Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1057379313
155km, 7h15, elevation 2427m. Trip rating 70%
這個騎乘非常辛苦，甚至可以算筆者有生之年最煎熬的騎乘。容我細說今天這個折磨的來龍去脈，會讓台灣朋友對擁有的單車環境謝天謝地：
天氣預報警告我不會像之前三個週末這麼好，禮拜三還下雪，溫度隨著降了不少，因此規劃了短一點的160公里，去北部看看就好了。
早上七點半離開布拉格的時候天氣還不錯，連太陽出來跟我say hello。我有這麼一瞬間後悔規劃的距離這樣子而已。頭三個鐘頭進度很好，又是客氣盡情享受的單車探險。目的地Hrensko順利地抵達，我甚至跨越邊際去德國。三個禮拜騎兩次到德國也很棒！
可惜中午過後整個局面蛻變了：先是天空出現了烏雲，然後有毛毛雨。那當下我還沒有想那麼多，反正剩下47公里而已。過沒多久雨勢變得好大，全身淋雨了。既然只要36公里就硬過去，儘管在寒冷的零下二度淋雨真的非常不舒服，連呼吸都是種懲罰。
沒想到最令人絕望的還在眼前：最後20公里開始爬坡，一口氣爬到海拔600多，溫度嚴重受到影響，在幾分鐘的時間溫度降到零下4，5度。你們知道在這種溫度下雨的術語是什麼嗎？ That's right! 下雪！而且下好大！英文裡的Blizzard是最妥當的字眼，大到雪不斷地釘著我的眼睛，光看好路都非常難，需要百分之百的專心。路面變白了，地也滑了，起霧了，視線大概剩下20公尺遠。當然是在這個時候遇到坡度12的下坡路段。整個身體變冷了，手快沒有剎車的力氣而且民宿還要17公里，突然17公里顯得如此的遙遠，遙不可及。幸好剛好找到一條大路往Novy Bor，這算是規模比較大的城市。我立刻上因為我猜那邊應該有火車站。不要冒這個險，民宿算了，平安五事回家比較要緊。上火車的時候身體已經麻了而且我無法控制自己的發抖，失溫的感覺彷彿是癱瘓。真的記不得騎車有如此煎熬過。在台灣常常淋浴，騎到爆，黑闇騎，身上沒有食品等不利狀況但這些都無法跟今天這個苦主比。也許這是一種教訓，最近騎的很快樂，今天再度體會到，對單車族來說，捷克就是輸給台灣。這個嚴峻的冬天考驗，一輩子不會忘記，想想我照樣每次騎車出門，可見本人有多愛鐵馬的生活，或者我根本頭顆壞掉。
如果你以為上火車就不辛苦了你想錯了！回到布拉格需要兩個小時，需要轉兩次車。在外面等著車就會發抖的很嚴重，像個神經病。
一進家門立刻找洗澡間幫我安慰，在裡面衝了好久但是就是洗不請今天遭到的折磨。民宿我沒有騎到，160公里也沒有完成，但是我就是有了嚴峻的精神上考驗。可以在捷克的冬天保持單車熱，騎好幾千公里，容我說，就是高手的行為！
I check the weather forecast every day and I knew that this weekend would not be like the previous three weekends. It would be a lot colder and it would rain. That's why I decided to plan a shorter ride: 160 km. That would give me the time to hide for heavy rainfall. I had planned to cycle to border town of Hrensko and then back to my hostel in Marenice.
I left Prague at daylight. The weather was actually pretty god, the sun even came out. It was around 0 degrees, but with the sun above me, that would gently rise.
My road went from northern Prague to Neratovice, on to Melnik and further north
I was sent along the somewhat more crowded Route 9. After eight km of route 9 I was in Melnik
Beautiful ancient castle in the city center of Melnik
Cycling path with amazing view
I had been here as well on my Jan. 16 trip to Ceska Lipa, but the weather was better today.
Cyklotrasa, mandatory literature for me. Btw I am enjoying the fact that my Czech is improving and I can already grasp the main message. A few months more and I can actually understand these signs and learn more about the history of this country
Did not seem like a bad weather day to me...
I was enjoying the ride and taking snapshots every now and then
A view down the river and the wetlands
Castle walls
I mean ancient castle walls
These ancient buildings are fascinating
Then my road diverged from my previous ride to Ceska Lipa. I was sent over a bridge across the river and followed a cycling path along this river.
I spent about 7 km cycling next to this river.
At this point I started to regret having only planned a 160 km trip. The weather looked perfect!
Stara budova, old building
History in year dates
Stary dun, old house
Krasne kolo, beautiful bike :-)
About 40 km in the saddle and I was already in Ustecky Kraj. Elevation gain up to here was minimal.
Strangely enough I was led back to a section I already cycled on my ride to Ceska Lipa; There was more elevation here. It was around 10 am and I stopped here for a snack.
I was hitting it hard today
Czech country side
Krasny zamek right in front of me. From this angle it looks so isolated in the country side
If you have cycled in this country before, you will definitely recognize the bumpy roads that beat you around all day long. My answer for that? A somewhat more beefy tire 28-32 mm.
Panorama of a lovely Saturday morning
I like this jacket a lot, even in thick mist I noticed cars see me well. Makes me feel safe and confident. Best 1000 crowns ever spent!
This area of tiny roads eventually led to route 269 up north
I started to see snow here and there
I did not encounter other cyclists
Altitude was steadily increasing and I saw hills rising in the horizon. Here I diverged from my previous ride again: I was sent to Stary Tyn.
Which is left on the T-split further above. You may also check my Garmin map for intelligence
The small village of Brusov. This segment of the trip had quite some elevation.
In Czech village is called VESNICE. A good definition of it: six to eight old buildings linked together by a crappy bumpy road haha. No that sounds disrespectful. These villages are cute, for cyclists they are DA SHIT RIGHT THERE.
I was making a lot of elevation here, I already surpassed the 300 mark.
The higher I got, the more snow there was...
I stopped here for a movie clip. This spot was exactly 500 m. I saw a Dutch car passing by.
In just a few km, I climbed from 300 to 500 m. That entire section was around 12%. A longer and steeper climb.
INRI: Iesus Nazaretum Rex Iudaeorum
There was even more altitude gain. I climbed to nearly 600 m.
Impressive views
Between two houses I saw this. I just had to take pictures here
Try out different angles as well. These are the pictures you show friends and family when they ask what cycling in Czechia is like
Honestly speaking: I was right when I decided to dress full out and not to assume it would not be as bad as January. Because it was!
I climbed even further until I saw Route 240.
Then there was this seriously steep descent. I proceeded with extreme caution.
Decin was getting closer, Decin was close both Hrensko and Marenice. It meant progress was good
More pictures had to be taken of this fairy like ride
\Czech cows
I wonder if they would be cold since they were basically just standing there.
Another crazily steep descent
Sea level descended all the way back to 190 during this longer one.
The hills of northern Czechia under a white carpet
What do we have here? More bumpy roads...
Cute orange house with Czech flag
This little stream ran all the way next to the road for quite some distance.
A small farm, I stopped to check out the tractors
John Deere and Fendt brands, those are not cheap
Old timer
Reassuring to see that Czechia also commemorates the painful Taiwanese memory of 228
This was at the end of my long descent, altitude 190 m. This town's name was Benesov Nad Noucnici
I saw a potraviny and stopped for lunch. Better prices than a gas station
I stood here for 25 minutes having lunch. As a result of that, I was super cold when I got on the bike again.
The town center, right after I lengthy climb began again.
I noticed there was some rain falling from the skies, good thing they were only minor drops
Once again I climbed all the way back to elevation 550. Total elevation was already over 1200m
Then there was a descent were I had to be very careful because there was ice at places
I walked this section: the gradient was -13 and I saw ice. I would definitely crash if I did not walk here.
That walking caused me some time, but I made it to the city of Decni
Again I lost some elevation so the surroundings weren't as white as above
Maria with Jesus, carved out of wood. Excellent piece of craftsmanship
Hrensko was close now, less than 15 km.
I had never learnt of this battle in the nineteenth century in my history books. There you see that cycling does contribute to general understanding of a country: You always pick up some history, religion, geography and topography.
I saw some German cars riding here
eight km to Hrensko
In this 8km there was again a long descent and a long climb. Nothing is flat in this country.
This is the area on the German-Czech border indicated as: Czech Swiss. It is a forest area
This place was packed with pensions
Only 3 km left, but I saw a long descent that brought me all the way back to elevation 190, AGAIN!
The view over Hrensko, this is a nice view though
From this perspective it even looks like a mountainous area
Hrensko, here I am! See that Robbert Wattel?
I cycled to the border with Germany
Welcome to Germany, I had officially left the Czech Republic. I did not leave for long though...
Good to be back haah
I calculated the distance to my hostel in Marenice, it was 47km. It started raining more intensively. I tried to bear with it because it was only 47km. For the first hour this went pretty well. I mean, I was getting wet, but still I was making good progress. The only thing that concerned me was the temperature slowly dropping to -2. I was afraid the roads might became slippery. So I made no stops: no snacks, no pictures, try to cover as much distance as possible.
I made one picture here, when I entered the Liberec region. It was about 25 km from here. One more hour of suffering and I would be home. Or so I thought...
Things got a LOT worse: it started to rain more heavily and the temperature dropped to minus three. The rain turned into snow and on top of that, I was faced with a lot of climbing. I passed the 400 m amrk, the 500 mark and even the 600 meters mark! This was really not the time to make elevation, because descending in these conditions was impossible.
I took one picture of what it looked like. cold as f*ck, because I was already soaked from the rain, reduced vision because of the mist and slippery roads. Even though it was only 17km, in these conditions that could turn out to be some serious overtime.
I had a hard ordeal here, my hands started to feel paralyzed from cold. When I say Route 13 with a sign indicating Novy Bor in 4 km, I decided to head there. I guessed there would be a train station. I aborted my mission for Marenice and played safe. The descent to the city center was still pretty scary. When I made it there, I bought a ticket back to Praha Cakovice: 218 crowns.
I first had to take a little train to Ceska Lipa, then a train to Mlada Boleslav and then a train to Praha-Cakovice. I was shivering and super cold during the entire ride, which took 2 full hours.
Good thing I did prepare my dinner at home. I had it in the train so I could at least keep my motor running. This is pasta with onions and tomato sauce, with pieces of apple, nuts and raisins. It made me feel a lot better.
My stats for the day: climbing almost 2500 m over a mere 150km is a lot!
I learned that the Cech Drahy railroads are more bike-friendly than their Taiwanese counterpart.
I made a few pictures to show my Taiwanese friends
Best part was that I could actually sit there and watch my bike. Thieves be gone!
My ticket and itinerary. Very kind of them to print that for me. What made me feel good was that I was able to express myself relying only on Czech. Even though I must have sounded like a 6 year old with a speaking disorder. At least I was doing it in Czech!
I arrived back home at eight thirty and I hit the shower before doing anything else. I spent forty minutes spraying myself with boiling hot water. Today was a very rough ride. I had to deal with some suffering.
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