has used the Euro as its currency. There are several banks in Slovenia, most of which have a branch in the major towns. Smaller towns are likely only to have a branch of the local bank, but there will be an ATM so you’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to get money out in all but the smallest of towns. Alternatively, most places, including many of the mountain huts, will accept card payments.
Slovenia is cheap, especially outside of the tourist traps of Bled and Ljubljana. Expect to pay around €2 for a beer; a coffee (served as an espresso unless you stipulate otherwise) will be about €1.50; a pizza is around €6; a kosilo will be around about €10–15, as will a main course at dinner time. Of course, you can pay more than this at smart restaurants and hotels, but there shouldn’t be any need. Bike parts may be a touch more expensive relative to food. Generally, an inner tube will cost around €3–6 and a bottle of lube around €7; in other words, about the same as much of Europe.
Equipment
If you’re planning a mountain bike holiday abroad, you’re probably already pretty au fait with the gear that you need for a day’s riding. However, as a recap and a potential aide memoire for those who might be riding in the high mountains for the first time, here are some recommendations on kit.
Bike
Bike hire in Slovenia is pretty easy and relatively cheap. There are a number of options for hire, and some suggestions will be made at the beginning of each region section.
Always perform a pre-ride bike check. This is especially important when travelling overseas as you have either transported your bike (and thus dismantled and reassembled it) or you’ve hired a bike with which you might not be familiar. If you’re not sure how to go about a pre-ride check, it’s worth looking up the ‘M-Check’ on the internet. This is a thorough going-over that you give your bike which traces a rough ‘M’ shape around the bike and will help you to remember all the parts you need to review.
A hardtail suitable for the Slovenian trails
Clothing
If you’re a regular road-rider, you might think that the most important decision about clothing is the colour scheme. Mountain bikers tend to be a bit more pragmatic, and practicality has to play a greater part in decision-making.
I would suggest the following are essential pieces of clothing:
helmet – well fitted and less than five years old. If there is any visible wear it should be discarded, and if the helmet has been involved in an accident, even if there is no visible damage, it should be replaced.
gloves – to prevent injury in the event of a fall and to protect from the cold if necessary.
shoes – sturdy outdoor shoes at least, but ideally specialist shoes with an inflexible sole.
glasses – to protect the eyes from sunlight as well as mud and stones; a pair with interchangeable lenses for different light conditions is ideal.
padded shorts – either close-fitting or baggy to provide comfort for your day in the saddle.
In addition, comfortable, quick-drying clothes will make your ride more pleasant and it is always worth packing a spare warm layer for the mountaintops and a lightweight waterproof for the occasional shower.
Some people – especially those who are into downhill – would also consider wearing body armour. I would say it wasn’t essential kit unless you’re intending to ride specific downhill routes that tend to be very technical and come with a high chance of falling off.
Everything else
Riding a mountain bike can take you to fairly remote spots, so self-sufficiency is important. A tool kit is vital to get you out of common mechanical problems and as a minimum it should include:
a couple of spare inner tubes
tyre-levers
a pump
a compact bike tool with a range of Allen keys
a chain tool and spare link
Trailside repairs aren’t so bad under these conditions (Route 10)
Mountain biking can be dangerous. Carrying a first aid kit is not only a sensible precaution, but I would count it as essential. It needn’t be large but it should contain the following:
sterile wipes for wound cleaning
plasters/band-aids
larger wound dressings (self-adhesive)
triangular bandage (for slings and limb immobilisation)
antiseptic
paracetamol (or other painkiller)
rehydration sachets
fully charged mobile phone (local emergency number 112)
EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), which allows access to local health services for free
Of course, it’s also important to know what to do with these items so, if you don’t already know, book yourself onto a first aid course.
Finally, food and drink are, obviously, essential additions to your backpack. You may have to carry your lunch with you if the route doesn’t take you past any hostelries but, in any case, you should always carry a few high-energy snacks with you as well as plenty of water. In the Alps of Slovenia, where it can be both hot and frustratingly free of streams, at least two litres would be a sensible precaution.
Waymarking
Many of the rides in this book make mention of waymarked routes and cycle route signs. While there is a wealth of marked routes, these signs cannot be relied on in general. The local municipalities are responsible for creating, maintaining and signing cycle routes; many of the municipalities are very good at this but, frustratingly, there is no national system for signage. So in Kobarid you might be following a blue circle with a white bike in it, and in Vipava you might be following a stylised orange cyclist. If you check in at the local tourist information centres they will be able to give you a good idea of how extensive the network of marked routes is in that area.
Signage varies depending on the municipality
Maps
The maps in this book have all been provided by Kartografija and are extracts of their series of 1:75,000 scale maps, reproduced at a scale of 1:50,000 for ease of use. When a map is referenced at the beginning of each route, it is the Kartografija 1:75,000 that is being named. These are the maps I would recommend that you carry, and there are only eight of them to cover the entire country. However, there are also 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 scale maps available from both Kartografija and from Geodetski Zavod Slovenije (the national geological survey). All of these can be bought from Amazon or a specialist map shop such as Stanfords (
