Me: “Morning mum, do you want fresh coffee, I’m just about to brew one?:
Mum: “Yes please. And can you strip the bedding off your bed and take your stuff out of the room so I can clean it!”
Ok, I get it. I’ve overstayed my welcome. Guests are like fish, they start to smell after three days.
To be fair, mum had Airbnb guests coming the next day but she still had the whole of the Sunday afternoon to sort the room out!
We had a quick breakfast, I showered, packed my stuff and loaded the bike.
I went to visit dad one last time before I set off and carry on on my adventure. This was the toughest visit. Nothing changed, same routine as before. Helped him eat his lunch, had a short walk and I left. He was pretty much the same as the day before, not really acknowledging anything around him. Every day I was constantly stroking his back when he was sitting down. Today he looked at me and asked “What are you doing? Is there something on my back?” “No, dad, I’m just stroking you, is that ok?” He smiled.
I left after a couple of hours and broke down. I said goodbye and the tears were already streaming down my face. One of the nurses gave me a few sheets of kitchen paper on my way out and I sat down on a bench in the car park. I cried and cried for what seemed like ages. I just couldn’t stop. I guess knowing I won’t see dad for another year or so was hard to process and I don’t know if I will get to see him again. Eventually I calmed down enough to be able to ride the bike back to mum’s.
She made me lunch and decided to bring out old photos of my childhood. It wasn’t the best timing as I was leaving but it was great to see my old passport and ID document from when we were still part of Yugoslavia.
After we’ve eaten we’ve said our goodbyes. Mum had tears in her eyes but I think I’ve spent all of mine.
I set off towards the mountains to stay one last night in Slovenia. This time at my old schoolfriend’s house. We weren’t close friends in high school and neither of us can remember exactly how and when we connected again but since then, must be 15 years ago, we’ve gone away almost every year on a holiday. With our kids when they were younger and just us two in the more recent years. Each year to a new destination, just a long weekend away.
I left Ljubljana on a motorway and stayed on it until I got to Lesce, a town just before Bled where I turned off and rode past a small airport and into Bled. I didn’t go past the lake because I’ve seen it a million times so I turned right before getting to it and followed the narrow roads over the mountains and in the valleys of places I didn’t really know.
The roads were slow but I wasn’t in a hurry. I liked the fact I could just take my time and admire the views. I rode by a river, through the woods, across the open space of the fields and climbed up and down the mountain sides. The weather was angry looking and I had to stop once to put the waterproofs on. Luckily, the rain didn’t last long and eventually the sun came out.
I found my friend’s house almost immediately, only one wrong turn looking for it. It was so good to see her! We immediately opened bottles of beer, her boyfriend was on the BBQ duties while we caught up with almost a year’s worth of life then we all took the dog for a walk around the lake.
We had another beer afterwards but as the next day was Monday, they had to be up early to go to work in Ljubljana and I had to set off early to make sure I made it in time to Bologna for *whispers* a Ducati factory tour! Big grin!!
Today’s ride wasn’t a long one, I’ve said before that Slovenia is a small country. A total of 73.54 miles only.
