About Us
Who Stands behind Bike Slovakia
10+ Years of Experience: You Will Be in Good Hands
Let me tell you a bit about Bike Slovakia self-guided tours. They were founded by Braňo Chrenka, a co-founder of the Authentic Slovakia Tours. Together with his brother Peter, we operate private and small-group guided tours in Bratislava since 2010. Our team of enthusiastic local guides has been showing off-the-beaten-path Bratislava to the guests from around the world. Besides driving our classic communist-era Škoda vehicles, we cycle to the former Iron Curtain area of Bratislava, the largest socialist housing district and other hidden spots.
Founders' Behind the Scenes
I have started my bike journeys in the late 1990’s, long before I started to dream about Bike Slovakia tours. My first experience was when I was 15 and it was a 3-day trip with a friend from my home town of Bratislava along the Little Carpathians to our summer house and to the Morava region of the neighbouring Czechia. The big launch was however in year 2000, when we cycled through the whole Slovakia. Next seasons, other bike journeys followed: through Czechia, to Croatia, Poland, Baltics, Romania, 2 months across western Europe to Portugal, 1 month across eastern Europe to Istanbul, Albania, Macedonia, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Israel/Palestine, Ireland, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan.
About Bike Slovakia: Origins of the Self-Guided Tours and Routes
The idea of a bike route across Slovakia came up to my mind in 2019, after cycling the Alpe Adria Cycle Route from Austria to Italy. Friend of mine has inspired me by his enthusiasm for a gravel bike route, too. Then the Covid pandemic hit the world in 2020. Travel restrictions created proper conditions to stay in Slovakia and plan the routes. I explored the Mountain Route in four stages with my friends and travelled the Road Route with my wife in two stages during summer.
Autumn and winter 2020 brought some rain and time to work on all the essential things to make the Bike Slovakia project a reality. I cut the videos, made a website, contacted local partners for accommodation, bike rental and luggage transfers and searched for international partners to spread the word about the tours and routes. And voilà, here we are! I am looking forward to share my idea of the cycling route in Slovakia and inspiring you for an ultimate bike adventure in Central Europe!