Back in the saddle
Finally, I went on a ride yesterday. I was away for the long holiday weekend to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany. More about that in a future post ...
I passed these speed signs yesterday near the railroad tracks between Sedlec and Roztoky. I admire the effort (I hope the fate of cyclists was somewhat in mind, since the road narrows considerably after the last sign), but that's kinda crazy. In my opinion, cars shouldn't be traveling at 70 kph on that part of the highway anyway.
And no, I didn't suffer a puncture (although I did pass a guy with a flat. It was a pleasure to offer him my spare tube, but it turned out to be the wrong size).
I rode from Prague 6, out to Koliba in Roztoky, and then took a different way back, following a trail behind Koliba that actually turned out to be too steep to ride for some of the way.
The trail linked up with the road from Sedlec to Roztoky, and I rode back to Prague 6, where I met up with my girlfriend, Daisy, on her bike in Stromovka park.
It was her first time out this season, so we took it relatively easy.
We rode on one of our traditional routes, along the river to Podbaba, turning toward Lysolaje, up along the road V Šáreckém údolí to Jeneralka, near the Croatian restaurant Mlýn (where we were tantalized by the smell of a whole pig roasting over a wood fire, left), and then into the vast park known as Divoká Šárka.
The picturesque beer garden, called Hostinec Divci Skok (or Girls' Jump, named after an episode in a Czech legend) in the middle of Divoká Šárka.
We rode past the beer garden in the middle of the park (I really wanted a beer and a sausage, but after we stopped, I realized I had forgotten my wallet!), up toward Evropská, and then took a route that twists back toward Nebušice.
Down the big hill past the International School of Prague in Nebušice, and then reconnected with V Šáreckém údolí and back home.
It's what Stewart derisively calls the Tutu Run, although I think it's longer and just as difficult as his so-called Booda Run over the hill in Hanspaulka and down to V Šáreckém údolí.
I've meant to take a picture of this for quite some time. I've always been fascinated by this graffiti on this crumbling, but once beautiful, little building along a main thoroughfare in Stromovka park. The graffiti has been there for many years. I understand the sentiment. I just think it's funny that park personnel have made absolutely no effort to remove it after all this time.
It was a very nice ride, although quite windy down near the river. Lots of birds and flowering bushes and trees. Even saw a deer, briefly, as it bounded across a trail in Divoká Šárka.
My stats for the day:
Distance: 47.25 kms
Average speed: 17.0 kph
Maximum speed: 55.1 kph
Length of ride: 2 hours 45 minutes
Temperature: Around 60 F. (15.5 C)
Distance for 2007: 245.25 kms
Man, I've got some riding to do. Rob's already past 500 for the season.
The bike felt good yesterday, but even with my new higher handlebars, my neck still was sore at the end of the ride. Maybe I just have to get my body used to the new posture. I have yet to tackle any of the serious hills on my new bike, especially the dreaded Hill of Doom that connects Hanspaulka to V Sareckem Udoli.
I keep telling myself I need to get in better shape first (although I did manage to summit the Beer Garden Hill, behind the Divoká Šárka beer garden, on my old bike back in February). It's just as much a mental thing, though.
The Hill of Doom has played with my mind for so long, I don't want to attempt it and then fail. It deserves its own post (which I'm sure I will give it once I conquer it for the first time this season).
But I can say that it is definitely much easier to ascend hills on my new bike than it was on my old trekking bike. So maybe the Hill of Doom won't be such a chore after all. If I could do it on my trekking bike ...
I passed these speed signs yesterday near the railroad tracks between Sedlec and Roztoky. I admire the effort (I hope the fate of cyclists was somewhat in mind, since the road narrows considerably after the last sign), but that's kinda crazy. In my opinion, cars shouldn't be traveling at 70 kph on that part of the highway anyway.
And no, I didn't suffer a puncture (although I did pass a guy with a flat. It was a pleasure to offer him my spare tube, but it turned out to be the wrong size).
I rode from Prague 6, out to Koliba in Roztoky, and then took a different way back, following a trail behind Koliba that actually turned out to be too steep to ride for some of the way.The trail linked up with the road from Sedlec to Roztoky, and I rode back to Prague 6, where I met up with my girlfriend, Daisy, on her bike in Stromovka park.
It was her first time out this season, so we took it relatively easy.We rode on one of our traditional routes, along the river to Podbaba, turning toward Lysolaje, up along the road V Šáreckém údolí to Jeneralka, near the Croatian restaurant Mlýn (where we were tantalized by the smell of a whole pig roasting over a wood fire, left), and then into the vast park known as Divoká Šárka.
The picturesque beer garden, called Hostinec Divci Skok (or Girls' Jump, named after an episode in a Czech legend) in the middle of Divoká Šárka.
We rode past the beer garden in the middle of the park (I really wanted a beer and a sausage, but after we stopped, I realized I had forgotten my wallet!), up toward Evropská, and then took a route that twists back toward Nebušice.
Down the big hill past the International School of Prague in Nebušice, and then reconnected with V Šáreckém údolí and back home.
It's what Stewart derisively calls the Tutu Run, although I think it's longer and just as difficult as his so-called Booda Run over the hill in Hanspaulka and down to V Šáreckém údolí.
I've meant to take a picture of this for quite some time. I've always been fascinated by this graffiti on this crumbling, but once beautiful, little building along a main thoroughfare in Stromovka park. The graffiti has been there for many years. I understand the sentiment. I just think it's funny that park personnel have made absolutely no effort to remove it after all this time.
It was a very nice ride, although quite windy down near the river. Lots of birds and flowering bushes and trees. Even saw a deer, briefly, as it bounded across a trail in Divoká Šárka.
My stats for the day:
Distance: 47.25 kms
Average speed: 17.0 kph
Maximum speed: 55.1 kph
Length of ride: 2 hours 45 minutes
Temperature: Around 60 F. (15.5 C)
Distance for 2007: 245.25 kms
Man, I've got some riding to do. Rob's already past 500 for the season.
The bike felt good yesterday, but even with my new higher handlebars, my neck still was sore at the end of the ride. Maybe I just have to get my body used to the new posture. I have yet to tackle any of the serious hills on my new bike, especially the dreaded Hill of Doom that connects Hanspaulka to V Sareckem Udoli.
I keep telling myself I need to get in better shape first (although I did manage to summit the Beer Garden Hill, behind the Divoká Šárka beer garden, on my old bike back in February). It's just as much a mental thing, though.
The Hill of Doom has played with my mind for so long, I don't want to attempt it and then fail. It deserves its own post (which I'm sure I will give it once I conquer it for the first time this season).
But I can say that it is definitely much easier to ascend hills on my new bike than it was on my old trekking bike. So maybe the Hill of Doom won't be such a chore after all. If I could do it on my trekking bike ...
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