We first met the man behind Podia a couple of years ago after he moved to Kraków, Poland and started blogging about cycling around Central & Eastern Europe, not far from our Prague office. In fact, I think I first ran into Max in Prague while he was doing some road riding adventure with the folks from Czech bike builder Festka. Well, Podia grew from a blog about riding culture to an online shop for nicely designed cycling kit, and now they’ve expanded once more.
Earlier this year Podia organized their first Roadventure travel trip for cyclists coming from all over Europe to experience the lesser traveled roads of the Tatra mountains on the Polish/Slovak border. That trip apparently was run as a feeler to test the response to an alternative option for fully-supported road touring, and the response was great. So, Podia is coming back in the first half of 2017 with two extended-weekend-long trips to the roads of the Tatras. I’ve spent a good bit of time in those mountains myself, and think they are one of the hidden treasure of Europe. Pricing for the small group trips seems reasonable and their adventure guide itineraries look interesting, so hop past the break and get the full details, plus a video preview…
Podia’s Roadventures tours are fully supported cycling trips in Eastern Europe designed for active and experienced road cyclists. Each trip is an extended long weekend of riding with four nights in single or double occupancy accommodation, starting out and bringing you back to Kraków to connect to air travel. To keep it rather simple, the trips stick to a small group of 6-8 riders plus guides, with an experienced mechanic along the way in a support vehicle.
Along the trips you stay in a traditional log cabin located next to a lake and in a medieval castle in the mountain town of Niedzica, with breakfast and evening meals together included, as well as ride nutrition and hydration throughout the days.
The riding takes place in the rugged Tatra mountains, with their dramatic peaks and rock faces and a few high mountain passes. Podia has laid out some ideal routes to experience the best that the Tatras have to offer on the southern Polish border with neighboring Slovakia.
The two Tatra Roadventures currently planned for 2017 are take place May 24-28 and June 21-25. The late May trip will cost 850€ per person, while the trip a month later in June will be a bit more at 950€.
