Hrpelje Kozina-Rimini v dveh etapah

This is our first cycling trip abroad.

Martin proposed in January 2006 that we take a cycling trip in Italy. Dule and I naturally agreed, and so on April 24th we set off with the "Pohorec" to Kozina, and then continued our cycling journey.

April 24 - At 7:32 AM, Dule, Martin, and I set off with the "Pohorec" to Hrpelje-Kozina, arriving at 11:15 AM. Being very unaware and poorly prepared geographically, we initially headed in the wrong direction towards Koper instead of Trieste, losing about an hour at the start. However, this did not discourage us, as we were in reasonably good shape and the route was mostly flat. We covered the 180 km in six hours and arrived just before 8 PM in Mestre at the Hotel Venezia, where we spent the first night.

April 25 - After breakfast, we toured the city and then rode our bikes to Venice, where we spent the whole day admiring the city's beauty and dirt. Before nightfall, we realised we still had to get back to the hotel in Mestre, and upon checking the local map and seeing we were on the other side of the city, we took a water taxi to where our bikes were parked. It was already pitch dark when we arrived at the hotel.

April 26 - After breakfast, we started stage 2 to Rimini. The route was flat, so we were quite fast, but despite having the whole day ahead, we only arrived around 8 PM after cycling 200 km at the Villa Luigia hotel. After dinner, we naturally went to bed tired.

April 27 - Sightseeing Rimini in the rain. Bad weather prevented an excursion to San Marino, so we had to settle for the city, its nearby surroundings, and the beautiful sandy beaches.

April 28 - After breakfast, we took a fast train to Trieste, then cycled in the rain to Kozina and again with the "Pohorec" home.

The trip was wonderful, probably even more so because it was the first, but also because the weather was on our side, with sunshine and a pleasant 20°C temperature during the rides. Only the Rimini sightseeing and the cycling to Kozina were rainy, but that was the end anyway. There were no major falls, except mine on the way to the Rimini train station, and no technical problems.