Kozí chrbát – Goat Back

Slovenská Ľupča
60 km
↑ 1.500 m ↓ 1.500 m
6 – 8 hod.
1.210 m Kečka
365 m Slovenská Ľupca
100 %
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Hiad. kyselka, 12 km Hiad. sedlo, 21 km
1.Hlavný hrebeň 2.Výhľady
Šachtičky, 40 km
Harmanec 1:50.000 N.18

Lesná cesta / Forstweg / Dirt32 km53%

Chodník / Pfad / Trail19 km32 %

Asfalt / Asphalt / Tarmac9 km15 %

Tlačenie / Schieben / Push0 km0 %

Hard work begins just behind the village. Tarmac is your enemy, which is why you won’t go comfortably on the road but uncomfortably through the forest roads instead. You’re gonna encounter here the first meadow-uphill-killer, but this you’ll handle. A short downhill into the Mostenica hollow is gonna be the last happy memory for a long long time. In fact, hell is coming. I can’t promise you anything but sweat and suffering. Bear in mind – it’s not just a short swing-up. If you think you’re somehow gonna breathe it over, you’re not. But if you keep riding with sense and sparing energy, you’ll be able to beat the killer. A lovely opened ridge will be the reward for your suffering. Beautiful views into the west. At first through the meadows and then through the forest, but still under the ridge, you’ll reach almost the end of the Mostenica and Hiadel hollow. The reward is a trouble-free, albeit a somewhat uninteresting meadow-downhill into the end of the Hiadel hollow. You’re ascending on the old tarmac road, which was once a commercial road connecting Pohronie with Liptov. Don’t miss out on a little break at a spring of a fine, iron mineral water. Stop for a while at a memorial to those, who liberated us in 45 from the fascists, in 48 from the democrats, in 68 from ourselves and if we won’t be careful, they’ll liberate us once again. Keep ascending, don’t touch the ground with your feet till you enter the forest and find a treasure – a hidden single trail which you’ll fall down into the Hiadel saddle on. Sit down in a hut, have some refreshment, refill water in the camelback. A land-wise spectacular, condition-wise undifficult single-trail route through the main ridge of Low Tatras awaits you. Go around the Kozi chrbat peak on the north traverse. If you want to go through, you’ll have to push the bike. But you’ll better carry. Once you reach Kecka, you’ll be on the highest point of the tour, but not even remotely out of the woods yet. A short, rocky, step-wise, sappy treacherous downhill in the west follows – called also ,,the rock garden”. I always look forward to it though, it’s like a small piece of the Garda Lake in Slovakia. Just one short, sharp uphill livened up by loose rocks and on a forest road improved by broad, usually muddy rails you’ll get to the opened meadows under the Hruby peak above Kaliste. There’s a riding- and country-wise very rewarding part in front of you, plus-minus zero until the mountain hotel Sachticka. Here I recommend having a Caesar salad and two beers. Usually more of them. But don’t overdo it, otherwise you’ll deprive yourself of the experience of the excellent, for the most part single downhill to Banska Bystrica. In the end a true urban trail, low walls, steps, mommies with baby strollers and stuff like that. In Sasova under Lidl a tapped Maestro from the waitress who’s looked the same for 20 years. This may take some of your energy but will give you the moral for the coming back to the start. The less fit ones on the tarmac, the other ones on the graveled road along the river Hron. A magnificent tour. Veni vidi vici.

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↑ 1.500 m ↓ 1.500 m
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