Slovakia part 2

Our journey across Slovakia continues, the threat of bears as we head east keeps us on our toes and a high point of 1554mt shows off the spectacular landscape.
Watch on as we travel by bike through the forests and fields of this beautiful but simple country.

[Music] Oh, thank you. [Music] We’re in the cowboy bar. [Music] What’s up with this bit? [Music] [Music] It’s too loose to ride. Howdy. Uh, today’s riding, day seven. Day seven. We’re 20k in from riding for today. And that 20k has more or less been uphill. We’re at over 1,000 m high now. H. There’s a sign coming up. We’re both ready for lunch. and we’ve pushed 20% road or 80%. Uh but it’s all going good. It’s h we’re out, you know, you can see where we are. Look these aren’t uh these are just proper off-road tracks. And we’re still uh we’re still doing good. 34 m. We just found a very cool mountain hut. A lovely little cabin with a little bed up there. A little bed up there. Tables. Fire pit. I actually think that’s a wood store. Beautiful track. Really? [Music] A bit that way. A bit of a shimmy. Shimmy. We don’t see where we go. Hello trail. We’ve been we’ve been worried a little bit. We found some more bikers apparently in that last bit. We’ve had a little refresh and a night in a pension here. So, we’re getting our kit back on ready and we’ll be heading off. [Music] Bravo. Bravo. [Music] Spot. [Music] street riding. [Music] Doesn’t take you long to get out of the city and back onto paths again. He was flying, wasn’t he? He was flying just like Oslo. He’s traveling a little lighter than us. He’s pacing us up the hill. He’s not carrying a freaking tent, though, is he? Been very lucky. There’s lots of these springs around everywhere. And it’s uh we’ve been told it’s perfect drinking water. And it is. It’s beautiful. Nice and quiet. It’s been brilliant. [Music] [Music] So, [Music] just watch this off camera. Be careful. [Music] Oh. Whoa. Whoa. Jesus. That was hard. [Music] Not your average little descent when you’re fully packed up, but we Well, I’m here. Shelly will be coming soon. Muscles. Look, he’s got me. He leaves a trail of things everywhere he goes. And I found his jumper on the trail. Nice. It’s always good to have somebody coming behind you. That was hardcore. That was well done. Yeah. Well, that was extreme, was it? Extreme downhill mountain biking. Packed up and now we’re on coffee. So that’s possibly the high treseros. Yeah, they’re a fair ways away. All the thistles. Yeah. So it’s the end of the day. It’s What time is it, Shell? Half past 7. 20 to 8. 20 to 8. Yeah. We’ve just rode a kilometer down a steep hill to get to a shelter thinking it was going to be great cuz every other shelter every other shelter’s been really good. And this is the shelter. It’s not that good. We’re in the middle of a bit of a logging track. 15 minutes po. So, it’s got a nice chair. So, we’re going to try and set it up as a little bed because we cannot be asked going back up the hill and then another 2k to the next shelter. So, this is the first time this one’s been a bit tricky. We’re all right. We’re all right, aren’t we, Sh? We’re all right. Morning. Morning. So, we our bear protection worked. Our tent was inside the shelter and we put our bikes in front of the shelter, but we got a free armchair. didn’t say that on Airbnb listings that you get an armchair, but we had an armchair and uh yeah, it was all good. We got high quite quickly, I think, this morning. Yeah, we got a lot last night, didn’t we? About 15k on this climb up. It’s plus 1,000 m, isn’t it? 1,5004. 1,500 m. So, it’s a big day today to get up. Well, we did all right in our shelter. It would have been nicer to come here. This is another shelter. We realize now that this side as we’re heading over to the east, the shelters are getting more bay proof because we are in bay country. So, um yeah, the shelters are have got logs to go across the door and things like that. So, we’re definitely um feeling a different vibe of the shelters. No picnic benches anymore. [Music] We look to the mountains. We don’t care if it’s only a dream. Nothing is really wanted it seems anyway again. Now little by little in the twilight gentle flow in the dance of fading light we grow. So 10 days ago, we met Martin on our first night. Martin and Ego in a restaurant. And he told us to come here because this is where he wants his ashes to be scattered. So if you’re still alive, we’re not going to scatter them just yet. But one day maybe you’ll be here. And we made it to the top. say you so much. But without you, I’m lost. I’m lost. Yeah, we can walk on water [Music] while the boats are leaking. Soon the ones will be giving it any time. These guys are on super lightweight bikes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I lost you, but then you were again. [Music] Just like the wind and the fire. Wind and the fire. We forget about everything, every It’s so nice to be up at this height. So glad we’ve come. For the work of climbing up to 1500 m. Look what you get. [Music] It’s bloody good trail. We don’t mind doing a little walking track every now and again. Bye-bye. your finger. Yeah, it’s only like three more m Shelly single track special. Yeah. Yeah. Wouldn’t take long to be out of most people’s debts on a bike. Luckily, we’re pretty good. I can’t get around the corner. So, that’s the walking route. Yeah, don’t do that one. We’ve managed, but yeah, we knew we were going the wrong way, but we stuck with it. It was steep. Can’t tell now. Well, slightly easier. We’ve got our hard bit of riding today singing. Well, we’re on Great Descent. You won’t be able to see, but it’s freaking steep down there. Shelly single track special. Actually, this is Russell’s single track special. Oh, yes. Russell single track special. Because we kind of made a little bit of a wrong turn and ended up having to find our get our way back. And this is us getting our way back. Just popped out of that little bit. We’ve got to our There’s our spring and we’re next to this beautiful spot. This chap up here is putting a new roof on. We’re back in civilization. Hello This man has just come up to us and brought us some cakes. Look, I’m just saying hi. Hello. It’s Phillip. Thank you, Phillip. Look at the beautiful cakes he’s just brought us. What a super nice guy. That’s our pudding tonight. I might have gone not page tonight cuz I’ve eaten them. How nice. He was uh he’s a bike packer. Yeah, cool. Said hello. Just saw us sat at the side of the road. Lives next door. Well, we found camp. It’s a luxurious collection of concrete slabs with an existing fire pit and a collection of tables that we’ve now set up. Camp table. It’s like nice. Like the community football pitch. Map time. It’s map time. We now go through all where we’ve been and we mark it down on the map. See the pink line’s gone again. It’s gone. We’ve got the shittest felt tip in the world and it doesn’t stay. But yeah, map time. One of the highlights of the evening. [Applause] Check out this cool spot. We’re just leaving our morning camp. riding up the road and there’s this spot. A modern take on log cabin. [Music] It’s a little ski resort. Nice easy road to get to the top. Just popped up out of the trees. [Music] in the beautiful mountains of Slovakia. Endless nature. We’re on the tops, which is very nice to be out the trees for a bit. [Music] I’ll try to show you how steep this is, I don’t think it’ll do it. [Music] [Music] The actual part of the Tetris is there. Oh, that’s good. We’re in the lower Tetris. 15 kilometers downhill. Got to leave this place. Go down there. [Music] We meet again. This is where the bicycle comes into its own. That’s true. That’s true. We’ve met these two nice people at the campfire. That’s the first sign we’ve seen. So that’s the call we were just at way over there. So we’ve just had our lunch. We just come around this forest up this nice path and keep on going till we get to our descent. These are the guys that are chopping all the trees. We found a new picnic bench. The wood cutters table. Will you take me pictures? Ah, look at that. You go bloody anywhere in this country. Three miles. Cheers. Finally got my Hungarian goulash. How was your goulash, Russ? Bloody lovely. I’ve needed that for the last 10 days. So, we’ve had a great stay. We’ll show you where we stayed. It was absolutely tipping it down last night and we got to this place and uh just before it started raining. Very cool shop and the motor rest neck. €35 to stay there the night and a good restaurant. Yeah, it’s been good. That’s That’s to ward off the bears. Shelly has finally got a bear bell cuz she can’t bear it any longer. No, because Russell can’t bear my singing any longer. Yeah, you have to make quite a lot of noise when you’re in the woods. So, so they know you’re there. So, we don’t shock them. The worst thing to happen is So, now we’ve got a bell. [Music] Nice bell. We got a left turn, a straight ahead. We’ve got a straight ahead or we’ve got a right. We’re going right. We’ve just come from there. So, that’s what some of our directional decisions look like. But luckily, the map as well as the bearbell and Shelly tells us where to go. So, scratch what we just said there about taking the one on the right. We’re now back to this junction after realizing because it’s very closely the same, we want to take the one in the middle. So, we’re now going up this one. Okay, that’s staying up high. It’s misty, but it’s nice. Well, we’d have all come back from this game, don’t we? Oh, hi. Look at them nice silhouettes of the trees. That is nice. Yeah, that’s where we’re going. We can’t even see what’s in front of us. Never mind. Expect anything. Yeah, I don’t really like being so off road, I have to say. Well, it’s no real difference being this off road or being on the path. If the bears are there, they’re there. [Music] [Music] [Music] Nice spot. Well done, Shelly. [Music] This [Music] [Music] I’m not quite sure what it is. [Music] Wow. Cool. Is it [Music] don’t get much fresher than that. [Music] That was fun. [Music] What the heck? [Music] [Music] Well, it’s 6:00 and we’ve passed the last three picnic shelters and they’ve been pretty Look at us looking for a luxury picnic shelter for the night. Uh and we’re about a kilometer away from our last or next option. So, we’re hoping it’s going to be nice. It’s a little bit wet, but it’s not too bad. So shelter. shelter not in there. It wasn’t It was terrible. It was terribly sh. [Music] It’s 3k down the road to the next option. This is what you don’t get to see how sturdy those bike packers are. We’re in the center of town. There’s a bus stop. We can sleep in the bus stop over there. Well, that’s not open there. The p all the picnic benches that we saw open. No, no dining out here. At least people have no comfort in the muscle. Hello. Sunday 6:00. It shut an hour ago. No, it didn’t. It shut half an hour ago. We found ourselves a very comfortable football pitch to sleep on. All right, you big turkeys. We found a rustic camp. Well done.