Nowy Targ is the main town of Podhale, the highland district at the foot of the Tatras, and it feels as if it had always been a place where mountain farmers came down to trade. About thirty-four thousand people live here, in a broad, windswept basin about six hundred metres above sea level where the Czarny and Biały Dunajec rivers meet, and the weekly market, held on Thursdays, is a long-standing tradition where highlanders in embroidered waistcoats still sell sheep, cheese, wool and wooden goods. The cheese to look for is oscypek, a smoked, spindle-shaped sheep's-milk cheese pressed in carved wooden moulds, and you will find it on stalls throughout the region.
The basin is known for its cold. Winter air collects here under the surrounding hills, and Nowy Targ has long been counted among the coldest places in Poland on clear, still nights. Summer, by contrast, is mild and green, and the view of the Tatra wall to the south, a jagged line of grey peaks, is the reason most riders come. On a clear day it fills the whole horizon.
The riding is a pleasant mix of straight, fast road and gently rolling country. Roads run between wooden highland houses with steeply pitched shingle roofs, past roadside crosses and chapels, and toward the foothills, where the bends tighten. The main road to Zakopane is heavy with traffic, particularly on summer weekends and in the ski season, and slow lorries make overtaking tiring, so use the smaller roads when you can. Police patrols and speed cameras are common in the villages.
You will not struggle for fuel or food. Nowy Targ has several petrol stations, supermarkets and cafes, and the market square has restaurants serving regional dishes like kwaśnica, a sour cabbage soup, and potato pancakes with goulash. A short ride east leads to Czorsztyn and the Pieniny, where the Dunajec cuts through a limestone gorge that visitors raft in wooden boats. Take time to stand in the square and look south. The Tatras do not look real from here, and no photo does them justice.