorts turned into bike parks. As pure downhill kids back then, first up on our hit list was the infamous Maribor Pohorje bike park. Home to one of the most popular downhill tracks on the World Cup circuit. We rode park day after day, shuttled old disused walkers paths and soon discovered a very healthy and strong mountain bike scene. As we met and talked to more riders, it was apparent Slovenia was littered in both man-made and natural tracks, the opportunities to ride were indeed endless.

In the years since 2007, Jonny remained in Slovenia discovering that Slovenia offers diversity in abundance. From the steep and technical tracks in the Alps bordering Austria, moving south to the more roaming terrain which surrounds the capital city Ljubljana, to the loose and rocky hills in the more Mediterranean southern area of Slovenia bordering Italy and Croatia. In 2012 the doors to Ride Slovenia were opened. With his vast knowledge, Jonny started guiding the surrounding trails but quickly thought of piecing together trails from the border of Austria through to Ljubljana and on to the coast. With a population of just over 2 million, Slovenia is pretty small. It's possible to drive from the north of the country to the south in only a few hours, but If you can drive it, why not ride it! Hence the Ride Slovenia Alps to Sea trips was born.

Over the years, I’ve moved from downhill racing to adventure stage racing to pure adventures. Many of these trips have been shared with fellow adventurer, mountain guide and great friend Julia Hobson. When the opportunity arose to head to Slovenia with Julia to ride Alps to Sea, there was no doubt, we had to make it happen.

Day 1 of the Alps to Sea and we started in Koroska, in the Savinja Valley region of Slovenia just next to the Austrian border. A few may have heard of the area after the Enduro World Series stopped off here for round 4 of the 2018 series. It’s one of the higher, more alpine regions of Slovenia offering steep, technical trails in the dense pine forests. This area is famous for mining and as a result of its past has countless numbers of mining paths which are hundreds of years old. These old paths conveniently now make great mountain biking trails. The beauty of the Alps to Sea trip is that it can be tailored to each specific group. As a group we opted for loam with a bit of tech and not a crazy amount of climbing, we really wanted to maximise the descents.  

As our shuttle dropped us off at the start of the first trail that sense of excitement built. At over 1500m in height, the air crisp and cold, the sky a bright strong blue, we stood taking in the first glimpse of what was around us. Peak after peak in one direction, thick forests beaming with incredible crazy autumnal colours in the other.

Julia and I had opted for Juliana Roubion bikes. With 150mm of travel, it seemed like the perfect choice for the terrain we hoped to be riding over the next five days. As we lined up at the trailhead, Jonny gave us a little brief of the trails ahead. Half listening and half still gaping at the colours, all I heard was “steep”, “tech”, “could be slippy”. Julia and I gave each other a nervous look. Perhaps its a girl thing, but despite the fact we are both good technical riders and capable of riding pretty much most things well, apart from 50ft gap jumps, we both always have that doubt and nerves about what lies ahead, “can we ride it”, “how hard is it going to be”, “you go first”, “no you go first”, then we set off, start shredding and smiling and the nerves are soon forgotten. That was the exact script in this case.

We dropped in, trying to make our way through the waves of leaves they seemed to be spraying as they carved the long flowing corners leading us further into the multi-coloured forest. The ground was covered with a sea of oranges, reds and yellows making it hard to see the trail, but also adding to the excitement that you had no idea of the terrain or grip underneath your wheels. The flowy trail turned into a walkers path and soon increased in gradient. Before we knew it, we were into steep switchbacks with swarms of roots pulling your eye into the corner instead of out of it. After years of guiding in the French Alps, Julia is somewhat a maestro on the switchbacks, she had the lines dialled through the tight, exposed testing sections. Time to breathe for a second then, before the terrain changed again! We landed ourselves into a high-speed gully with little drop offs and natural wall rides to pop off along the way, it was too much fun.

We regrouped at the bottom of the trail, all out of breath, all a little gob-smacked by what we’d just ridden. My experiences of Slovenia have always been filled with surprises, surprises at what this tiny hidden country offers. That trail on day one took us the best part of 40 minutes to descend and set the tone for everything we would ride and experience over the next five days; diversity. We ended the day traversing a dramatic ridgeline trail dropping over 1000m of vertical descent in what took us around 30mins to pick our way down. The trail offered little windows out to the sun setting behind the distant mountain layers. Arriving at the van in darkness and ready for a few well-earned beers, there was no doubt it was a mind-blowing start to the trip.

Day 2 would take us slightly south out of the alpine region and into the open mountains above the capital city, Ljubljana. We all voted for a sunrise mission, and as the 4.30am alarm went off, it soon became a race against the sun. By 6am we’d beaten the sun to the top of the plain, although it did mean we had to seek shelter from the sub-zero conditions while waiting for it to appear. In these moments when the feeling in your hands and feet is disappearing, it doesn’t seem such a good idea. However, the feeling will come back, and that momentary uncomfortableness is always worth it when golden rays light up the mountains, and you descend with a smugness knowing everyone is still in bed, and you’re already shredding and have a full day of it ahead.

In the space of less than 12 hours, we’d moved from loamy alpine forests to wide open plains with rocky traversing trails spiralling off in all directions. We spent the rest of the day on a roller coaster ride up and down from the top of our sunrise plateau along to its neighbours and finally down through the woods dropping into the sleepy village of Luce. Filled with the excitement of what the next few days had in store, we happily retired for the evening to rest our bodies after another packed day of mountains, trails, laughs, view after view and more laughs.

Over the next three days, our Alps to Sea journey would lead us from the towering mountains to the north of Ljubljana gradually down towards the small coastal town of Izola. Along the way, we were treated to more ridges and more mind-blowing trails. However, what stood out for both of us was the change. In such a short space of time, we’d moved from steep loamy trails, and high open plateau’s where riding in a few layers and a down jacket was essential, to loose rocky fast tracks in a distinctly different Mediterranean climate.

In just one day the trails changed from being surround by pine trees to olive trees, the culture changed from rural and mountainous to Italian and chic with gelato cafes galore. The week built in intensity and anticipation but let us down gradually. As we neared the small Slovenian coast at the end of the week, the trails mellowed and gave us time to reflect on the crazy last few days of riding. With the trip ending at the Adriatic Sea, those brave enough had the opportunity to dip into the fresh water, an almost cleansing process bringing you back to reality after a somewhat surreal few days traversing from one side of the country to another on two wheels.

Our Alps to Sea trip was five days instead of the usual six. The trails and the route we rode from one end of the country to the other were tailored to us, what we liked to ride and how much climbing and descending we preferred to do. In five days we’d covered just under 200km on two wheels, with almost 14,000m of descending. It almost feels like a double-edged sword writing this article. While both Julia and I would happily tell everyone about the fantastic trails, culture and nature the country can offer, you almost have a feeling of wanted to keep it a closely guarded secret. Slovenia is so unique and special, though, it would be a shame for others not to experience.

How to get there/when to go:

Slovenia is an alpine country, so winters are cold and snowy, summers are warm/hot. The best time to visit is late summer/autumn when the colours are at their best, there aren’t many tourists about, and the trails have a bit of moisture in them! Aside from that, spring and summer are also perfectly good times to visit. Flights are to Ljubljana, which is only a few miles from a mountain resort and chairlift, so unless you are already in Europe with a car, flying is the best option, with Easy Jet offering the most choice.

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Going Places - Slovenia: Mountains to Sea
By Rachael Walker

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