Pole position
The warm-up round is behind you. Now you are at the start/finish line in Vižmarje at the turnaround of the Ljubljana city bus line No 1 and you are waiting for the start signal. This is usually when the red light turns off. Watch the traffic lights and when the red light goes off (and the green light turns on) take the cycling track along Celovška cesta Road. Immediately switch to high RPMs and go past the OMV petrol station and under the motorway slip road towards the city. The next traffic lights would like to stop you, but you don't have to worry about it, because you will turn right to Šentviška ulica Street. From now on, there will be no traffic lights, although you will get really close to one at the end of the street. To avoid it, go to Podgorska cesta Road and stay on it until you get to Cesta Andreja Bitenca Road, which will take you above the motorway and to the end of the urban area. When the slope starts, you will see in the forest on the right the sign for the path leading to the Brezar Pit . Not far ahead is the crossing with Podutiška cesta Road. There you will go right and uphill, past the quarry to the next crossroads on Preval, where you again turn right towards the village of Toško Čelo.
Hairpin
The path is flat at first, but a rather steep slope starts after you pass the monument . You are pushing as hard as you can – the motor is giving its best, but the speed is nevertheless dropping. And this is not all. The hairpin turns make sure that you have an additional obstacle, completely eliminating the possibility for overtaking. When the hairpin turns end, the road becomes somewhat straight, so you will have to switch gears. Completely heated you get to Toško Čelo , where you will get the impression that spectators on stands are welcoming you. In reality, these are hikers who are having a stop there to have a drink. They are sipping their teas or beers and curiously, perhaps even smugly, watching you lose fluids in the form of sweat. Reduce your speed because the road is narrow and pass the support wall and further on to the end of the village, where you will be met by macadam. Asphalt was smooth, but difficult. This macadam, on the other hand, looks promising.
Intermediate
Before you even reach the end of asphalt, switch a gear higher to make use of the slight downhill section and gain momentum. It will come in handy right on the first slope that follows. You will have to go with full force, so you will not have time to watch the beautiful surroundings, which justifiably bear the name the Polhov Gradec Dolomites Landscape Park . You are competing against yourself. There are pros and cons of going fast downhill. It is good because you gain momentum, but it is not good because it makes the bicycle harder to control. It is not hard to slip on a sandy surface, not to mention the troubles with braking when you run into a sudden obstacle. Without a doubt, the optimal solution is a medium speed, but this varies from individual to individual. To determine the right speed, special skills are required. But you are doing good so far. You are overtaking others easily. You are conquering short, steep slopes with the energy you gathered during descents. You carefully reduce your speed before open turns and take them smoothly, but sharp and closed turns are a different story. Despite everything, try to keep to the right and do not wander across the entire width of the road. By the time you reach the ridge , the motor is fully heated. It is good that the road on the other side goes downhill, although you have to be more careful now. The slope enables high speeds, which can be dangerous on macadam. The turns are smooth and not too sandy, but your rear wheel with swerve nevertheless. At the end of the ridge, you will go across a meadow, from which a beautiful view of Katarina opens up. Asphalt appears when you reach the first houses in the village of Topol . Your tires grip better again, but the ride is rather difficult because of the slope. The seven-kilometre ascent has not left you indifferent. You are already somewhat exhausted when you arrive to the top, where you will refill the fuel and check your tires.
Pit stop
A series of "pit stops" (read: inns) are at your disposal. Three of them are to the right from the crossroads (a very steep slope), and one is on the left (no slope). Take the one that is free. The staff is already ready and waiting for you to offer you drink and fuel. You should also check your brakes – they will be your main weapon in the upcoming fight. It's not that you wouldn't be even faster without them – you would, but "fast is quickly too fast". While you are waiting for the sign that you can set off (to pay the bill, in other words), take a look at the beautiful surroundings. A majority of the Polhov Gradec Hills can be seen from here, and the view becomes really interesting towards the evening, when the dark outlines of Grmada and Tošč are being drawn on the orange painted sky. Just before you leave, check your helmet and, finally, leave the "pit stop".
Brezovica hairpin
Go down the slope past the primary school , direction: Medvode. There is a flat section of the road just after the school, where you can develop full speed. But pay attention! The Brezovica hairpin follows, where you have to press the brakes on time, so you don't swerve off the road. The hairpin is made of a sharp, 180-degree left turn called Brezovica, where sand likes to gather (be careful when braking), a 180-degree right turn, which allows somewhat higher speeds, and another, 90-degree left turn. After this combination, there will be no difficult turns.
Knapovže
The good asphalt road takes you down to the valley. Without the drive, you are flying like on a slide. The legs are resting, but the brakes now suffer that much more. You are approaching the village of Trnovec, of which Knapovže, a former mining village, is a part. Lead was first extracted here, later silver and mercury as well. You've just passed the entrances into the underground shafts , but you probably didn't even notice them. In Knapovže, there used to be an ore separation and pulverisation plant as well as a smelter and a mining settlement. In the time of the mine's biggest prosperity, some 500 years ago, as many as 300 miners worked here. They would be a welcome audience for our feats.
Flat land
After Trnovec, you are welcomed by a long section of almost flat road, which gently descends through the valley of the Ločnica Stream . Switch to the highest gear and make the engine work at the highest RPMs. It is possible to gain high speeds here and there are plenty of opportunities for overtaking. However, you need to concentrate in order to react correctly and timely in case you come across a sudden obstacle that might appear in front of you. Somewhat out of breath because of the fast cycling, you will pass through a small settlement along the road, which tells you that the racing pleasure is to end soon. Indeed, a good 500 metres ahead, the village of Sora appears, and you have to cycle more carefully and slowly. Turn right at the crossroads with the main road, after which you can go faster again. Past the Goričane Manor and Vaše, you will get to Medvode, where a short downhill section in Preska encourages you to increase the speed again; but take it easy, because you will encounter speed bumps... The track along the railway is perfect and you can gain high speeds there. Only at the turn at the lonely house, you have to start paying attention not to miss the left branch, which finally leads you over the bridge and double turn in the slope to Medno Hotel.
Parabola
At the end of the climb go past Medno Hotel and after a short flat section into a very tricky right turn. It is not safe to overtake in this place. The road invites you to go straight down the slope. But this direction is wrong. The right thing is to turn right, to the narrower road towards the village of Medno. Turning in the last moment will not do here, because the turn is tilted outwards. If you miss the turn, you will find yourself on the main road Ljubljana–Medvode, which is full of cars. Such act can be suicidal, so you should avoid it! Our route gets narrow and remains such almost until the end. The quality of the surface is also poorer, which means lower speeds. The annoying speed bumps make sure that you don't go too fast; be careful when you go over them. In Stanežiče go straight towards the sand quarry and then, at the marked place, immediately turn right towards the Church of St. Jacob , to a very narrow path, which is above all additionally narrowed with concrete planters. The advantage you had previously gained is easily lost here. Shortly after the church, the narrow section fortunately becomes a (too)wide road towards Gunclje (turn left). Now you can again switch to the highest gear.
Oval stands
The road turns northwards, and you will get past the stands in full speed. The stands are not intended for you, but for spectators of rugby matches at the Oval field , but you can imagine how it would be if the stands were facing the road and were full of spectators. Wave them as you go by. A right turn comes immediately after the stands, and is followed by another one not far away. You will get to Gunclje. There you will be met by another obstacle in the form of a chapel in the middle of the crossroads. No-one knows for sure whether it should be passed on the right or on the left, but the feeling tells you that it is better to go right – as if you are in a roundabout. Passing the chapel on the left is therefore forbidden, and will be considered as a reason for disqualification if it happens.
Finish line
You can make up for what you failed to do so far in the last 600 metres of the route, which lead through Gunclje . You will want to push the pedal to the metal, but you will be discouraged from overtaking by speed bumps. Whether you go straight over them or bypass them through the narrow opening along the curb, you are not able to develop good speed without risking an uncomfortable bump to your backside, or hitting the curb. Overtaking is possible, of course, in the short sections between the speed bumps. You will pass the finish line at the end of the flat section. It is right before the crossroads, only a couple of metres away from the start. Of course, go slowly and carefully until you get there.
This is the end of the race. You have just covered more than 29 kilometres. What was your time? Solid recreationists need an hour and ten minutes, average cyclists need an hour and a half to an hour and forty five minutes, while the time you are after is less than an hour. Have you managed to achieve such a time? No? You will probably have to train some more and make some more trips along the route... For others, who rather enjoy themselves than suffer and who don't care about their times, we have prepared a description of landmarks and other tourist offering along the route. For that you will have to take some more time.