Midwest cyclists: Best routes around Moslavina Mountain and nearby?

If you're interested, drop your routes here—landscape shots, bike pics, whatever experiences you've had--just let me know.

Yeah, totally, that would be awesome! I’m actually planning a three-day Tour de Moslavina, though I haven't quite locked down the exact route yet. Just some rough ideas so far 😁 I really need to see when my schedule clears up—maybe sometime this fall? But I won't make any promises; once it happens, I'll just drop the photos and everything 🙂 Less talking, more doing 😁

Man, if only someone would actually join me so I didn't have to spend all this time riding solo 🙂
If I end up heading out, I might snap some photos, but honestly, there are plenty of interesting routes on Strava—I just don't really feel like scouting them all out by myself 🙂

I'm currently crushing these three routes—they're honestly awesome 😉



Purple route:


Green route:


Blue route


It’s not a huge list, but it works for me—plus, I've got two more routes in the works that I'll drop later. Have a good night, everyone! 🙂

Anyway, I'll post whenever I actually head out. If anyone wants to tag along, you're more than welcome, I guess. I just need to tweak my bike a bit and grab some gear 😁 (so I don't end up forgetting my pump, spare tube, and basic tools... again). Obviously, having free time is the big deciding factor here. But yeah, that's the plan 😁

A three-day camping trip, or whatever you were thinking? Honestly, I’d be down for something like that, provided we can actually round up a crew. And as long as we aren't hitting 62 miles stops per day. If we keep it at that pace, I think I could handle the driving. You got a route in mind?

So, I’ve been messing around with Google Earth, trying to piece together a route that hits roughly 250 miles 186 miles?
What kind of setup are you guys running?
(Mostly MTB or trekking, since I'm looking to stick to gravel paths and forest trails 🙂
)
And what's the consensus on hills? Should I tackle them or skip? 😁 (Personally, I'd rather steer clear of anything too steep
)
Also, which direction are you all heading in when coming out from the NYC area?

I ride both, honestly, but for the long hauls I stick to my "trekking roadie"—basically a drop bar setup with skinny slicks. That means I’m strictly sticking to super smooth gravel without any rocks, or I’m just staying off the dirt entirely. As for the hills... man, that depends. What kind of climbs are we even talking about?

II. Yosemite - Voloder Route 20 miles: Poplar Bluff - Upper Jelenski - Yosemite - Voloder - Upper Gračenica - Lower Gračenica - Osekovo - Poplar Bluff;
It hits everything—old churches, killer scenery, ancient sites where they found black gold (tar pits), the heart of local vineyards, the Lonja Nature Park area, a little wooden chapel, and even some Roman ruins.
It’s a solid route. And here's another one from the King I collection 11 miles: Lipovljani - Piljenice - Kraljev Velika - Lipovljani;
Expect great views, old mills, the scenic landscape around Piljenice, rustic wooden houses, and that classic small-town vibe.

So, yeah, basically. I ride an MTB and I'm definitely not some pro climber on those hills 😁, but I guess I’ll figure it out eventually. Trip length isn't really the issue—it's just that I won't exactly be breaking any speed records. Camping is fine; I was thinking about crashing with relatives, but honestly, maybe not. It usually just leads to those long family dinners where everyone interrogates you about everything you've missed... total nightmare. I'm starting from the city, so I need to figure out how to bypass Long Village, though I have a few ideas already. Going through the hills near the Mississippi should be pretty smooth 😁. I mean, I could always just take the train partway, but I don't know, that wasn't really the original plan 😁

What I actually wanted to do was hit up some archaeological sites, old buildings, historical landmarks, blah blah, plus anything else worth snapping a photo of or jotting down 😁
The idea was kind of to start a little travel blog or something, I guess... if I can actually manage to do it all at once. We'll see...

It’d be killer if someone actually mapped out a route connecting the wine trails up in the Midwest mountains all the way down to Jasenovac, then hugging the Mississippi through the Lonja Nature Park straight into Sisak... and honestly, why stop there? You could just keep rolling through Martin Ves toward Čić and finish up in Varaždin County. We're talking a solid two or three-day trek that wouldn't absolutely wreck your legs, perfect for anyone obsessed with camping and just getting lost in the great outdoors...

I’m thinking about including maybe two or three slightly longer climbs—one would head toward the Podgarić-Garić area—but I’ll try to keep them to a minimum if possible. 🙂

I expect to have the route finalized by this evening, so you'll have plenty of time to tweak things or make changes however you see fit. 🙂
Also, regarding the main roads—I'm doing my best to avoid them as much as I can.

It would be great if we could get a group of five or six together for a relaxed, low-key ride.
Then, once we're done, we can just settle in for some camping and a BBQ. 😁

That sounds like a solid plan. Hop on a train, get off in NYC, and then we’re good to go 🙂 Let me know when you've made up your mind, Donna Wells74.

Gregory Thomas12 said:The climb... one leads up toward Podgarić-Garić. I guess.

The climb up Podgarić-Garić was brutal. I barely managed to make it through on foot, pushing my bike the whole way.😁Fortunately, it's a short one.

o.O I AM SUPERMAN 🙂 🙂 😁😁😁

(I can already hear the kids calling me a fossil) Since I was 14, I’ve been riding these stretches without stopping 🙂 so either I’m incredibly tough or 😁

We can always just scrap him
I put together a rough draft for the first day, roughly 66 miles 🙄 but once we refine it and trim the fat, the document should hit that sweet spot of 90-100 pages 😁

One question: I was working in Earth, so how do I transfer this to Google Maps or some other site so it stays as an interactive virtual map rather than just a static image? When I try uploading it to Strava, I just keep getting a general error 🙂

edit: fixed it

Does anyone happen to know the condition of the road stretching from Jelenski over toward Podgarić? I am particularly curious if there are any significant climbs—you know, those long, grueling ascents that really test your lungs—because it has been quite some time since I last traversed that particular route, and my memory is unfortunately a bit hazy on the specifics.

Perhaps even the crew from Sisak might want to jump in on this one...👍

The stretch from Jelenski to Podgarić is solid in my opinion; once you clear Jelenski, there’s an incline of about 8%, I believe.
It’s a bit of a longer ride, too. 🙂
I'm not entirely sure how you all envisioned the logistics, so please, no offense intended, 🙂

Here it is:
Let me know what works for you and what doesn't.
Anything else you'd like to see included or any specific spots you want to hit? 🙂
We're looking at roughly a one-day trip, ending up near Lake Ilok—I'm pretty sure camping is an option there.
I think Peter Martinez37 has ridden some of these roads before, so he might have a better sense of the conditions, but if you'd like, I can scout a few sections again just to check the pavement status. 🙂
Especially considering the gravel sections and everything else. 🙂

I put this together in three separate parts because I couldn't get them to merge properly, but here they are in order: 🙂
http://www.strava.com/route/1731223...ype=ts_terrain ---1
http://www.strava.com/route/1731218...ype=ts_terrain ----2
http://www.strava.com/route/1731208...ype=ts_terrain ----3

hiddenmason8 said:What's the road like from Jelenski to Podgarić? Any massive climbs—I mean long ones? It’s been ages since I rode that stretch and my memory is shot.

Maybe the crew from Sisak will join in too...👍

The road is solid—there's just one climb at about 10% grade.5.6 miles>

Gregory Thomas12 said:The road from Jelenski to Podgarić is solid—after Jelenski, there’s an 8% climb, I think.
It drags on a bit longer. 🙂
I don't know what your exact plans were, so no offense intended, but here it is.🙂

Here:
Tell me what you like and what you don't. Just say it.
Anything else you want to see or hit up? 🙂
We're looking at maybe one day—ending up at Lake Ilok. You should be able to camp there.
Peter Martinez37 has ridden some of these roads before, so he knows the deal. If you want, I can scout a few more stretches to check the surface conditions. 🙂
Plus, we need to account for the gravel and all that. 🙂

I split this into three parts since I couldn't merge them, but here they are in order. 🙂
http://www.bikemap.net/route/1731223...ype=ts_terrain ---1
http://www.bikemap.net/route/1731218...ype=ts_terrain ----2
http://www.bikemap.net/route/1731208...ype=ts_terrain ----3

You can camp at Lake Ilok. As for the routes, I like part 3 best—the climb toward Garešnica is longer than the others, but it isn't nearly as steep.

wow, this all sounds awesome! I guess I really need to get my act together and start packing. I’m hitting the coast until August 26th, so maybe early September would work? Not sure what everyone else had in mind, but I definitely need some time to get organized. I've got a sleeping bag, I still need to sort out a tent, and I probably need some cargo shorts to pack everything in... so yeah, that's pretty much it.