The Post's intrepid intern Ruslan Tracz blazes a trail for you to follow.
new city is always a trip – your sixth sense is in gear. I feel like Indiana Jones, and a sheepish grin spreads on my face whenever I get ready to hit the trails.
Paul Walsh, a Canadian ex-pat and avid mountain biker, describes it best – “with every uphill climb there’s a bitchin’ downhill.” And in this city of hills, you better believe there are some wicked runs. Mountain biking in Kyiv means your body endures a few batterings – but that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Autumn is the best time for trail-riding, too: when the leaves come down, the paths open up.
The Keener
Perhaps it was due to the adrenaline, but a few seconds after starting down one trail near the Lavra I ran into a steep ski-hill type of run. “Oh well,” I thought, “bring it on.”
Downhills on trails and downhills on streets are two different things. Doing Lesi Ukrainky or the Volodymyrskiy Uzviz, you can pick up insane speeds of up to 25-35 kph, and the speed makes it difficult to judge cars, whose drivers have a tough time figuring out how fast you’re going. A local bike courier warned me that 50 to 70 percent of all bike accidents his company has had have occurred on downhills.
Paved Trails
For the novice rider there are many enjoyable and apparently never-ending paved trails along Parkova Doroha and Askoldova Mohyla Park behind the Lavra. Although Parkova Doroha is paved, neither the road nor the park is easy for beginners. It’s not all downhill – be prepared for long gentle climbs and enjoyable rides down.
It’s an easy ride from Parkova Doroha to the pedestrian bridge and Trukhaniv Island and to Druzhby Narodiv Park – where anyone can go for an enjoyable fall afternoon bike ride. The paved trails are extensive and rather enjoyable, with some off-road stuff.
Not So Easy
More adventurous types will want to explore everywhere. As for Walsh, he recommends as a one-stop shop for all trail riding Holosiyivsky Park south of Lybidsky Market, just off 40-Richya Zhovtnya Prospect. “The best trail-riding in the city – bar none,” he says. Last year at this time he was training for a 3,000 km wilderness challenge in the Canadian Rockies. He knows his trails.
I was tasked with mapping out certain trails in Kyiv – but that’s nearly impossible. This is just a guide; with mountain biking you often find yourself making your own trails.
Places to check out: Lysa Hora Dubky Park; the insane downhill trails behind Pecherska Lavra; Askol’dova Mohyla Park; and, of course, Holosiyivky Park. Also recommended are Protasiv Yar and Babyn Yar.
The Path Less Travelled
DISCLAIMER: MANY OF THESE TRAILS ARE NOT FOR NOVICES
Lysa Hora (Bald Hill), south of Saperno Slobidska and east of Lybidsky Market, is a great place for a more technical ride. It’s rugged, but you’ll see riders kicking around there; ask someone to recommend a trail for you. Once you get up there it’s a great ride down with some good jumps and great turns. There are many different paths to choose.
Behind the Lavra, off the paved trails, there are some gnarly downhills worth tackling. None of them are gradual – test them out at first and be wary of broken glass. Keep an eye out along the paved path from Slaviy Park to the Lavra complex – it’s easy to miss a bunch of these trails. Most start off slow, but drop quickly down steep descents. Hold on, and make sure you stop before you hit the road at the bottom. Once at the bottom it’s easier to map out your next route, as the hillside is scattered with steep, technical runs, which is consistent with the entire area along the river from Volodymyrska Hirka to the World War II Museum.
I found the best place for trail riding at Dubkiy Park, where they hold a biannual (opening and closing of the season) amateur mountain bike race sponsored by Velolux. This year’s closing event is October 16 – check it out.
Dubkiy is easily among the best riding areas in the city. The trails go through a nice forest with really challenging climbs – I had to push my bike up some of the hills. There’s a great combination of trails that dodge through trees. Imagine it: Fall weather, and the trees look somewhat widowed with their foliage already matting the ground. Here it’s quite easy to map out your own path. There are some great technical sections where roots stick out of the ground that you can bunny hop.
Speaking of jumps, on the far side of the park is an area that is inhabited by dirt jumpers and BMXers. Definitely some great air possibilities.
Stairways to Hell
If you want to experiment, hit some stairs. The staircases near the Eternal Flame, on Horodetskoho on are definitely fun – although there are great staircases everywhere in the city. Just remember what comes down has to eventually come up – either you’ll have legs of steel or a sore back from lugging the bike back up the hill. I ended up walking with the bike a lot.
Kyiv’s Velolux bike shop is sponsoring an amateur mountain bike race in Dubkiy Park on Oct. 16. For more information, see www.velokiev.com.
Bike Rentals Made Easy
It’s October. Fall weather. Leaves are falling, that wet dewy smell hangs in the air. It makes you want to get out there and explore – on a bike. No need to buy right now. For those not quite ready to invest in a bike, think about renting. Think about Veloprokat.
Veloprokat is rather young (its doors opened just this spring), the brainchild of Alexander Burtsev and his business partner Dennis, both of whom have other jobs. The idea for the shop came about over a cup of tea one day.
Upsides: Bike rental at Burtsev’s shop is easy, and the friendly staff there will be more than happy to hook you up with one of their collection of bikes by American manufacturer Kelly’s. They start in price from Hr 10 per hour, or Hr 45 to Hr 55 for a full day’s rental (depending on the bike).
Extended rentals: Rent for a full week. A deposit is required, of course (check out the Veloprokat Web site, www.veloprokat.kiev.ua, for more details and options), and it’s always a good idea to call ahead to reserve a bike. A helmet is included in the rental and, just in case, so is a spare inner-tube and pump. You can even ask for allen keys to do minor adjustments for yourself.
Downsides: lights and high-visibility blinker lights are not part of the basic rental package – with more dark than light these days, both are musts. Also: Bikes do not come with toe-clips or shoes for clipless pedals.
Mental note: Double-check the bike yourself before you leave from the shop just to make sure you don’t get caught by surprise by a mechanical problem like I did: I had issues with the crank of a Kelly’s Salamander last time, although the problem was solved well by Dennis, Alexander and Ilya at the shop. Thanks, boys.
Veloprokat
6/31 Nahirna, 461-4450 or 8-050-469-7550.
www.veloprokat.kiev.ua.
Rentals from Hr 10 per hour; Hr 45 per day.
