First time fully loaded with tears of anger just below the top.
In the summer of 2019 I went camping on Nanos with friends from BBP team. Years ago we camp around this hills several times but in a slightly different way. Although this year the evenings were also pretty crazy. Back in the days we used to longboard this super nice downhill road on the west side of Nanos. We made a short action movie Na Nos! in 2014 (available in My Video Archive).
This year I had a really nice idea to go there by bike, so I packed all my gear and set off. This was basically my first such trip so I haven’t had optimized my gear packaging yet and I could definitely reduce the amount of gear. On the other hand it was also a challenge for me.
I divided this route to 3 parts. The first 40 km were flat and mostly along the main road, which I don’t like on such all-day rides, but is sometimes unavoidable. The next part was 100 km to Predjama Castle with some great parts with roads less busy but also quite a few short and good climbs.
Predjama Casle
Last water refill
Then the fun began. I already didn’t know if I would go to see the castle because it was out of the planned route. The road was downhill which means I'll have to go back up then. I went there anyway because I still had some time left and I wanted another coffee before I went into the wilderness.
The third part immediately began with the ascent to the last village before entering the hills of Nanos. There I found some water source, which I was very happy about as I was running out of water. This last part was mostly a gravel road.
I got to the camping spot too early and no one was there yet. With that, my primary goal was achieved but I’ve been thinking all along about actually going to the top. I was already pretty tired but I decided to go up anyway. I admit that I was not used to such slopes (23% +) and I had to step down 1 or 2 times, mainly due to knee pain. 2km below the summit I experienced the biggest moral breakdown and I was mad at everything at this time. (It was probably pretty funny when I shouted at my knee and cursed...) But yeah, I kind of got over it and kept going anyway. I just wanted to get to the top, even if I came up limping by the bike.
That was a relief. I got to the top. I did it.
Up to 23%
At the top
Last descent awaited me with exceptional views.
I finally got together with the team at the camping spot. Guys prepared their MTB bikes for the next day downhill rides and we all celebrated the reunion together in the evening. I must mention, however, that at that time I did not yet have a real regeneration plan. Of course as we party hard all the weekend I felt the consequences for the whole next week. Lesson learned.
The End
Chuki testing suspension
Benji and Radka morning routine
Tomo cold check
Jerry learning to fly
I'm not done with Nanos. I already have a new challenge in my mind. I have to go from the other side, on the road where we used to ride longboards. But this time without unnecessary stops and curses uphill.
A short video made from Instagram stories: