LRM 1400 km Jurovcak – Ridescape Drava

Registration fee
€150

Let it be known …The idea for this long brevet marathon with a handful of river landscapes was not mine…

In May 2023, during a short meeting, Mr. Tomislav Kelemen, a randonneur from Varaždin, Croatia told me and Mrs. Ksenija Oletić about his idea to ride a bike along the Drava River to its source. I immediately remembered my three rides that wander between Carinthia and East Tyrol, where Austria and Italy border.

There, at the foot of the picturesque and steep Gailtaler Alps, on Italian territory, the Drava River springs up as a stream that jumps over a rocky bed and a few hundred kilometres downstream becomes a real navigable river.

That same day, I complimented the idea of Tomislav, and Ksenija put a bug in my ear by suggesting that it could be turned into a brevet.

Creating the Route

Creating a fully new route for a brevet is always a sweet challenge for me. The first sketch said that everything from Međimurje to the source and back could be packed into 600 hilly kilometres. This would mean pedalling in straight directions without using the bike paths that follow the meander of the Drava.

Then a bug flew into my other ear that buzzed: – LRM, LRM, LRM!?

That second sketch showed 1,200+ km and I quickly registered that length in the calendar for 2024. When I pulled out the route in detail a few weeks later, it came out to 1,400+ km. I felt uncomfortable that my accuracy was low and that I had to report a correction or two. The main idea is to ride the LRM around the course of the Drava River to its source, from the source to the mouth of the Danube and back to the start along the Drava. All of this, as much as possible, using both riverbanks.

Coincidently, a few months ago, in a quiz of Croatian Television’s “Potjera/The Pursuit” the question was: – Which River with a length of 712 km originates near San Candido in Italy? The contestant did not know the answer. Many people in Croatia think that the Drava originates in Austria.

Tomislav and Ksenija, thank you very much for the inspiration!

The Brevet

So, the final version of this marathon is in front of you. You will be informed in time about possible minor changes in directions due to road works.

 The starting time is 13:00 so that all participants can leisurely reach the source of the Drava River the next day, in daylight. I don’t know what time of day they will arrive at the mouth of the Danube. I have no right to order. More precisely, it is difficult to predict how fast someone will ride and when they will arrive at a certain point on the route.

The checkpoints are, wherever possible, located at gas stations that are open 24/7. It is difficult to get supplies when riding at night through Austria because shops and restaurants close relatively early. The given direction does not lead through large city centres. Carefully study the map, the positions of checkpoints, shops, and accommodation so that you will not howling to the moon because of hunger and thirst somewhere below or on the Gailtaler Alps. Riding on Austrian roads and bike paths is planned for the first 48 hours.

Supply during the night when passing through Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia is much easier.

The route in Austria, Croatia, and Hungary leads along the Drava River through unpopulated areas in several places, so you can expect encounters with wild animals. Don’t worry! The only animal in Europe that eats humans is the polar bear, and you can encounter it in the wild in these parts only if the bear escapes from the zoo in Vienna… It is much more likely that you will encounter deer, hinds, wild boars, muskrats, or wading birds on the road. Therefore, be careful on downhill sections in the forest and narrow bike paths surrounded by greenery from which an animal can come out in your direction of travel. Make a noise, whistle, or speak loudly to let the animals know you are there. They will be happy to move as far away from you as possible.

Cheers!
Siniša

Written in Toplice Sv. Martin and Horvati during the autumn and winter 2023 and 2024…