Sitting at home on the couch, watching the negative news about the pandemic and doing nothing? Each of us must have found some activity so that he doesn't go a little crazy during quarantine. One day my phone rang too, and on the other hand a friend's call came: "Listen, aren't we going on a bike over the weekend? We will give three castles - Tematín, Beckov and Čachtice. It will be a cat, but it is even worse at home. "

The hardest part for the introduction - Tematín

He didn't have to convince me twice. I have always liked to admire the beauties of the Trenčín region. "And that will be just the beginning, we will give much more this summer," he repeated. A bicycle half-stuck in the dust of a cellar would also need to be taken from hibernation. Although strict hygiene measures ordered by state institutions were in place, movement in nature was already allowed at the end of April. Koronabajk needed minor technical "treatments", but was prepared as a pod for Saturday morning. Since traveling by train was still risky, I loaded it into the trunk of a car in Bratislava and headed to a friend in Piešťany. "We will put it along the dam in the direction of Horná Streda, then to Hrádek and from there to Tematín and then we will see according to how much strength we will have," Erik outlined the plan. In addition to the classic cycling equipment, this time we could not miss a veil or sleeves to cover the mouth and nose. Of course, there was a "snack" and a drinking regime, as at that time we could not estimate whether something would be open along the way. Finally, two more bikers joined us. However, with the proviso that they only give Tematín and further disconnect from us.

In the village of Hrádok, we turned right at the crossroads of several cycling routes.

The ascent of about six kilometers to the ruins was smooth, first on the asphalt in the village and then on the gravel base. Here and there we fell into bigger stones or fallen branches. However, at the lowest gear and with well-distributed forces and three short stops, it was manageable.

"The body rules, but the feet don't listen," we laughed on the way up. "Good thing we put Tematín first while we still have the strength. Beckov and Čachtice will already be in trouble, "we agreed. Occasionally we also met groups of hikers, just around us passed those who chose the electrobike for the trip up. On the way to the top, we were surprised by a mobile operator, which automatically connected us to the Czech network. We were horrified for a while to see if they would then register us for being abroad, and we would have to undergo a fourteen-day state quarantine. They probably wouldn't praise us at work or at home ...

Bicycles overhead

Through the locality Pod Chlmom we got to the ruins of the castle Tematín, in front of a beautiful ruin in the hills of Považský Inovec. First, we triumphantly lifted the bicycle over our heads, and before entering the castle directly, we supported the collection to support its repair. The beautiful sunny weather provided us with incredible views from the plateau by the main tower on the whole Považie, but also in the background to the Small and White Carpathians. Zaberačka uphill returned to us on the way back, when we could go out on the same route. We had to be careful and careful. A little inattention and you can tear the sores in the fall. We also felt it on our own skin, but nothing serious but abrasions or bruises happened.

In Hrádek, we split at the crossroads, two of the four-member crew headed back to Piešťany and Erik and I continued on the road to Hôrka nad Váhom, Nová Ves nad Váhom, Kočovce, to defeat another of our planned goals - the castle Beckov. Since it was Sunday, there were a minimum of cars on the road, we kept a brisk pace. Our plan was to put Beck's kofol, a radler and something to eat, but due to hygienic measures, the facilities were closed. The ascent to Beckov was fast, we just didn't get directly to the castle, so we rested on the adjacent hill.

Neither radler nor Čachtice

The third destination was to be Čachtice Castle. We went from Beckov along the dam towards Nové Mesto nad Váhom, but the partner got a defect. We repaired it on the spot, but we didn't want to risk whether the mantle would last, so we finally dropped Čachtice from the itinerary and from the district town we enjoyed a ride along the new cycle route to Horná Streda and then to Piešťany. Summa summarum, we covered more than 60 kilometers in 3 hours and 45 minutes with an average speed of 17.2 km / h and an elevation gain of 610 m. We said goodbye and thought that we would call, plan something else and get to know the Trenčín region from a different perspective.

The ridge of Považský Inovec

The situation repeated itself after two weeks. It started again with a phone call and this time the plan of the cycling route was more demanding. The starting point was Piešťany again and in a couple we went from the spa town to explore the corners of Považský Inovec. We crossed the border of the Trnava and Trenčín regions through Gonova Lazy, we got to the kopanice between Stará and Nová Lehota. From Horná Dolná, the center of the cult television series, we walked up the hill along the highway to Bezovec. Compared to the previous cycling tour, we were already welcomed by open establishments and a number of tourists. For refreshments, we chose Koliba Bezovec, where we chose from the menu a traditional "fryer" with french fries and one pinned ten. "After many weeks of quarantine, finally dewy," we rejoiced as little boys. So little is enough for happiness.

But we knew that a challenging route awaited us along the ridge of Považský Inovec. All guide websites called it one of the most beautiful. And they didn't lie. We chose from the ski resort following the red tourist sign. After a section that passed mostly through the forest, we reached Sedlo pod Panskou Javorinou. Thanks to the perfect tourist signage, we did not hesitate for a moment that we could get the label "wandering Dutch". Although a friend worked in the Netherlands for a while ...

The difficult ascents were also balanced by short descents, during which it was possible to breathe. Another of our relaxation places was Sedlo pod Ostrým vrchom, near which there is a shelter with the simple name "room". There is also the possibility to prepare your own food. We did not use this alternative, but we added clean water from a spring, which is close to the cottage. Delicious, refreshing water gave us energy to get to one of the peaks - Sharp Hill. There we also met several hikers who admired the twelve-meter wooden double cross. At the same time, as true tourists, we signed up for the top book hidden under it.

Just a few meters away there is a prayer of the forest to the pilgrim, carved into the wood that is tucked into the ground: “When you go around, do not raise your hand on me, for I am the wood of your cradle, the bed on which you sleep, , the beam of your house, the dining table, the warmth of your fireplace, and finally the plates of your coffin, on which you will rest at the end of your life, pilgrim! Whoever walks around the forest, do not harm the forest, because he is your friend. "

From the educational board, the tourist will learn about the important nationalist Jozef Miloslav Hurban.

Finally ...

This was more or less declining from the forest, there were nice views of the surroundings and in front of us was the desired goal - Inovec, the highest peak of Považský Inovec. However, we still stopped at the pre-peaks - Krželnice or the Palúch viewpoint. With the growing goal, the strength decreased, so we also played the well-known song "If you can't, then add more" on your mobile. Just scream from full lungs. That the word does not exist does not exist ... “When we overcame our own limits, we got back into the wooded area. And when we noticed a transmitter among the trees, we knew we were close to our coveted destination. As we were looking forward to Inovec, we quickly got off with it. After the ski slope to Chata pod Inovcom, where we refreshed ourselves and replenished liquids, although after the release of quarantine measures, there was a rush of people like on "Václavák".

We enjoyed bryndz dumplings, tossed a tapped kofola, replenished our water supplies and set off for Selca following the green tourist sign. Above the village we loved the view of our conquered Inovec and continued to Kálnice, where we connected to the red tourist sign, and along the road we came through Kočovce, Nová Ves nad Váhom and Hôrka nad Váhom to Horná Streda, from where we returned to Piešťany.

We managed almost 80 km in the hills in nine and a half hours. Korona nekorona, I'm already looking forward to the next call.

photo: Jakub Luliak