This short cycling route in the heart of the Golden Sands Nature Park, starting from the parking lot and the fountain under Aladzha Monastery, is intended mainly for novices and beginners, although it will be quite pleasant for advanced mountain bikers who want to make a high-speed "turn" on easy and fast trails, using the dense shade of the forest. Its short length allows you to take a quick dose of adrenaline for literally 1-2 hours, before / after work or beach.
If you still feel insecure on rough terrain, there are several sections that are steeper and rocky and may be a little difficult, but overall riding on this route is one of the easiest, without being boring for a moment.
As the trails in Golden Sands National Park are used intensively for hiking, it is obligatory to ride with caution, especially considering that the terrain is not very difficult and allows higher speeds.
From a navigational point of view, riding a bike on this route is easy, because most trails are clear and have tourist markings, so you can do well even without GPS, as long as you follow the description carefully.
The route is suitable for riding almost all year round, including through summer heat, but it is best during the transitional seasons.
The ride can be combined with a sightseeing of the monastery. For this purpose, however, you must either have someone to guard the bikes, or ask to tie them somewhere at the security booth.
Starting point: The fountain at the parking lot under Aladzha Monastery in Golden Sands National Park; https://goo.gl/maps/WuKeeFoaJdjY6ZJo7
Length: 9.6 km
Ascent: 260 m
Level of technical difficulty: medium (R1, R2, T1, T2,)
Physical activity factor: low (PAF = 3.5)
Duration: 1-2 hours (depending on the speed, breaks, etc.)
Water: 0.5-1 l (there is at least one fountain along the route)
Food: not required
Terrain:
- asphalt - 1.2 km
- country roads – 1.1 km
- paths - 7.3 km
Description:
Facing the fountain (point 01), we take a narrow asphalt road to the right (north direction) and after 50 m we turn to the right again (point 02). At point 03 (0.24 km) we reach a private property and continue along a paved pedestrian alley slightly to the right. After 50-60 m (point 04) we leave the alley and continue on the path to the left - it is wide, with a variable slope and with green and yellow tourist markings. At point 05 (1.5 km) the trail splits - we drive to the right along the yellow markings, preparing for slightly steeper and stony sections.
At point 06 (1.9 km) we reach a fountain, from which a path with red markings starts to the right. We continue straight with a slight ascent and after a hundred meters (point 07) we miss another path on the right (with yellow markings).
At point 08 (2.4 km) the trail gathers again with green markings and we continue to the right. After 400 m (point 09) the path widens to a country road, and in point 10 there is a fork where we take the right. It used to be a country road once, but now it's a great trail - relatively smooth and fast. In point 11 we are on the left and shortly after that we come out on a narrow asphalt road (point 12, 4.4 km), along which we take the left and upwards.
After 2-3 turns in point 13 on the right we come across the main path with red and green markings. We ride a little more on the asphalt road to point 14 (15.4 km), where we continue to the left on a country road with tourist markings. In many places the road is divided into sleeves with tracks, which gather again - choose the right one according to the conditions. In point 15 (6.4 km) we join another country road - we turn to the left on the same trail and after 40-50 m we reach again point 10 where we turn to the right on the main path with red and green markings.
At point 08 this time we continue to the right along the green marking - at the beginning it is steeply up, but just for a while, then the path flattens out and goes down, and you will come across several interesting rocky sections. After 1 km along this path we reach point 05 again and return to Aladzha Monastery on the way back, but at point 03 we take to the left on the paved pedestrian alley, not to the right on the asphalt road.
