Hi,

I'm from Poland and I'm curious what do You think about spending some time riding in Polish mountains. Have anyone of You ever been to Poland? Do You have any opinion about Polish mountains and conditions for mountain biking they offer.

Greetings
Radek

Hi Radek. I have been mountaineering in the High Tatras twice and could see quite a bit of potential there for MTB though not sure of legality though as the TPN are quite strict.

Only 15 years of riding there as native to Lower Silesia.
Welcome to the Oracle!

Highclimber you're right in the TPN area riding is not allowed except few trails leading through the valleys (nothing special). Our main mountain biking areas are located in the Beskids (few mountain groups ex: Silesian, S?decki, ?ywiecki, Wyspowy)and farther on the west Sudety (ex: Table Mountains, Karkonosze or ?nie?nik Mountains). Almost all south of the Poland are great biking areas with different character of riding in each part.

Hairychested have you been living there? What're Your impressions about riding in the Sudety?

I love Poland, have very, very happy memories of the place and the people and am trying to put a group together to come out with you next year. Do you go anywhere where there are any bison?

BigDummy, it's nice to hear about your good memories of Poland. You can meet bison in the Bieszczady Mountains, it's not so easy but possible
🙂 also wolves and many other wild animals. We are going to prepare a tour in the Bieszczady but there are some restricted areas for mountain biking beacause of national park. It's very wild and beautiful part of Polish mountains.

BD, go to the Polish Lake District AKA Mazury. It's a hell of a area with lakes, canals, creeks, wild forests and quirky music festivals. Check International Country and Western Music Picnic in Mragowo, I've seen Kenny Rogers there some years ago.
East of there you'll find the ancient forests where bison species live. Mail me for more info anytime.
RP, it helps being Polish! LOL
The Suddetens are cracking, many a thousand of marked trails, no need for a GPS. Will be back there, my singlespeed Marin awaits in Wroclaw 😀

Hairychested all about Mazury it's true but I prefer it for sailing 🙂 In The Bieszczady You can put it all together mountain biking, ancient forests and bisons 🙂
Greets

I would be very interested in going there for riding if its as good as it sounds. I love the polish people/food/culture (particularly the food).

Didn't the mag do an article a few years back that was about a ride in Poland?

Highclimber, feel free to write an e-mail on priv (info@ridepoland.com) i'd love to share my knowlege. If You'd like to have some more info You can also visit my web (watch my profile). We would be very happy to ride with You.
Epicsteve unfortunetly I read the mag for about 2 years and don't know the article. Do you remember an issue maybe, i'd like to read it and maybe write few words about it for You guys.
Greets

This is an advert, isn't it..

No it's not an advert it wasn't my intention. I've already bought adverts in magazine and on the ST website. I'm a rider same as You and just looking for opinions about Poland, your experiences and intrests. As I wrote i'm also ready to share my knowledge about best riding areas in Poland so feel free to ask me If you are interested in.

ride poland…..whey hey

I'd be interested (as much as I'm interested in riding anywhere abroad – I can't afford it at the moment), but I'd want to know what access was like. Not everwhere treats national parks and nature reserves the way we do, with people being allowed to wander around willy nilly.

Def an advert!

and so what? He's paid, so he's allowed to.

Once more it was not my intention. What I ment, it was rather kind of research of your needs, intrests, opinions, answer your questions. I don't hide that i'm running a bussines but I'm here as a rider who maybe will come someday to UK and also will need an advice where to ride.
TRON – however in polish national parks riding is not allowed in general – except bike trails, there are parks where these restrictions are not executed, for example in the Table Mountains National Park. It's rather a matter of your behaviors, respect to the nature and self control to ride the way so you can leave the place in condition before you came.

What are the access laws like in Poland? How do you know hat tracks you can go on? Any long distance trails / paths?

Got any good pics/video of the riding in Poland?

Are there any uplift/chairlift assisted trails or DH type trails?

I've not been but it's definitely on my 'want to' list. Sadly, it's not going to happen for a couple of years because we've just bought a house and money's tight but I'd be grateful for any riding pics of Beskids/Sudety being posted…. 🙂

I took my bike to the Tatras a few years ago and rode some great trails, only limited by late season snow. I didn't know anything about ride bans in national parks, but not an issue because there was no one out there except me. Interesting to see the yokel smock wearing locals ploughing the fields with horses.

Zippy +1
Op sounds like a fella just wanting some honest feedback to me
No different to a lot of other peaple who post on here and run a company as well apart from the fact he's more upfront about it
Good luck, sounds like a nice change from the usual alps trip

i know nothing about riding in poland – and i'm pretty clued up on international riding.

is there anywhere (in english preferred) that i can find a bit more out?

Hey Radek,

I'm just back from a weekend in Krakow, had a fantastic time there, my girlfriend is from Slovakia so i think is going to be taking me to the Tatras this summer for a bit of hiking. If the food beer and scenery is is good in the mountains as the cities then i'm sure it'd be a fantastic destination.

I was well impressed with poland, would definately concider it as a biking destination. try and get some videos of the biking up on your website to tempt people even further.

cheers and good luck

TheBrick – most often we ride the signed touristic paths for hikkers but they don't mind if you respect their presence it's not a big problem beacause in main riding areas there are not many of them sometimes you can ride 10 hours and meet nobody. In national parks but not only there, bike trails are signed: white square with a biker in the middle (red, green, blue). Outside national and landscape parks we ride using signed touristic paths, fire roads, unsigned paths etc. The net of signed touristic paths is very large in Poland so you can compose your trail as long as you wish. For example main trail in the Beskidy (red color) flows from the border with Ukraine to Ustro? in Silesia region. It's about 520 km long and it takes almost a week to complete it with daily elevations even about 2500 m.

Grum, HeathenWoods – pics are available on my web (http://ridepoland.com we have also fanpage on FB) – most of them are from the Beskids but Table Mountains are part of the Sudety – specially for You HeathenWoods 😉 in few days i will put short video with a few enduro riding shots recently made.
Regarding to your question Grum we have few chairlift assisted spots with DH trails ex. Szczyrk, Wis?a – the Silesian Beskid; Wierchomla, Jaworzyna Krynicka – the Beskid S?decki, Black Mountain (Czarna Góra) – the Sudety Mountains, My?lenice – nearby the Cracow. For now you can watch some DH clips from few spots http://vimeo.com/12807924

dave360 – the Tatras are great and almost everyone of polish enduro riders dreams about riding there but in fact it's most restricted area for us in polish mountains, same on the Slovakian side of the ridge. "…yokel smock wearing locals ploughing the fields with horses" it's not so common nowadays but still possible to see :-), and that's true beautiful and interesting picture.
thomthumb – now I have nothing on my mind but I will try to find something in english however it could be rather my question for you 🙂
Rusty Mac – thanks for a good word, I assume you will be in Zakopane probably and despite it's capital of the Polish Tatras and worth to see it's also very crowded and annoying. For sure you can find there great food, regional bands playing local music in bars and restaurants there is also a dealer of Santa Cruz so you can arrange a test ride and hit some trails 🙂 From Zakopane you can do many short and long distance great trips but the best is to take your backpack and go in the mountains for a few days with nights spent in mountain refuges. Have a good time.

Table Mountains are part of the Sudety – specially for You HeathenWoods

Lol. Cheers! Looks very nice, and i particularly liked thw look of the Table Mountains 🙂

Has anyone ridden in My?libórz County? Far north west of Poland – near the border with Germany and Berlin. Off out there next week with my girlfriend (her family are from there). Half tempted to pack a bike…

I'll be riding in Poland for 6 days. Does anybody have some GPS routes or mapped route suggestions?

(Radek – I have emailed you, Thx)

So in the end I went with Radek at Ride Poland and it was SWEET!
My friend rekons the riding was better than Whistler or Spain, and I can't recommend it enough!

Not that I don't trust you, 😉 but post some pics and a few details

Got some photos up at last. Brings back great memories.

http://picasaweb.google.pl/Radziu1977/Sudety2010#slideshow/5518367945974625474

Home riding is often best. Happy you liked it, I’ll try to get back there next year for some riding. BTW Loads of DH’ing can be done just over the border near Spindleruv Mlyn (plenty of Norwegian girls last time I went riding there). Or skiing in the Winter.

Never been riding in poland but we went to a wedding there at easter, we thought it was a brilliant place, loved the food, people and wodka!! We only stayed in Warsaw for a night before moving out to stay in another part of the country, but we’d definitely go back.

My girlfriend is from Bialystok, much riding in that area? She’s said that its heavily forrested up there, but no ideas about biking. The -20 winters sound a bit full on too tbh!

@RichPenny, take an XC bike with you, a good camera and go there in the Summer. 30-35 deg. centigrade, Country and Western Picnic in Mragowo (or whatever they call the festival nowadays), sailing, swimming in lakes, eating wild berries in the forrests, picking mushrooms and drinking cheap beer awaits you. I wish I could go, my uncle still lives not too far.
BTW It isn’t minus 20, more like minus 30 degrees in the Winter.