The best gravel rides around Lake Brajnickie

A quiet little village. The monument is another opportunity for a short stop. This time a historical point.

Buchta is also a very interesting inspiration for the name, as it means a place dug up by wild boars looking for food. The name is rightly chosen here. The loop is 4.9 km long and leads through a very charming mixed forest, which is not overly dense and thanks to this creates in places really pleasant to the eye, green perspectives. It became even nicer when, just after the start, a large hawk (or a similar bird of prey), frightened by my ride, jumped out of the tree and crossed my path. Something beautiful, you can feel communion with nature here. There is definitely something to do here on a bike. The route, although quite flat in the initial phase, leads all the time through bends, where everything that the forest naturally offered was used. Every protruding root or even a modest hill was ingeniously incorporated into the course of the route, which allows you to catch a pleasant flow after overcoming the first bends. Further on, there are even slightly higher elevations that require a stronger push on the bike, but it's a pity they are so short. The route also includes several profiled bends with a small bank and artificially added obstacles. So we have a mini (or even micro) rock garden, a drop from stumps and small jumps that can be pleasantly jumped after gaining more speed. In the second half of the route, or rather right next to it, off the track there is a section of jumps and moguls, which are clearly the work of local gravity cycling enthusiasts. If someone wants and can, they can also try longer flights here. At the end of the lap, we leave the wooded area for a moment, where the single really picturesquely leads through a more open space, first pleasantly and quickly downhill, and then slightly uphill. Then, on a winding path back to the forest and bends between trees to the finish line. At almost 5 kilometers, my Garmin showed a little over 60 meters up, which is more than the 42 m declared by the creators, but it could also be a measurement error. https://mtb-xc.pl/2020/05/19/szczytno-mtb-trails-naturalnie-mazurskie-single-tracki/

Sznoder is a shorter one, the name comes from the language of the old Mazurs, a kid, or simply a brat. Hence the inspiration for the shorter 2.4-kilometer loop, which may be good for younger and beginner off-road riders or may be an excellent warm-up before a longer route. Sznoder is a winding single track led between trees with a few turns that allow you to catch a quite pleasant pace of riding. The terrain is slightly wavy, so in places you can gain a bit more speed. The elevation gains are not impressive, however, a little over 20 meters up in one lap. After riding one lap, my attention quickly switched to the second, longer loop. https://mtb-xc.pl/2020/05/19/szczytno-mtb-trails-naturalnie-mazurskie-single-tracki/

Szczytno MTB Trails consists of two loops. The place itself is located right after leaving Szczytno towards the south, near the main road leading through Chorzele and Przasnysz towards Warsaw. Getting to the destination is very easy with Google Maps navigation, after entering the name Szczytno MTB Trails in the search engine, we are led to the information board, which leads us to the paths located on both sides of the asphalt road. On the board we can find routes, maps and regulations. The nomenclature is already noteworthy, it is exceptionally original and creative, and at the same time refers to the history of the region. https://mtb-xc.pl/2020/05/19/szczytno-mtb-trails-naturalnie-mazurskie-single-tracki/

Piduń. Monument commemorating the village inhabitants who died during World War I.

Witówko. A monument in the form of a stone cross commemorates 14 residents of the village who died on the fronts of WWI.

A well-preserved grave by the road itself. You can still find the remains of others deeper inside.

The river flows from Lake Sasek Mały. A forest road runs from the bridge along the canal towards the town of Sasek Wielki.