It’s mid-May in Poland. I’m undecided by what I should be wearing, as the forecast suggests it’s about 16º C, but it might also rain, and at some point it’s due to feel a lowly 4º. It’s the week after the opening DH race of 2025 in Bielsko-Biala, which, if you’re a racing fan, you’ll know shocked racers with a flurry of snow during the women’s finals. Thankfully, I’m heading to Srebrna Góra, (known as Silver Mountain in English) which is over 250km away and, if the Met Office projections are correct, slightly warmer.

MBR (me) has been invited to ride some of the hidden gems of this Eastern European country, including sections of the Bike Region Glacensis – a network of trails that links up towns and villages in an easy-to-understand way. It also leads to several bike parks, of which we aim to make full use of during the trip. And, to make life even easier, there’s an array of bike-friendly hotels, campsites and B&Bs. Basically, there’s been a lot of thought put into this project.

You have to climb to find the tech, but it’s worth it (especially on an e-bike)

What is Singletrack Glacensis and who is behind it?

The man behind the project is Marek Janikowski. Former mayor of Srebrna Góra and trail builder extraordinaire, he initially began floating the project when he was in robes, so to speak. And it was initially a much smaller scale idea – just some trails running from Srebrna to Bardo. But once he lost his mayoral position, he continued campaigning for the project, and as more and more towns got wind of his idea, they all insisted on being involved.

Views from the Klodzko Valley are insane – as long as it’s clear.

And thus, Singletrack Glacensis was born. Glacensis as a word is connected historically to the Klodzo region, symbolising the unique identity of the valley  It forms an extensive network of trails across the Klodzko Valley, through the hills and forests. And each of these areas gives riders a chance to explore completely different terrain and features. At last count, the trail network is up to around 240km of singletrack, all purpose built, and very much a labour of love for Janikowski, who also runs a bike park in Srebrna Góra.

He has his hands full, managing further expansion of the network. This time, between Kudowa-Zdrój, where we had our final overnight stay, and the Jodłów region. But before we dive into the actual trip, let’s take a look at the stats of Singletrack Glacensis.

Bike Park Srebrna Góra is simple, but works. And the trails speak for themselves.

There are roughly 230-240km worth of trails built through forests and in the valley. They’re varied in difficulty, but most were at worst a red grade, with a few spicy features to keep you on your toes. If you were to ride the entire trail network, you’d expect to climb around 6,000 metres. But even if you don’t want to do the whole thing, just picking out sections between Srebnra Góra and Lądek-Zdrój, or Międzylesie will offer ample riding.

And, you’ll be pleased to know that all these trails are completely legal. There is no motorised traffic permitted en route, and the trails are part of the Sudety MTB Zone, which was established in 2012. This is essentially just a name for a group of trails authorised by the local government in the region.

Rebecca was happier than her face suggests at the prospect of a 5am wake-up call

Polish Whistler… but is it really?

I was given a NS Bikes E-Fine 0, with a Shimano EP8 drive system and 630Wh battery. It came with 160mm travel front and rear and a Shimano Deore drivetrain. Was it the fanciest, most well-equipped e-bike I’ve ever ridden? No. But it did the job. And I think that’s indicative of the Polish riding culture – if it works, what’s the problem? And of course NS is a Polish brand, just to keep it in the family.

The region within Poland I explored by bike is rich in history. I won’t detail much here, but if you’re into that sort of thing then I highly suggest booking one of the ‘Singletrack Flow’ trips with Janikowski, who tells animated stories and gives off a passion for the region and riding that I’ve rarely seen.

Berms, hips, and flow for days at Srebrna Góra

We began our trip at Janikowski’s Srebrna Góra Bike Park. Packed with pallets repurposed into furniture, with an excellent catering truck and a little shop, and Koko the bike park dog. It’s small, but quite luxurious compared to some UK downhill day offerings where you’re treated to not much more than a shed in a gravel trap and a clapped out Landy to take you to the top.

The plan was to uplift to the top of the park where we would get some photos with the sunrise and the fortress in the background. Of course, trying to co-ordinate a group of journalists to be packed up and ready to ride at 5:30am is a nigh-on impossible task. So we missed the sunrise. But, we did get some decent riding in – the trails around the fortress really take advantage of the natural terrain, with rock gardens aplenty, and even some of the fortress walls getting a peek in.

The NS e-bikes we were treated to on the trip – surprisingly all returned in one piece. Bikes and journalists.

Veggie burgers and rhubarb cake awaited us at around 6:30am at the top of the trails. Not one for being impolite, I ate as much as I could, but trying to scoff a full meal at that time in a morning is not something I do on the regular. And I’d never considered gherkins for breakfast, but actually it works.

We continued on and rode a trail called Polish Whistler – categorised as an A3 trail (only Janikowski really understands the grading system), there are steep, technical parts of the track but also some fast-flowing sections. The bike park is also home to a trail designed by Nico Vink – and it’s fast.

Wetter days called for dungarees. Any excuse…

Rock gardens, radon water and cheese pancakes

We moved on from Srebrna Gora, loading our bikes onto the back of the vans and headed to Zloty Stok. From here we began our tour proper, with flowing singletrack along the Singletrack Glacensis route, taking in long forest switchback climbs and some gorgeous descents laced with rock gardens. Riding down into Ladek-Zdrój, we stopped at an attraction that includes a radon tap. Yes, radon.

According to local knowledge, the radon in the water can offer lots of health benefits, although upon pressing the Polish speakers, they couldn’t tell me exactly what those benefits were. Or whether they were… true. Needless to say I didn’t indulge, and my water bottle remained empty until we stopped for lunch.

There’s so much variety on the Singletrack Glacensis, and plenty of cool north shore features

After choosing what can only be described as a cottage cheese-filled pancake for lunch, we continued on our journey with a shuttle to the Rudka Loop, beginning in Międzygórze. This was an incredibly beautiful section of riding, capped off with a stop at the stunning Międzygórze waterfall, and then we pedalled back up to the top of the trails towards Trójmorski Szczyt for a sunset photoshoot.

All the best laid plans and all that… we as a group lost two of the riders as we were heading up the hill, as they took a route that they believed was more direct (it wasn’t) and then their batteries died. Now there are obviously going to be places where you don’t get good phone signal, and sadly, this was one of them.

Rebecca looking solemn after realising she had another 30km to ride after downing a hot chocolate and a cheese pancake

We waited a fair while for the other riders to find their way back to us, before deciding to head on. The forecast looked like there was a storm heading our way and we had 90 minutes to get to the guesthouse before it lamped it down.

The guesthouse we stayed in on night two, which was wonderful.

The guesthouse, Trzy Morza, Jodłów was incredible quaint. The family that run it live on-site, and offer breakfast as well as beautifully decorated rooms. The perks of being the only woman on the trip came when I was given a single room, and many others had to share – sorry lads, but there’s something to be said about being able to poop in peace away from the hustle and bustle of several blokes.

Some of us enjoyed the ride from the waterfall more than others.

Mushroom porridge and bike parks for breakfast

Polish cuisine is interesting. As an uncultured Brit, I wasn’t prepared for mushroom porridge with a poached egg on top for breakfast. Thankfully, there were other options to indulge in before another big day in the saddle. The first day was roughly 80km of riding and a few thousand metres of climbing. Day two looked like less time on the bike, and more time to enjoy another two bike parks before riding across the top of a ridge and then descending to the final hotel.

Family Bike Park Zieleniec is also a ski resort, hence the ski lifts. We took full advantage of being the only ones at the park, with a few descents – again these are trails that Janikowski had a hand in building. The resort is aimed at beginners and those looking to develop their skills, so it’s ideal for families. Janikowski said he had several parents asking for something more their level after the kids got tired and they had some energy left, so he built ‘Crazy Dad’. He was asked about a Crazy Mum trail but, well, it must be a work in progress.

One of several bike parks in the region, the Family Bike Park offers progression trails for all levels

The trails are super flowy and actually pretty good fun. If you want to really work on your cornering or other skills it’s the perfect area, and it’s a quick turnaround on the lifts to go again. Once we’d had a few runs we rode up along the ridge to Destné Orlické hory. Again, nothing too challenging, but it was really beautiful. Lunch was served at Bar Dvojka2 at the second bike park of the day.

Again, I chose a cheese-based meal (there’s a theme emerging here) and then was enticed by the hot chocolates on offer. Perfect riding fuel, I’d say. After hitting the pink and red trails a few times, we rode singletrack, including a seemingly never-ending rock garden climb up to a viewing tower on the top of Orlice Čihalka. It was the perfect time for Boost mode to really come into its own.

The viewing tower showed the storm closing in

As we stood atop the viewing tower, looking at nothing but grey skies and mist, the rain began. We hopped back on our bikes and made our way along the Polish-Czech border to the bus which would take us to Kudowa-Zdrój, our final destination. The rain was that kind of rain that you basically can’t see in. It was so strong, it was like being trapped in a car wash, except you’re trapped in a car wash wielding an electric mountain bike, descending on trails you don’t know, in a group of people you also don’t really know. My type of fun entirely.

A quick shower and getting the hairdryer to work on drying my kit and it was time for tea – fried cheese balls, followed by steak, naturally.

The following day several of us got a lift back to Srebrna Góra Bike Park for some fun laps before indulging in a rather excellent burger, and several attempts at luring the bike park dog, Koko to come with us to the airport. And thus concluded the trip to Poland. Would I return? Absolutely. I think the trail network is fantastic. It’s not always completely clear what the grading is, unless you’re Janikowski, but for someone looking for a decent adventure on the bike without it being ridiculously technical, I’d say go for it.

Just like a Yorkshire summer, this…

The beauty of it is that it’s all connected. Not just neighbouring towns and villages, but there’s a system of hotels, hostels, B&Bs, restaurants, etc. that are all supporters of the Singletrack Glacensis project. So plotting a route is already taken care of, and finding somewhere to stay is simple.

Now if we could just book some good weather, I’d be back there in a heartbeat.

singletrackglacensis.eu/en/