Mountain Bike Adventure and Berries in Osogovo

Three new mountain bike trails in Osogovo were presented on the 10th of October 2017 in the Traveller’s Club in Sofia. Interesting stories about the wonders offered by the mountain triggered the curiosity of the participants so that the first enthusiasts wanting to get involved in an adventure did not hesitate to sign up for a promotion trip.

On the following Saturday (the 14th) a group called “Wild berries” – a girls’ group practicing and promoting extreme sports – accompanied by single travelers, started off to get acquainted to the Osogovo Mountain on two wheels. Their guides were Alexander Doutsov from Traventuria Ltd. and Pavel Kozarski – a mountain bike competitor and an owner of mountain bike and repair shop from the town of Kyustendil.

The weather was marvelous, as well as the mood of the participants. The day’s program included a down-hill run from the “Ruen” Hotel, past the “Dvete Reki” Locality, to the village of Zhilentsi. The trail went through the famous Osogovo beech forests, unforgettably colored by the autumn.

The up-hill run from the village of Zhilentsi to the “Tri Buki” Hotel was easy thanks to Pavel Kozarski. He looked after the laughing group, taking them and their bikes in his bus. Pavel is a local entrepreneur, willing to support everyone who is ready to test the model of the „self-guided biking tours”.

And up there, at the “Tri Buki”Hotel, a delicious lunch was waiting. Welcoming all the participants was also Petko Tzvetkov from the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation. He made an interesting presentation about the nature heritage of the Osogovo Mountain – a tale about interesting species to be found only here, century old-grown forests, protected areas and reserves, a marvelous mix of nature and human culture findings. A story about all the things attracting tourists to the region and the reasons for Osogovo to be part of the European Green Belt.

At the end of the day another surprise was waiting – a more extreme down-hill run, used for organizing championships. This is a fare more complicated piece in comparison to the three promoted trails and is aiming at fare more experienced riders. The end of the adventure came with the evening, when full of impressions, the group took the way back to Sofia.

The three bike trails have a different level of difficulty – for beginners, intermediates and advanced riders. All trails have GPS tracks. They were described in the framework of the project “Supporting Sustainable Future For People And Nature In Osogovo”, implemented by Euronatur, the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation and the Macedonian Ecological Society, with the financial support of the German Federal Foundation for Environment (DBU) and the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS).