Blog: I want to ride my bicycle

We will soon have the opportunity to let authorities know loud and clear that cyclists do not want to be pushed out of Bratislava's forests.

City relaxation with a bicycle.City relaxation with a bicycle. (Source: Sme - Pavol Funtál)

Jupiter is almost 14 years old, born in the Czech Republic, well-built and an excellent companion. We have many things in common but most important is the love for a “wild” ride in the Lužne Lesy forests stretching south from Bratislava’s borough of Petržalka towards the Hungarian border.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Neither mud nor dust matter, and not even the wind, given that Murphy’s Law applies: “No matter which way you go the wind will always find a way to blow in your face”.

We have already learnt that it’s wise to leave earlier in the morning so the time spent on the “hrádza” (the flood protection dykes on both sides of the Danube and its canals, which serve as cycling paths) involves as little contact with humans as possible. After so many years, we have developed a kind of “feeling” for who is there for the pleasure of running, skating or biking, and who is there to show off or to solve some mid-life crisis dressed in a T-shirt like the one worn by Peter Sagan but with very little knowledge about riding a bike.

SkryťTurn off ads

I was in primary school when I learnt that a cyclist must respect “traffic rules” too. The basic one is that any change of direction is signalled by raising the hand at a 90-degree angle; the right one if you turn right, the left one if you turn left. Guess what percentage of cyclists in Bratislava do it?

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Janka, a blogger, during the inauguration of the first flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines at the airport in Bratislava on September 14, 2023.

A Czech rail operator connects Prague and Ukraine, Dominika Cibulková endorses Pellegrini, and Bratislava events.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad