This is my commentary about the 2023 edition of Slovakia Divide.
There are parts of the video with admittedly subpar quality. Keep holding on, most of it is okay!
I was in a hurry to submit it in time for the competition, will upload a better edit later.
Hey everyone um this is a video about Slovakia divide which is a 660k long bike backing race and uh contains uh about 14,000 M of elevation it’s an unsupported bikee race uh which means you have to carry your whole life for that time being basically your sleeping kit um food drinks medicine Etc
Um there aren’t really checkpoints on the route although ales the head organizer pointed out uh some nice cabins uh where uh we could uh spend spend some time and collect ourselves and refresh the philosophy of this route is to showcase the best parts of the carpatian mountain ranges um and this
Race focuses on the Slovakia Parts um Alish has been riding in the whole carpatian across multiple countries for a long time now um he wanted to showcase the best Trails without any unnecessary twists and turns and climbs and uh basically uh parts that would just make
You suffer so um I’m very thankful for that uh my Approach for this event wasn’t necessarily racing I’ve been racing a lot this summer and the past years as well and uh with this event I I really just wanted to uh embrace the mountains and uh spend some uh time in
Nice fresh air where um usually my uh whole personality just changes and I I tend to have like really good uh feelings and thoughts and this one was like that and uh in the end I was super happy I did it this way I think most people approached the race the same so
They wen’t necessarily racing although the guy who did it uh who finished first uh he I think it was uh bit more than 4 days 4 and a half for him uh my time was uh 6 days and 11 hours and the time
Limit is a bit more than 8 days so uh if you’re interested and uh you aren’t necessarily the fittest person around I think there is a pretty good chance uh you can do it and and uh you will have tons of fun and the purpose of me making
This video is to uh have the information out there and to have more and more people come and experience the outdoors in Central Europe because we have amazing back country that is very approachable uh very affordable uh and provides you with a tons of great memories and Slovakia is not only my
Favorite because they have uh pretty much the best candy in the area in my humble opinion but uh spending time in the outdoors is uh pretty common there and uh people expect you to be out there and uh they aren’t going to give you
Side eyes if you walk into a store or a bar covered in mud and uh I think it’s pretty great uh so please uh enjoy this video and uh and come here and experience this hey man f so the race started out uh pretty strong uh with a small climb but everybody
Tried to show us how much of a man uh and a woman they are uh and I was really hangover from all the georgean conac the organizers gave us the other day so uh it was tough but I decided to just stay back uh try to enjoy a an almost
Comfortable Pace but nothing felt comfortable to be honest uh anyway in these long events uh you really just got to hold on and uh and try to Pace it well so that’s what I did and I think it turned out well um these weren’t such uh
Hard um climbs so I mean uh all in all this first day was uh short ups and downs uh with a bit of technical terrain but nothing to worry about uh actually I was wondering whether the organizers were right that you shouldn’t even attempt uh this event uh with a gravel
Bike only a mountain bike this part you could have done with a gravel bike but but what’s coming no not at all uh the next days were much much more technical we had a pretty fun pop stop as you could see um and the rest of the day I took
Pretty chill but maybe I shouldn’t have because there was a super heavy rain coming and uh I was in kind of a bad spot because I wasn’t sure whether I could do the LA the last big climb before the rain but uh eventually uh there was a cabin in front of me there
Were people there so I wasn’t too keen on sleeping there but uh I didn’t really have a choice I decided to push my luck and eventually I found an empty Hunter cabin I was there alone I had a good night’s sleep and uh there was an important tactical decision when I woke
Up at 5:00 a.m. because I checked the radar and uh it was still raining heavily like uh the u-wing distance was like 2 three 3 4 M uh I was confident in my clothing and my gear cuz uh they were pretty waterproof and in the end they
Held up well but I I just didn’t want to push it so uh I decided to go back to sleep and I slept until 10:00 uh and I felt great uh I uh started the day uh with a good mood even though it was like raining heavily
Uh and in the first uh City I met uh romech he’s around my age which is pretty great since most uh other participants were much much older and he spoke great English which was also rare and we had a good day together uh we were aiming for uh restaurant and uh
Wait out the last minutes of the rain there and uh we had a great meal uh with amazing uh drinks and uh yeah I mean it would have been a bad decision to to ride uh in the in the rain all day and I think uh I made the right choice after
Getting out of the restaurant I was in a great mood half drunk I started singing and the rain was already fading I had uh just a bit of climbing uh before uh the next big city where most of my friends were staying for the night uh I messaged
Them they got me a room in a hostel so I knew that there is a warm shower in the bed waiting for me um yeah at this point I wasn’t aware that most of my bags uh leaked and everything except my sleeping GE was uh wet as hell so I was thankful
And took the time uh to dry them out ped it in the next morning quick uh shopping and then off for the next day this day started uh pretty chill as well short climbs mostly farmlands and uh villages uh I was lucky we had thash who
Was a local but he was uh uh kind of Hungarian so we could talk uh for those who don’t know Slovakia used to be part of Hungary so many people are descendants of hungarians so they speak native Hungarian as well and T did he was telling us uh stories about these
Regions and uh just stories in general uh and also like I got this phone number so if I got into a situation where I couldn’t speak to someone I could just call him and he would help uh this was a bigger problem than I thought initially because especially um people uh middle-aged
People didn’t really speak Hungarian or uh English in that regard but everybody was super friendly I learned some basic Expressions so I could get some food and water and ask around for directions as such but even if I couldn’t uh I just pluged some uh text into uh Google translate and they
Were happy to communicate with me via uh phone so that was great um this day especially the second part uh we got closer to to the edge of the regions that are populated and uh the last climbs I did uh they were around holiday area so I
Was uh looking out for uh some cabins I couldn’t find any but luckily when I got into the the last Big Town there was a public water fountain so I could refill my water and initially I wanted to continue uh but when I was rolling out
Of the city I uh found a spot with a lot of light and noise coming out of it this was the local pub and there was a fellow participant uh miile in it and he was super kind and he got me accommodation for the night
For I had a good night’s sleep and uh I got some groceries uh so I was prepared for what’s uh coming the 220k part with no population whatsoever and no opportunities for refuel except one restaurant which I visited and spent time at uh but more about that later
These were really beautiful LS uh these were the parts that everyone kept talking about with these uh so-called wild or nomadic uh mountain tops and I was just uh fascinated by it I loved it and I was very very happy I waited out uh at night and didn’t continue like the
Guys because there were a lot of hies and missing out on these views would have been a horrible image to my memories I try to embrace all these beautiful views and the spaciousness of these mountaintops my uh thoughts really fly in these circumstances I was starting to get into
This uh reflective space of mind and even though all the challenges of hi bikes and getting the bike over big Fallen trees I was happy I was just thankful that I can be here and enjoy this time even though I was alone I really love riding alone in these
Circumstances so I wasn’t too keen on joining others and uh shortly I arrived to this uh Visitor Center SL restaurant where I could eat some beautiful food and then uh shop some homemade products at the farmers market after the restaurant there came a short climb and then beautiful downhills with amazing
Views not too technical I could uh look around and embrace the views and really really enjoyed this part and um then came uh the knights uh or like the points where I think about the knights uh because usually what I do is to start planning ahead at 700 p.m.
Am uh cuz at that time I have a a bit of headro to adjust and that was the time I met Ron who is a great guy uh he spoke perfect English we had a good time together and he actually had a cabin in
Front of us which was a bit of a push into the night the the one thing I didn’t really want it to do but I decided to go with him and then do it uh at the end my Garmin died and I had to stop and restart it so I fell behind and
I chose to sleep on top of the mountain in a wooden cabin it wasn’t too warm uh but I could sleep uh pretty okay and in the morning when I left I met a lot of cows like multiple herds of cows all around me uh they are great companions uh I I really
Like them they are pretty funny and they don’t hurt you at all just be mindful uh we had a bit of mud left be left behind the rain but uh nothing too much uh I could easily go through uh some of the Springs were pretty flooded
Uh on the other hand so uh I had a bit of time without water uh but still nothing to worry about in half an hour I could go and refill and continue these uh dreaded hiker bikes again I made the right choice by sleeping on top of the mountain in the
Cabin it was a bit cold but uh a lot of hi bikes came afterwards and uh I don’t think I could have arrived into runs cabin before 3 4 a.m. and uh that’s not a pleasant thing to do especially when you’re cold and uh descending the next
Two three days were just pure joy these really remote uh mountaintops with uh nothing but animals and uh plants uh I I mean I can’t even put it to words uh how much I love uh this pure uninhibited untouched nature there were blueberry bushes everywhere so even if I didn’t
Have food I could go and pick those for days because they were literally everywhere there were some really hard uh hiker bikes and uh getting the bike over uh Fallen trees uh so yeah some sometimes I even joke that this isn’t a bike race this is a CrossFit competition in the
Woods uh cuz you had to carry at this point uh one 2 kilo of food uh 2 three L of water and uh your whole life on the bike uh my whole package was uh well over 20 kg and uh pushing that over big rocks or uh lifting it over uh Big Trees
Is uh was a challenge there was one particular spot where it took me more than 15 minutes to get the bike around just one tree cuz uh I couldn’t climb it uh the the branches were too long I couldn’t leave the bike over so I had to
Walk around but uh there were other Fallen trees around so I had to put down the bike track around and then uh get it around I it wasn’t easy but uh I took it h happily actually I was surprised uh by how positive I kept it there I’m not
Usually like that to be honest I I can really just flip and uh be a about stuff but uh somehow this uh setting uh just uh made me a man to be honest yeah uh really I I took uh each and every challenge as as a
Good opportunity to to make fun of it and enjoy it and uh in a blink of an eye I was uh in an amazing spot enjoying a downhill or some beautiful views or some great local food or beer again I mean really what more can you ask for
The highest point of the race was 1500 M but we just generally stayed between 800 and 1200 that meant a bit of uh temperature fluctuation but uh I dealt with it pretty okay even without the down jacket there were a couple of mornings and nights uh where it would have proved
Useful but yeah dealt with it pretty okay um this is one part uh why I uh didn’t want to ride a lot during the night even though I have a lot of experience doing that uh I just wanted to like I said before enjoy every bit of
Uh especially this part of the r this nomadic part cuz I knew that it’s coming to an end and on the other hand uh it was freezing cold sometimes even below 5° cus uh I could see uh the vapor of my breath in the air and when I was climbing
I was warm as hell but when it turned to a descend I couldn’t put enough clothes on myself I was uh I was freezing literally but during the day it wasn’t a big deal at all there were some really windy spots though it’s crazy wind I was
On the verge of uh taking a cap but I was happy I took it I wore it under my helmet quite a bit and especially the mountaintops they had very very strong winds and my ears are pretty sensitive to it so the cap proved to be very very
Useful the last night in the wide regions I spent in a nice cabin uh the cabin was full U but there were some people sleeping in hammocks in front of it already and it had a big porch where I was setting up my BB and uh Ian came
Out he woke up and he saw I came and he told me that I really should go and sleep inside because uh in the past week there uh there were Bears there every night I didn’t want to sleep among six other guys and uh I decided to push my
Luck uh the other guys sleeping outside they seemed uh very experien and they had a flood light with them so I just put my pepper spring next to me and put all the food inside the cabin and I had a very good night’s sleep Ian didn’t he
Had to leave at 4:00 a.m. because he couldn’t sleep anymore everyone was snoring inside heavily so again I made an amazing choice and when I woke up I knew that there isn’t much of the uninhibited land left so I tried to embrace every bit of it and actually it
Was a bit tough uh with a lot of wind and fog and cold but I knew that there is a Ski Center in front of me with a hot meal and beer and all that I wasn’t too keen on uh staying there for the hospitality but Ru be told it felt
Amazing to uh stay somewh that is at least a bit warm after that I met this young guy in the forest he was riding an Enduro bike his name is ycob he got super stalked about my bike he’s been wanting to try a pinion bike for a long
Time and we had a good talk I tried his bike I haven’t read a high peot before and then we parted ways and I uh I was surprised to find myself in an andur Road Track it had some really sketchy features so I focused on staying safe
And shortly after that I was uh in the middle of kosit I felt a bit weird uh being among other people but uh it was great to buy some food and then go on for the last part at this point I was already overwhelmed by all the the emotion
Within me and all these thoughts that surfaced during the previous part of the race and dealing with all these Buzz of course it’s a it was hard to focus on writing uh so I really missed out on making some key decisions ahead and since I didn’t research the last part of
The route properly I was sleeping in a sketchy spot uh I was woking up in the middle of the night when some shady people came to uh I don’t know what they came to do but it looked to me it looked like they were trying to rob the property I slept
At uh so yeah I think they were more scared than me when they saw me so they left in a rush and I woke up feeling like but this last day it was was pretty easy and to be honest I was crying all day I didn’t want this uh amazing
Experience to end in one part of me didn’t want to ride more but the other part didn’t want to go home the best would have been to do the same thing but without the bike I was I was a bit fed up with the bike but still
Uh this wow I can’t even put it to words really this this last part was a great cown uh it’s a very quiet forest with a good quality Road uh and I could uh collect myself and set all the emotion apart and got into bentina uh the finishing town just at
Sundown I rode this beautiful Road downhill before arriving to the Finish area which was a guest house house where the organizers have already put some meat on the barbecue and prepared some beer and shots for us which was great and uh yeah I had a shot with everyone arriving
After me so you could imagine we were in a great mood for the remaining part of this video please enjoy some selected downhill footage Oh
1 Comment
Great video