Trails to cherish: Wolowec to Rakhiv to Friendship

   Leaving Stryj early morning I head straight for the train station to catch me elektrichka, tickets are cheap and I’d rather go straight for the mountains past Volovec than slog my way through busy traffic on main roads.

Paid for me and my bike, left it in the passage between train cars. I sit down, watch trees smoothly roll by and listen to Gypsies playing their instruments in the far end of the car.

When life happens…

Time may change me
But I can't trace time 

David R. Jones

…there’s only so much you can do – live.

Red and Black on Borzawa: Cisna to Volovec to Stryj

Always remember, nature can last without mankind, 

but mankind without nature is lost

Entering Poloniny National Park on the other side of the border it’s all green and all downhill. Slovakia welcomes me with tarmac roads turned gravel. Only a faint, thin grey line bears the memory of more civilized times.

Bunyan Velo No. 04

Read it here

For the fourth time Bunyan Velo is gracing the depths of internet. With 200 pages it’s the biggest so far!

Spend some time enjoying fresh July air with Lael riding the calm back roads of Czech Republic and sipping local pivo in Červenec in Czech or climb Peruvian heights of El Silencio with Cass in This is not the gringo trail. Why drink your morning coffee at home, when you can grab a bike, pack a stove and have a brew on your commute with Rob in #Coffeoutside!

There’s 14 great stories waiting for you.

As for me? I’m happy and I’m riding and a 1, 2, 3, 4…

At the end of the World: Zyndranowa to Lupkow and beyond

After sleeping in my tent for the past days I’ve decided it was high time for some luxury – a couch on the porch seemed like the perfect solution. The warm and breezy night was shared with a guest cat. You never sleep alone in the hills…

Dirt road to company: Krynica Zdroj to Zyndranowa

Woken up by the first bits of sun dissolving in the air above my tent I step onto cold grass. With the stove set up for coffee I go for a walk on the meadow and enjoy the first glimpses of a day to come.

Goodbyes, Hellos: Szczawnica to Krynica Zdroj

 

A coke, a bottle of water and a tiny portion of chicken soup is all I had to eat other day. Waking up and feeling actual appetite was a great relief. Checking in with Nick and Lael reveals we’re all fine and fit for the road ahead. Breaking camp is much more pleasant when you’re able to crack a few jokes somewhere between folding tent poles and eating an actual breakfast.

The usual chores follow.

Born on the trail: Chabowka to Szczawnica

Back there it's still August. I sit at my house and think about days better than others. To get back there as soon as possible is my main goal. Yet the long way ahead calls for a critical look at my gear choices. So there I am... sitting and waiting for parts to arrive. Fat tires, although they did a good job, had to go. Getting another cut through the 127 tpi tires seems almost certain and I can't fit to many of those baby fist sized patches into my framebag. Reliability and serviceability are the words in the back of my head.

It was already on the last day of the trip, on the Krowiarka pass, when I had made up my mind to use 29er rubber for the rest of my trip. Wanting to keep the dynohub I had to relace the front wheel. Instead of using and old wheel as the rim donor I have finally treated my self to the long due ZTR Flow EX rims. For tires I've chosen the 2.4 inch wide Maxxis Ardent, yet another item I've seen only on pictures for too long.

But now I'm here sitting and waiting. Finding an e-mail from Nick doesn't help in being patient:

“Come back to the mountains asap! We are ready to ride when ever you are.”

Crimea: One Kemal too sho(r)t

My friend Wital, who was our host, guide and overall guru while we stayed on the Crimean Peninsula, has just delivered one of the coolest bikepacking videos.
Getting to and riding down Kemal was steep, fun, sunny, rainy, silly, scary... but most of all I enjoyed riding with a bunch I could follow right to the edge of the world.

It's worth checking out Wital's blog for a healthy dose of humor and stunnig Crimean landscapes.

zaroxshyj.blogspot.com/

Na zdrowie!