CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
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Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 561 km round trip from Apriltsi - roughly 9 h 39 in the saddle. The stops in between: Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve, Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve, Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve and back through Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Peesh skali means singing rocks, after the way the wind howls and whistles through the cliffs and crags of this reserve on the slopes of the central Balkan range. It lies on the northern side of the main ridge, not far from Botev, at 2,376 metres the highest peak of the Balkan mountains, and it protects beech and spruce forests, alpine meadows and rocky slopes, part of Central Balkan National Park. Chamois live on the crags, and bears, wolves and golden eagles roam the area. Access to the reserve is restricted, but trails in the surrounding park offer spectacular walks.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve is where the day begins. Next is Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve.
Just above Karlovo, the Stara Reka tumbles out of the Balkan mountains through a steep gorge of beech and rock, and climbing alongside it you leave the town's lowland heat behind within minutes. The reserve that bears the river's name protects the upper part of that valley and forms part of the Central Balkan National Park, one of the largest protected areas in this part of Europe. Its ancient beech forests are included in the UNESCO listing that ties together primeval beech woods across the continent.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve comes up about 93 km into the recorded legs. Next is Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve.
High on the main ridge of the Balkan range, the Stara Planina, that runs across Bulgaria from west to east, the Kozya Stena reserve protects a wild landscape of limestone cliffs, beech forests and alpine meadows. Its name means goat wall, after the chamois that live on its crags. The reserve is part of Central Balkan National Park, one of the largest protected areas in Europe, and since 2017 its oldest beech stands have been inscribed alongside the primeval beech forests of the Carpathians and the rest of Europe. Wolves, bears and wild boar roam the forests, golden eagles soar over the ridges, and the meadows burst with wildflowers in early summer.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 197 km into the recorded legs you reach Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve. Next is Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve.
The Balkan range, the Stara Planina, runs across the middle of Bulgaria from the Serbian border to the Black Sea, and its central section is the wildest, highest and most heavily forested part. The Central Balkan National Park protects this area, and within it, the Boatin Reserve guards a stretch of ancient beech forest on the northern slopes, one of the components of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a UNESCO site that stretches across many countries.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve, about halfway. Next is back through Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve sits at 373 km, about halfway. Next is back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve comes up about 468 km into the recorded legs. Next is Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve closes the day.
Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve → Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve is 93 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve → Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve is 104 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve → Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve is 84 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve is 84 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve is 104 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve → Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve is 93 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.