But I Digress

On the trail below Hanspaulka, and above the road known as V Šáreckém údolí.

Took off on a quick ride after work today. From Prague 6, through Hanspaulka, to Divoká Šárka, out to the beer garden, Hostinec Divci Skok, and then back along V Šáreckém údolí to the Vltava near Podbaba, and then back home.

It was a cool evening, but the sun was setting, and everything was bathed in that wonderful golden glow.

I wasn't feeling particularly energetic, but found that the route that Stewart and I would usually take from Prague 6 to Hanspaulka has been blocked by new construction. So I was forced to take a path that basically was a straight climb for quite awhile.

It was no Hill of Doom, but it was tough, and not the way that I had envisioned the ride in my mind, so it sort of deflated me.

But from there, it was all basically flat or downhill, so I can't complain too much.

I heard some woodpeckers in Divoká Šárka, had a nice view of the moon rising beside an old smokestack near Stromovka park, and saw a man standing along the path in front of his squatting wife or girlfriend, who was obviously peeing. The Czechs have elevated urination au naturelle to an art form. Kids do it. Women do it. And men do it. Boy, do men do it. You see it at least once a day, every day, if you're living in Prague.

But I digress.

Ride stats:

Distance of ride: 21 kilometers
Time on bike: 1.14.32
Average speed: 16.7 kph
Top speed: 36.9 kph
Total distance for 2007: 549 kilometers


A view from the trail through Divoká Šárka.