Two Horses, Four Riders, Six Beers

Two horses and three riders on a trail near Okoř.

Didn't get a chance to ride last weekend. We celebrated Emma's 8th birthday on Saturday (May 24) with a big party at our house for her and her friends.

The following day was a recovery and cleanup day. Daisy, Robin (Daisy's mom, who is visiting from the U.S.), and I took a hike in the bright sunshine from our house in Černý Vůl to Roztoky and back -- about 12 kilometers in total.

So, even though the weather's been fantastic, I didn't get a chance to ride until Tuesday night, when my friend James Gogarty, who runs an English-language school in Roztoky, joined me for an after-work ride. Stewart, sadly, was busy and couldn't join us, even though he lives right around the corner from James.

It was a warm, humid evening, and it felt fantastic to be in the saddle again. I decided to show James a few trails around Tuchoměřice and Okoř that he hadn't ridden before, and he showed me a few new routes in the same area.

For the most part, they were all trails and routes that have been well-documented in previous posts on this blog, so I won't go into them in detail.


James and I stop for refreshment at my favorite table outside my favorite restaurant at the Hotel Okoř.

As for unusual sights, it was a fairly uneventful ride, although that took nothing away from the enjoyment.

We did see a couple of giant European brown hares frolicking on the trail ahead of us near Okoř; a huge hawk circling in the clear sky; and a large pheasant strutting in a field near the trail. We also passed two beautiful horses and their German-speaking riders, also near Okoř.

We stopped for a beer in Okoř (yes, I like Okoř), and then toured around the area some more, riding fast down steep dirt paths, bunny-hopping over stones and ruts, and even huffing our way up some decent climbs, to feel like we'd earned both the downhills and the pivos.

We ended up back at my house 27 kilometers later, and had a few more beers to replenish the fluids we'd sweated away in the woods.

With three beers in total, that put our kilometer-to-pivo (KTP) index at an astounding 9-to-1. I'm not sure whether we were drinking in between rides or riding in between drinks.

In any case, it was great fun to get back out there with James, whom I hadn't ridden with since our trek to Kokořínský důl in early May. He's a great guy, a fearless rider, and extremely knowledgeable about the history of this area (Roztoky, Únětice, Černý Vůl, Okoř, etc.).

I can't wait to get out there again.

RIDE STATS
Length of ride: 27 kilometers (17 miles)
Average speed: 17.2 kph
Maximum speed: 48.9 kph
Time on the bike: 1.32.55
Pivo Index: 3 each
Distance ridden so far in 2008: 707 kilometers (440 miles)


A funky homemade gate somewhere behind Okoř.