Let 'Er Říp

The Nelahozeves Castle, reflected in the Vltava.

On the heels of our epic ride to Mělník, the boys decided to ride from Prague to Říp.

Říp (pronounced ZHEEP) is the legendary hill that rises almost 500 meters up from the flatlands north of Prague. If you live in these parts, you've seen it, even if you didn't know what it was. It's believed that Říp is where the first Slavs settled. It's a distinctive part of the landscape in these parts, the remains of an old volcano.

Stewart and I had driven to Říp on a winter's day a few years ago and hiked to the top, which turned out to be a lot of fun but not the most strenuous hike.

Cycling to the top would be a different matter, however.

We met early one morning in the village of Statenice -- not far from my house in Černý Vůl -- and headed off to Okoř. On this ride would be Stewart Moore, David Murphy, Rob Coalson, and a new addition to our riding circle, Marian Opletal. Though it's a traditional watering hole for our brood, we decided it was a bit too early for a beer in Okoř.

From Okoř, we headed the back route toward Zakolany. The guys decided to head up the hill to the ancient settlement site of Budec, a grueling climb. I decided to save my legs and took the road route to Zakolany and would meet them there.

Once in Zakolany, I spied a pub that had already opened its doors and went in and ordered myself a beer.

No sooner had I taken a sip than my phone rang. It was Stewart.

"Have you ordered a beer yet?" he asked.

"Just did."

"You won't believe this, but there's a big festival going on up here. Pig on a spit. Beer. Get your ass up here."

Now, the funny thing is, we had been joking just a few minutes before about how beautiful Budec is but how nothing ever seems to happen up there. About how cool it would be if there was a pub up there and we could enjoy a few cold ones to reward us for the climb. It never occurred to me that Stewart, with his call, could have been playing a practical joke to get me to cycle up there. So naive.

I inhaled my beer, hopped on my bike, and made the even steeper climb to Budec from the Zakolany side. So much for saving my legs.


We were surprised to find a Renaissance festival in full swing at the ancient settlement site known as Budec.


Some of the food from olden times on sale at the fair in Budec (above and below).


Fortunately, Stewart wasn't kidding.

Indeed, there was a huge Renaissance festival happening up there -- ham roasting over open fires, archery and crossbow classes, arts and crafts for sale, a metalsmith, a sword-fighting demonstration. And beer.

We had a couple of cold ones, and I enjoyed a plate of freshly roasted ham, mustard and brown bread.

What a fantastic thing to find.


Ham roasting on an open fire. So good. Say what you want about Czech cuisine, they know their ham.


Beers at Marina Vltava (from left, Rob Coalson, David Murphy, Marian Opletal, Stewart Moore, and me).

From Budec, it was back to Zakolany, and then along a back route to Kralupy that Stewart and I had cycled a few times coming from the opposite direction. It's a fantastic trail, one of my favorites, even though I'm not sure I could find my way if Stewart wasn't riding with me. He discovered it many years ago. There are no cars, for the most part -- just leafy trails through beautiful forest on a ride that defines what mountain biking is all about.



In Kralupy, we headed up to Nelahozeves to have a few more beers at Marina Vltava.

By this time, it was around 1, as I remember it. It had taken us something like four hours to ride 25 kilometers!

The plan was to have lunch in Říp. Based on our last ride to Mělník, I knew that a trip to Říp was likely to be an all-day affair, even though the kilometer total isn't all that high. Lunch would likely be around 3 or 4 p.m.

I had things to do and couldn't afford to get home so late. I rode with the guys for a bit longer, north of Marina Vltava, then crossed over to the east side of the Vltava and headed back toward Roztoky. I waved goodbye as they set off for Říp.

As I understand it, they didn't get back to Prague until 10 p.m. or so that night, after getting lost and having to take the train home for at least part of the way. I'm hoping some of my cycling pals will write about their adventures so the full story of the Ride to Říp can be told.

As for me, I had a great ride back to Roztoky along the infamous Baker Falls trail. I sucked down another beer before taking the ferry across to the west side of the river. I took the path from Roztoky to Unetice and then home to Černý Vůl.

Truth be told, I was whipped and secretly glad I didn't have to face the ride back to Prague from Říp. But I have a feeling I missed out on some great adventures.

Watch this space.

RIDE STATS
Length of ride: 60 kilometers
Average speed: 15.7 kph
Maximum speed: 43.9 kph
Time on the bike: 3.46.24
Pivo Index: 5
Distance ridden so far in 2011: 452 kilometers


Stewart's new Mongoose on its maiden voyage.


I got a kick out of this. At the Renaissance Fair at Budec, kids got to use washboards to clean clothes, as if it was some sort of fun thing to do in your spare time.


I also got a kick out of the crossbow demonstration. Kids got to fire real arrows from a real crossbow at a target about 20 meters away. I'm not sure this type of thing would ever be allowed in the United States, for example. Too bad. Very cool. Wish I could have fired a crossbow when I was 9 years old.


Dew on field grass near Budec.


When I was riding alone to Zakolany, I spotted this giant cracked concrete pipe. For some odd reason, I decided to stop, climb inside and take a photo. I'm weird.


The boys at Castle Okoř, early in the ride.


The lovely ride down into the village of Okoř.

Cycling In Moravia

Atop Castle Orphanus.

Every time Daisy and I would drive by the ridiculously picturesque Czech town of Mikulov, usually on our way to or from Vienna, I'd always turn to her and say, "We've definitely got to visit that place sometime."

From afar and up close, Mikulov looks what a Hollywood designer would create if asked to come up with a romantic European hilltop town - a high castle and tower, surrounded by a sea of orange tiled roofs, the surrounding countryside upholstered by the region's famous vineyards, a large cobblestoned central square dominated by a clocktower.


Mikulov's Dietrichstein castle, which was almost completely destroyed in World War II and later restored to its former glory.

Daisy and I had a free weekend recently, so we decided to head down to Mikulov for some cycling, which I'd always heard was fantastic in that area, and some sipping. Mikulov is about a 2.5 hour drive from Prague, near the Austrian border.

Based on the recommendations of a few of our friends, we booked a room in the very comfortable Hotel Templ, a former 16th century synagogue. No sooner had we checked in on a beautiful sunny September day than we on our bikes, heading out into the countryside, a few borrowed bike maps in my backpack.


Harvest time. I must confess that we picked and ate a few grapes, juicy and warmed by the sun.

I had this notion that as soon as we headed out of town, we'd be presented with our choice of cycling trails through acres and acres of vineyards, cellar doors thrown open and tasting opportunities at every turn.

It wasn't quite like that.

The main road out of town and toward the other famous wine city of Valtice was quite busy, with trucks and cars flying past us at a good clip. I didn't see -- on the map or with my own eyes -- any other obvious trails through the vineyards. We cycled to Sedlec and then decided to head off the main road and follow a sign for what seemed like a vineyard selling wine and food. It turned out to be a good move, for we found ourselves on a lovely cycling paved path skirting Lake Nesyt.


We were happy to see this sign -- wine tasting and sales in Sedlec.

The vineyard turned out to be a wooden shack selling local wines by the bottle or the glass, and a separate, rather sad, snack window selling grilled sausages and fries. Napa Valley, it wasn't. But the wine was crisp and delicious and inexpensive, and the snack window offered a giant jar of sour (not sweet) pickles, which Daisy loves and which are simply unavailable in the Czech Republic.

We were on our bikes, the sun was shining, and we were drinking local wine. We'd gotten what we came for.


Not exactly Napa Valley, but the wine was cold and crisp, and the pickles were sour.

We continued riding along Lake Nesyt and then cut up a dirt road through vineyards bursting with red and white grapes. We connected with another busy country road and slowly cycled back to Mikulov.

It wasn't a long ride (around 20 kilometers), but it fit the bill. Then it was back to the hotel for a walk around the castle in the gloaming and then a somewhat uninspired dinner at the hotel, enlivened by a nice bottle of Gala Chardonnay-Pinot 2008, from the nearby village of Bavory.

Here are the trails we followed. I forgot to turn on my Garmin until we'd made it to Sedlec, so that's why things kick off there, rather than Mikulov itself:


The next morning, we decided to head toward a castle ruin in the Pavlova Hills that I'd spied from the road coming in. It wasn't a long ride to the 13th-century Castle Orphanus, but from Mikulov the route was almost entirely uphill. There were a few good climbs in there, and Daisy was hurting (I almost titled this post Whine Country). I'm not a great hill climber (in fact, I'm horrible), but I was doing OK. Daisy just hasn't been riding lately.


The ruins of the 13th-century Castle Orphanus.


She was framed, I tells ya!

The castle ruins, perched high above the surrounding plains, turned out to be worth the slog (although the road leading up to the castle was too steep to ride). We could see forever, and who doesn't like a good European castle ruin? We clambered all over those crumbling stones, headed into the nearby village of Klentnice for a beer or two at a roadside snackbar, and then rode almost all downhill (wheeeeeee!) for the 10k or so back to Mikulov.

Once in Mikulov, we cycled to the city's famous Jewish cemetery. The city's Jewish heritage dates back some 650 years, credited to Mikulov's location on an important trade route from Vienna to Brno. World War II put an end to all that. There are some 4,000 tombstones in the cemetery, which is almost 20,000 square meters (five acres) in size, the largest in the country. The oldest legible marker dating from 1605. There's also a fascinating little museum outside the gates to the cemetery. Highly recommended.


There are some 4,000 tombstones in the city's Jewish cemetery.


Lichen on a tombstone.

We had a great time on our short visit to Mikulov, but I can't help but think we missed some fantastic cycling trails. I'm talking about dedicated cycling paths, not trails that follow roads. I perused the cycling maps, but the marked trails all seemed to follow some fairly major highways.

I'd like to go back and try to find the paths that we missed. I'd welcome any tips you may have.

(For more about Mikulov and the surrounding towns and castles, read my friend Evan Rail's fantastic article in "The New York Times.")

RIDE STATS
Length of rides: 38.5 kilometers
Average speed: 12.5 kph
Maximum speed: 51.1 kph
Distance ridden so far in 2011: 392 kilometers


A stand selling burcak, the very young, cloudy effervescent wine that's an autumn tradition in the Czech Republic.


A scene near Mikulov's main square.


The view of Mikulov coming back into the city from Klentnice.



As we were cycling down from Castle Orphanus, a group of horseback riders was making its way up the mountain.


The rolling Moravian countryside as seen from Castle Orphanus.


A street scene in Mikulov.


Beneath the walls of the castle.


An interesting sculpture below the castle walls is silhouetted against the setting sun.


On a Mikulov street.


Vineyards near Sedlec, with Lake Nesyt in the distance.


Daisy on a trail through the vineyards.


I'm guessing this is a defensive bunker dating from World War II, but I'm not totally sure. Along the bike path near Lake Nesyt.


The fantastic cycling trail along Lake Nesyt.


The Hotel Templ in Mikulov.