January 04, 2018

Slovakia



Our first taste of country #5 was a bluebird day, topping out a 600m pass in the snow. The air was fresh and sparkling, and we were feeling strong and stoked to be back on the bikes after so much time off. With the border directly on the summit, we had ridden up in Poland and were about to ride down into Slovakia.  A nice fast downhill is a great way to enter a new country!

We zipped down and picked up a side road to take us up and over a second pass to Oscadnica. This side road started out bare but the further we went, the more the snow and ice started to build on it. The riding was better than we were expecting though, our tires were actually pretty grippy. Up and over the second pass we went, tired now but with another fun (but cold!) downhill to our destination.
It was hard to top such an amazing first day. The next 2 days were much harder, and saw us fighting headwinds and busy roads with our tired bodies. The fatigue always starts to really build after day 3 of riding, and this was a 6 day push for us.  

It was worth it though, when we rolled into the driveway of some friends! We had really been looking forward to visiting Andrej and Miska in their hometown of Skalka nad Vahom. It was an awesome few days of catching up, hanging out, and seeing where they live. They were so kind and generous to us. They took us into Trencin and Bratislava where we explored the cities and, of course, the Christmas Markets.  They kept us well-fed and made us some traditional Slovakian dishes. We were even lucky enough to see the one-night-only Christmas market in Skalka, which was the smallest one we saw but definitely the coziest and friendliest. It was hard to leave, but when we did we were well-rested and riding high on the good vibes from our time with them.

This part is where the riding got really interesting. We found a shortcut which connected 2 quieter roads so that we could save some distance and avoid a busy highway. This shortcut was a mountain bike trail that went up and over a pass, that we were pretty sure would be passable this time of year… with maybe a bit of pushing.  It turned out to be less of a trail and more of a steep grassy slope with some old tire tracks that were mostly filled with ice and snow. It was passable… though we pushed the entire 2.3km and dubbed it the “Ice Road”, struggling as our boots and heavy bikes slipped out from under us.

The Ice Road topped out at a little ski resort, and it really started to feel like winter. The descents became bitterly cold, and we bundled up like we were going skiing every time we had to ride down.  On one descent the temperature dipped to -8C and as we sped up to 45km/hr and the wind chill made it feel like -20C!  Long uphill sections became a welcome way to get some blood flowing to our frozen fingers and toes. For the nights that we camped, we filled our bottles with hot water at night and they were still partly frozen in the morning. We started cuddling with the eggs and anything else that we didn’t want to freeze solid overnight. 

A highlight of this section was the climb up to Banska Stiavnica. It’ a small town tucked deep in the mountains that we’d read about and really wanted to see. The deal was sealed when Andrej and Miska told us that they had a cabin nearby where we could spend the night.  This was our biggest pass of the trip so far: Over 600m of climbing to an 800m pass, with most of the gain happening over only a few kilometres. It was steep and hard, but at the top we were rewarded with a stunning view of Kalvaria Banska Stiavnica, perched on a hill, bathed in the pink glow of the sunset. We sped down towards our waiting cabin and warmed up beside a wood stove that night.

In the morning, it seemed as if an ice fog had descended over the world and it didn’t lift for the rest of our time in Slovakia. The temperatures only showed -2C, but it was the coldest -2C I’ve ever felt. Huge frost feathers clung to every surface, growing every day because no sun could penetrate the cold to melt them. We were really getting what we had signed up for with December riding. 

Slovakia might have been my favourite country so far. It’s hard to top how awesome it is to see friends when you’re traveling in an unfamiliar place. Though we’ve known people in almost every country we’ve passed through, this was the first time our route actually made a visit possible.  I also can’t ignore how good it is to finally be feeling fit and strong on the bike. Iceland was a huge push, with no real fitness, that really burnt us out. In Denmark we were cutting our days to avoid making my knee worse, and Germany and Poland we spent more time resting that we did riding. Finally, in the last few days of Poland and all of Slovakia, I feel like I can ride again. Take this and add snowy mountains, nice roads, and sunny days, and this is a section that will be hard to beat.
                                                                      
The Slovakia Round-up

ODO start: 1772 km
ODO finish: 2187 km
Total kms: 415
Highest pass: 800m
Days in country: 12
Nights camped: 2
Most km in one day: 63
Coldest riding temperature: -8C
Number of layers worn on the upper body for a cold descent: 6
Number of Christmas Markets visited: 4 (Bratislava, Trencin, Skalka nad Vahom, Vienna)
Biggest money suck: Day-trip to Vienna

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