• You will probably not be at all surprised if this time I take you there where wine is at home. Among the wine hills and the farm tourism places. Among the sound of the klopotec rattles and the smell of roasted chestnuts, among the merriment, the singing and the yodelling. The grape harvests are already at the door and there is not a day when something is not happening in the wine hills. The grapes must be picked, since Martinmas is merrily approaching, and by then the must has to be ripe. Precisely because of all this I decided to go there where it is merriest, along the wine road, among the wine hills.

• I rode in the direction of Malečnik, crossed the bridge over the river Drava and turned right onto the cycle path. We ride to the Črni baron pizzeria and turn left.

• The pleasure of riding changes at once, since here there is no traffic and we meet the odd car here and there. The settlement of houses also becomes very sparse. But the signs alert us to the fact that we are riding along the wine road into the heart of the farm tourism country.

• The route rises very gently the whole time and does not represent any great effort, right up until we come to the forest, where we face a steep but short climb. The forest itself is already completely autumnal. Although it is still early afternoon, in the forest there is already a slight darkness and immediately a few degrees less than by the meadows, or rather there where the sun shines. The ground in the forest is covered with leaves and I am convinced that if we stopped I would certainly find some mushroom. It really smells of them when you cross the boundary of the forest. When I cycle to the top of the hill and come out of the forest, meadows spread out before me and a few houses appear.

• On the right-hand side homesteads, which signs adorn and point out that here it is really good to stop, since they offer the most varied delicacies. Must, chestnuts, gibanica cakes, home-made cold cuts. With such an offer, who would not long for these delicacies, and it would be all the same to us if we still have a few kilometres to cycle. But because this time I decided to complete the route, my stubbornness is stronger than my little stomach and the desire for these good things. The route becomes ever steeper and ever narrower.

• We ride between the yards of farm tourism places, homesteads, farms. We are already biting our knees and our breath is faltering a little, and yet we must reach the top. A gentle bend to the right and again a long climb. At the top we stop and look back to the left at Pohorje, while straight ahead we see the hills all the way to Austria. Have you noticed that wherever we set off outside the Maribor district into the hills, Pohorje always watches us so proudly. It offers that magnificent view and the thought that you can never forget it or overlook it, because it is always there, on the lookout.

• This time the route I rode along was very lively, since every vineyard hill has visitors. I meet many tractors carrying grapes. People are working away diligently and yet they are so contented and in good spirits. The sun and the fine warm weather have probably only added to that good mood.

• We continue along the asphalt road. We ride past wonderful houses with a splendid view.

• On one side Pohorje, on the other a view towards Hrastovec and Lenart. Slowly I begin to descend, the terrain becomes less pleasant, and the road takes me into the forest, into the shade.

• After descending for a while, I cycle into a proper building site where new roads are being built and the view is not exactly pretty.

• Here I join the old Maribor – Pesnica – Lenart road and turn left towards Maribor. After a few kilometres I come to a roundabout where cyclists are catered for, since an underpass has been built onto the old Šentilj road towards the very centre of Maribor.

• Even though the last part of the route disappointed me a little, the outing was pleasant. It saw to it that my stomach began to make itself heard and that those delicacies are calling so loudly. Yes, it will be necessary to turn into one of these little chambers of delicacies and try what sort of good must they have. And to your health.

Petra Poštrak