Halfway to straight up

Went out on Monday night, April 16, after work. Got going just after 6 p.m. Figured I had about two hours of riding time before it got too dark.

Stewart and Mark were already out on what we now call the Bakerloo Run. It's a meandering route partly of our own creation and partly on established bike paths.

The Bakerloo starts in Prague 6, winds its way through the neighborhoods known as Stresovice and Veleslavin, around or through the park known as Obora Hvezda (near the "Star" house), through Maly Brevnov, on the outskirts of Repy, through the endless panelaks of Stodulky, and through a lovely, little-known park at Hlubocepy.

You come out near Barrandov, along the Vltava River, and can then either head back to Prague, or bike up river some more.

It's all a bit complicated, but it's got the perfect mix of urban and rural, roads and trails, and downhills and uphills, including a short but wicked little hill that features a 24% gradient. That's really steep.

I call it halfway to straight up. That's what it seems like anyway.


The communist panelaks of Stodulky. Tens of thousands of Praguers live in panelaks, in vast neighborhoods of dozens of these buidlings, and I've never felt worried about violence or crime when I'm passing through. They're kept relatively neatly. Kids are out playing on the swingsets. These panelaks are not much to look at, but they seem to work, still, after so many years.

I didn't do the whole route, though, since Stewart and Mark ended up backtracking and meeting up with me when I was in Stodulky somewhere. I turned around and headed back with them.

Ride stats:

Length of ride: 34 kilometers
Average speed: 16.3 kph
Maximum speed: 44 kph
Length of ride: 2.04.15
Distance so far this season: 343.5 kilometers

It was a nice little run. Gorgeous weather. Some challenging hills. Good company. No punctures. I felt strong.

There's more to write about when I next do the complete Bakerloo, including a cool little pub housed in what could easily pass for some sort of blues shack from America's Deep South.

Stay tuned.


Who needs the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C.?