I knew that today was going to be a hot one, with maximum temperatures around 31 °C, so I took an extra water bottle — but even that wasn’t enough. I left my cousin’s place sometime after 9. Even then, it was already quite warm, and it would only get warmer as the day went on.

As usual (as it's my habit), I chose the secondary and tertiary roads (with only around 5 km on the primary road), so I had to backtrack a bit to Krasnovce (9:56 – 8 km), and from there to Bánovce nad Ondavou (10:37 – 19 km). The road was mostly okay, except for two sections that were partly gravel and partly broken asphalt — those were the slowest stretches.

The wind was blowing from the south, giving me a tailwind for at least half of the ride, up to Vranov nad Topľou. The ride to Vranov was fast, and just before arriving, I changed the batteries in my GoPro — and, as usual, forgot to start the recording. As I was passing a petrol station, a thought occurred to me: I should buy a non-alcoholic beer to drink after lunch. But by the time I finished thinking it through and made the decision, I had already passed it. One reason I didn’t mind was that I had planned to have lunch sometime after Vranov — about an hour's ride away — so I expected there would be at least one more opportunity. But while going through Vranov, it became apparent that I was hungry, so I stopped at a bus stop in the shade of the trees at 11:55 (44 km). I had the pizza I had ordered the night before. While eating, I imagined how nice it would taste with a cold non-alcoholic beer — but since there was no beer, that whole idea remained academic. So I made a mental note to buy one at the next station as a refreshment before the final hill. After lunch, I reached the last petrol station before Zámutov at 12:55 (49 km), bought the beer, and got ready to continue. The temperature was climbing to nearly 31 °C, and I started to feel it. Also, with the wind shifting to the west and northwest, I now had a strong headwind. That slowed me down, and I reached the base of the final hill at 13:49 (61 km).

There, I finally opened the non-alcoholic beer I had bought earlier and enjoyed the moment. Since the can was still cold, I used it to cool myself off by pressing it against my neck and back — and it worked quite well. Once the beer was gone, I did a quick last check of the bike and got ready to conquer the hill.

The climb was around 10 km in total, with maximum gradients around 13 %. It took me nearly an hour, with occasional drink stops. I sweated a lot, and near the top of the climb, I ran out of water. Thankfully, it wasn’t a problem, since from there it was all downhill to the destination, where I arrived around 16:00 (88 km).

Final Word: This trip was just a kind of "dry run" to test my tent — how it could be packed and attached to the bike, and how it held up overall. Even though I originally wanted to stay in the tent for two nights, I think it fulfilled its purpose. I could have tried to find a campsite near Šírava, but it was easier to spend the night at my cousin’s and chat late into the night. I also needed to charge my batteries, and I didn’t want to risk not finding a proper campsite. All in all, it was a good trip. I’m now confident that the tent is reliable, and I could take it on longer trips.