Penguins Bike

July 10-15, 2026 - biked 10 km (6.3 mi), train'd 241 km (150 mi) - biked 942 km (586 mi) total

We took time off-bike and off-blog to rest for 6 days. After biking over 590 mi or 943 km in over 4 weeks, we needed it.

David’s parents got everyone an Airbnb and we were gifted to sleep in the best room in the house equipped with not only a chandelier above the bed but also a rain shower and bathtub. We were also gifted a two hour long couples massage which completely relaxed us to the point where we had no energy to walk around. Massages are our kryptonite.

It felt weird to not bike, but we filled our time up just right.

I had a great birthday, more to come later.

We did the typical tourist things-visit the castle on top of the hill, go on a ‘free’ guided tour, and visit a vending machine with raw milk.

With David’s excellent navigation via train line hopping, we were able to visit Lake Bled and Most na Soči. A total of 7 trains for over 5 hours with stunning mountain and river views and through quaint alpine towns for only 16€. Our dear Portland friend, Ali, was also able to join and she delightfully called herself the 7th wheel. Everyone needs a 7th wheel.

If David was writing this post he would probably mention the 6 km tunnel and the train car that worked like a ferry bringing cars with people in them across a stretch of non-road terrain. Only one person has beat the train using the roads, but he was going 100 kph.

We did one bike ride the whole week to the outdoor sports store Decathlon to get some stove fuel and David got a new hat.

Tomorrow we will be back on the bike and if the massage and family taught us anything is that we need to stretch more and hire our parents as our official pit stop team.

Bonus Slovenia Facts

• Population 2 million (Oregon is around 4 million)

• Bears are so common they eat them (At least according to the free tour guide? We saw no bear on any menu.)

• Napoleon is beloved by the Slovenians because he allowed them to speak their own language for the 4 years he reigned, unlike the Austro-Hungarian empire

• Separated from Yugoslavia in 1991 and became apart of the EU in 2004

-make white, red and orange wine

-Ljubljana won the greenest capital in the EU ten years ago

**highly recommend a visit!

July 12, 2026 - biked 0 km (0 mi) - biked 932 km (579 mi) total

I ended this last decade biking and I’ll start this new decade doing the same. What can be better than doing what you love with the people you love? I’m grateful.

I chose to bike along the Mediterranean because I wanted to evoke the same connection to water I did when biked along the Pacific Ocean in my early 30’s. It doesn’t hurt that the Mediterranean Sea has the perfect water temperature.

I wanted to do this epic bike trip to prove that 40 isn’t too old to do epic physical challenges. I loved turning 10, 20 and especially 30, but forty is such a big number in my mind.

I witnessed a tragic 40th birthday party as a child. My uncle turned forty with black balloons, black cake and dark Over the Hill banners everywhere. Maybe there was a skeleton picture somewhere over the hill.

It was a surprise birthday party from his fellow teachers. But if you knew my uncle at all, you would know he hates any sort of attention, let alone this kind. He looked miserable and the dark decor shook me as a child. I thought, if I ever get to 40, that means I’m really old, one foot in the grave.

Well my big anticipated day arrived and it was filled with things and people I love. And most importantly it wasn’t macabre.

I woke up to breakfast in bed, a family tradition. I was offered eight different pastries, and garlic, onion and spinach egg scramble complete with a procured cappuccino.

At 11ish we all headed down to see the Ljubljana wind orchestra play a free concert under the London Plane trees. A flea market nearby sparked my interest and I found a simple silver ring as a spontaneous birthday present to myself.

After the concert, we headed to our reservation for wine tasting. We found ourselves pretty tipsy as we aren’t used to much day drinking, but my mom and Peter saved the day as they ordered bread and cheese for the table.

Day drinking requires a scheduled nap time. After the nap, I chatted with some siblings and then caught a 45 minute river boat ride. The boat road through the river in Ljubljana and had some historical information but mostly just light jazz music.

The boat floated in at dinner time and we strolled to our dinner reservations at an Indian restaurant we saw when we went wine tasting.

Conversation was light as we ate such spice-rich food, further confirming the best food in the world comes from places other than Europe, with Italy as the exception.

I ended the day with a nice bathtub soak feeling so grateful for all the birthday texts, videos of happy birthday songs, and birthday cards. Perhaps this will be my best decade yet.