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: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
117 km from Asen to Asen, about 2 h 34 of riding. It goes by way of Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve, Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve and back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
The Central Balkan National Park covers the high spine of the Stara Planina, the Balkan Mountains, which divide northern Bulgaria from the Thracian plain. Sokolna is one of the strict reserves within the park, on the steep southern slopes above Kalofer and Pavel Banya, where beech forests climb towards bare ridges and peaks. Its old beech woods are part of the World Heritage site of ancient beech forests, and the area is rich in wildlife, from bears and wolves to chamois and birds of prey.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve is where the day begins. Next is Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve.
Above the little town of Kalofer, the southern wall of the Balkan range rises almost vertically, cut by deep gorges with waterfalls and covered in old beech and fir forest, and up there lies the Dzhendema reserve, one of the strict nature reserves within Central Balkan National Park. The name is said to come from a Turkish word for hell, a fair description of its steep, wild terrain. Above the reserve, Botev Peak, the highest summit of the Balkan mountains at 2,376 metres, stands at the heart of the park. Bears, wolves, chamois and wild goats roam these slopes, and the old beech forests of the park are part of the transnational World Heritage site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of Europe.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. 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.
about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve. Next is back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve, late in the day. Next is Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve. That is the ride.
Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve → Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve → Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve → Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.