Out of Time in Slovakia ⏰ A Cold Sprint to the Czech Border | Central Europe Winter Bike Tour

Day 255. 76km (92,659kms 8yrs)

The clocks went back last so my phone tricked me into sleeping an hour late. Losing an hour of daylight on an already short day meant making my 70km target would be tight. First though I had the town of Trenčín to visit which was full of curious surprises, from modern art installations and quirky fountains to a Roman inscription hidden behind a modern hotel. It was a great shame to rush though, especially as this would be the last Slovakian town I will visit. In streamlining my route home I’ve reluctantly dropped the capital – Bratislava – from my itinerary. Now I turned north to the Czech border.

After a very gradual climb I crossed the border without fanfare, what appear to be old immigration buildings still in place to the side of the road. The climb got steeper from here up a pretty busy road, after which it was downhill for the rest of the day on some more traffic-free bike roads through the gorgeous orangey yellowy – but increasingly brown – trees.

Going basically flat out since leaving Trenčín I made it to the forest I’d been aiming at. I followed little used dead-end track and found a nice patch amongst the trees set back further still. The sun was setting in pink and orange visible only in slivers between the trees as I set up camp at 16:30. Dinner and vlog editing complete I was snuggling down by 8pm ready for an early daylight-maximising start tomorrow.

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morning on my last morning in Slovakia. The clocks went back last night, so it’s light now at 6:30, but it means the sun’s going to set at 4:30. I need to be in camp by 400 p.m. tonight. Um, first of all, today I’m going to the last Slovakian town I’ll visit of Trenchin and then I’ll cross the border into the Czech Republic, which is kind of a new country day for me. I have been to Prague for a long weekend 20some years ago. I’ve never cycled there, so it’s yeah, I’m going to treat it as new country day today. It’s looking like a beautiful, if short, day. It’s 8:30 now, so the sun sets in 8 hours. I slept late, tricked by my phone. So, I don’t know if I’m going to get the 70 km uh that will take me halfway to Bruno in Czecha done today. I’ll just get as far as I can. This part of the bike road is so new. It’s listed as under construction on the map still. Apparently, there’s a Roman inscription behind this hotel. It can only be viewed from the hotel staircase. Um, but the hotel have been kind enough to let me have a look. BC 179 and commemorates a battle against the Germanic tribes. Can you see it beneath this glass shelter? This is the old synagogue no longer in use. I was about to climb up on this particularly artful pile of bricks for a better view for my photo. I thought it looked particularly nicely arranged. And yes, it is an art installation that I was about to clamber all over. It’s an optical illusion. The ceiling is flat. What a lovely town. Such a shame to rush through it. I have kilometers to do. Sunshine. Woohoo. Check here. Suppose that used to be immigration. How strange to still see that. Oh, that was a tough little climb, but it should be mostly downhill from here. more very lovely purpose-built bike roads. And it’s that time of day where I’m rushing to get a campsite. It’s only4 3, but I’m aware the sun is setting in less than an hour and a half. Don’t be deceived. They haven’t put the clock back. This is the forest I’m aiming at. Pretty stoked with this spot. Sun’s setting over here, but I’m hidden in the trees off a barely used dead end track. Gorgeous. Cheers. Then I made it by sunset. It’s 5:00 p.m. The challenge is getting a decent amount of kilometers done during daylight hours, but today was a success. Cheers.