Time To Stop & Smell The Lilacs

I was off on Friday (May 2) because I had planned on taking a three-day bike trip, but plans changed at the last minute and it became a two-day trip. Since the weather forecast was promising, I decided to go ahead and just take the day off.

I was glad I did.

It was a spectacular day, and in between running errands, I decided to fit in a very short ride to get my legs used to the idea of riding.

My casual goal was to find a way from my home in Černý Vůl to the town of Roztoky, where my cycling pal Stewart lives, that avoided roads as much as possible.

From Černý Vůl, I rode along the walking/cycling path that connects with the neighboring village of Únětice. From there, I followed the signs for the marked cycling trail (I think it's the 0018), which for some reason takes riders up a very steep dirt road that connects with the pub in Únětice, rather than continuing on the nicer path that also leads to Únětice.


A beautiful field of rapeseed in Černý Vůl.

From there, it was down the main road in the village, then over to the little chapel and cemetery, and then connecting to some trails that led up toward the crag where I found the huge nest I wrote about in my "Gusto" blog.

From there, I did manage to connect a series of trails that took me down into Roztoky, not far from the new Tesco.

The countryside was abloom -- vast fields of bright yellow rapeseed, fat bushes of lilacs, in purple and cranberry.

I decided to stay on the side streets and headed for Levy Hradec, the site of a medieval Bohemian hill fort and a church, St. Clement, that is considered to be the birthplace of Christianity in Bohemia. It's a lovely spot.


The church of St. Clement at Levy Hradec in Roztoky.

From there, I simply backtracked home.

It wasn't a long ride, but it contained two short but nasty climbs, and I felt it was good preparation for my overnight bike trip to the castle at Kokořín and the surrounding valley, northeast of Prague.

Joining me on the trip will be Stewart, Mark and James.

More about that trip in my next post.

RIDE STATS
Length of ride: 13 kilometers
Average speed: 14.4 kph
Maximum speed: 38.2 kph
Time on the bike: 00.52.46
Distance ridden so far in 2008: 488.5 kilometers


I was fascinated by this ancient seesaw in Roztoky, situated on an overgrown lot by the side of a road. The workmanship (below) looks like it might have been original. I wonder how many children have played on this over the years.




An old, but well-loved, Trabant on a sidestreet in Roztoky.