East to West 🇸🇰 - Bikepacking Slovakia 23

East to West 🇸🇰Riding from most eastern train station to the west, from Stakcin to Bratislava.
Carrying everything I needed, including tent, sleeping back and so on.The idea of this trip came after we worked out our family summer holiday. A road trip through the Europe, stay here and there and end up and spend some time in Slovakia.
I decided to take my bike, so i can ride, and maybe some bags? to do some short trip? Maybe. What about longer trip? Hm?
Suddenly i could see many options and was already looking forward to it, even I didn’t know what yet.Started searching some trips what others did, no luck, came across some, but was too short or on roads only.
Then came across Slovakia Divide race, this looks good, i found route from previous event and wanted to use it. This is from west to east but mostly mountains, so it looked rough for my gravel bike. I contacted organiser of the event, lovely guy, chatted about the routes and stuff, he suggested mapping website he use (which saved me few times on this trip and was one my apps on daily basis.
After chatting with him, i changed the route completely, but kept the directions from east to west.Route prepared (after tweaking and tweaking and tweaking), logistics sorted, how to get to the east, by train, bike ready, all necessary items ready, did some riding prior to that so all good to go, I guess.Whole trip was great, going through the villages, through the forests, fields, and stuff, observing the country, people and really enjoying the freedom.
I didn’t arrange any placed for sleeping, it was decided on the day, in afternoon, mostly, i kept playing with the route, daily, changed it several times, pure freedom, you don’t know where you going, loved it.
Stayed in campsites, if there were any and some guests houses. This was good as i needed to recharge and use shower as was hot, really hot and i was sweating away.
Wild camping was a last resort.Food, supplies, water, all was easy to get, almost each village has a grocery store, just used google to find, phone reception was great apart from some valleys in the middle of forest but as soon i was up, signal was strong.
Restaurants were easy to find too, with nice food, marked on google or signs in the we villages.
Water from grocery store or some natural springs marked in forests was great.People are generally nice, helpful. First, looking at me like on alien, no surprise, dressed in lycra with strange shoes and helmet?
But as soon as i ask or spoke to them, they were nice and helpful, as could see I’m just human, strangely dressed with bike full of ags and stuff, homeless maybe?Met other cyclists, mostly Mtb, but generally 80% didn’t say hello back to me, strange. I kept saying hellooooo to everyone, people i met, on the streets, kids, mums with kids, almost everyone, anyway.
But it pisses me off if opposite coming cyclist does not say hello back, or way the hand, well.Great trip, East to West.
Looking forward to the next trip.