Day #3 How I was going to use pepper spray for the first time

Článek je k dispozici i v češtině 🇨🇿.

Two of my co-racers got up a little earlier. I didn’t know where they were getting their energy from. I found out that it was going to be super hot today. There was a warning that people shouldn’t leave their homes. It will be a hell ride. I got out of my sleeping bag later because I was waiting for the opening of the local shop. I didn’t have anything for breakfast.

And then it came…

And then I experienced real Slovak mountains. I enjoyed the view on Ružín damm with a beautiful mist above its surface. And then I was pushing, pushing and pushing my bike to the top. There were a lot of signs that entry is forbidden, entry is only on your own danger and I was just hoping that it wasn’t valid for racers. And when I finally pushed my bike to the top of the mountain and had to go down and I was braking, braking and braking. But it was a nice change.

I entered the picturesque village Slovinky. It was an oasis of civilisation in the middle of mountains. I refilled my rations and headed to Poráč. There was a short bear zone, but light was everywhere and I wasn’t scared at all. I loved this part of the track. It was hot but I got used to it because the road was next to the water.

Something terrible wrong is with my bike

My front wheel was getting loose on downhills in Poráč. I was trying to tighten a screw but the problem was appearing again and again. I though that I would have to ride on my rear wheel only. Fortunately, this scenario didn’t happen. I reached Spišská Nová Ves where I got a new gasket in a cycle service (thanks to Bicycle Schwabik for the free help).

I didn’t want to stay in the town for long. The lady from a grocery shop warned me that around my path there are a lot of gipsy settlements. It was getting dark and I started to be afraid. I was thinking about staying here for the night but my performance was pretty bad that day and I had to make at least a few tens of kilometres.

Challenge accepted

I decided to accept the challenge. I prepared my pepper spray to the handle bars with the thought that if someone will bother me, I’ll make them cry. I started with an impressive speed. I didn’t know who will attack me after next corner. I went through the gipsy settlement which was really scary and I continued on. I was surprised that it was the first and the last settlement I saw that day.

But just as I had good luck with gipsies, I had bad luck with the Horse Fly. These … flies … were sticking with me. When I wanted to have some rest, they attacked me. I was trying to escape them but biking uphill was so tiring… And when I finally did it, it was night already and I was alone in a Slovak forest. Brrrr…

I reached the village Spišské Teplice on the edge of exhaustion. I found a nice place behind the local church and had a great night.