August 14, 2016: Stumpjumping around Prague's offroad world

Something different this time. I was going to Prague to visit Narmin but I did not feel like taking the usual roads through the city. So I went to Dablice, where I knew there was a forest area...

I entered this offroad world of forestation without knowing where I would end

The only consistency was that I kept going in one particular direction, no matter how the roads twisted.

I kinda fell ashamed for not doing MTB rides more often in Czech Repiblic

These few km filled me with delight

A gravel road in front of me

MTB-ing in some Prague forest without navigation

A different kind of adventuring but I LIKE it

There were some people on the gravel raod

Consistenly going in one direction led me out of the forest

I recognized where I was: it was near Ladvi, I had been here once before on my flatbar

I relied on this bike path to lead me to Troja, where I would find more navigation instructions

To my disbelief there was even more off road fun. The ride started feeling majestic

All of the sudden there was a magical view over Prague. I could see the whole city from this tiny lane

Maybe this offroad section to the left also leads somewhere... Will check it out later

Magnificent view over Prague. Btw that alley here was very steep. I think it was around 15%. Had to push my butt to the back and slightly use the disc brakes, gradually increasing braking power.

I again recognized where I was. I was on a bridge over the Vltava. I had gone underneath if a few times, now I was crossing it. Very helpful to put things into geographical perspective

Bridge over the Vltava, often I am cycling under it.

All of the sudden I found myself in the city park. From here I knew how to go. Even the Specialized shop was close, but I didn't go there

From the park I went to Prague city center, along the Hlavni Nadrazi, on the hill to Vinohrady. Rolling over the cobbles was a lot more comfortable with these tires..

Within the Prague area, I may consider this as a grand discovery

Later in the afternoon we went to have bbq in a park with Narmin's friends. Yes, there were gas prices in the middle of a park... I know...

August 7, 2016: Onderweg naar Ostrava pt. 2 - Olomouc and Ostrava city

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1293714302

187km, 7h37, elev. 1800m. Trip rating 75%

The day began brightly in Bouzov and I enjoyed a nice breakfast and a chat with the Dutch owner. Around 7 am I hit the road with 3 objectives for the day: 1) Check out Bouzov castle 2) Go to Olomouc 3) Go all the way to Ostrava and take a train back home

Early morning outside of Bouzov. It was 40 km to Olomouc

The roads were crappy in this part of the country, very rough riding conditions

It was getting warm quickly

Bouzov castle was peaking from behind the homes. I did not go over there as it is not the first castle I have ever seen. I continued my road to Olomouc

More impressions of Moravia

Clear blue sky

The main thought of the morning was that the conditions of the roads was very poor. It was not really a pleasant ride, even with 28mm tires on an SW Roubaix

Steering through some rough terrain

40 km in the pocket and I found myself in Olomouc

I went to a cyclist trail that was in the park, but something went wrong: I followed the direction of the center and I found myself outside of the center. I did not get to see the beauty of the town as they describe it. They call it "Little Prague". 

Since I was already on the other side of the city, closer to the side of Ostrava, I did not go back. I continued my road for Ostrava. This was another 110 km.

The park reminded me a lot of Zhongyang Park in Kaohsiung. Probably because when I was there it was also a sunny day in August

At least I saw a few old buildings in Olomouc

On my way to Ostrava

My visit to this whole area is a first. It is pretty far from Prague already.

I passed through many small towns, but in essence it was just a connection between Olomouc and Ostrava

I cycled through a more desolate area with hills on both side of me. 

I entered my usual cycling trance and for quite some time I was thinking I was cycling the Eastern Rift Valley 193 route.

Spending my Sunday morning outside in a remote, desolate area of a non-mainstream country

Beautiful view... This so looks like the 193. The resemblance is striking

There was a constant roll play between the clouds and the sun

The eternal struggle of climate zones

I made a sharp turn to the left, coming downhill and arrived at this spot. Upon seeing this, I believed that I would be facing some shitty weather as I went uphill.

Luckily it was alright. It was just a few dense packs of clouds passing by. They never precipitated down on me.

Glancing with my disc brake road star

Ostrava was already indicated on the signs. It was some 65K from here. I also saw the name Hranice. I had thought about spending the night there first but I later changed to Bouzov.

Enchanting little town on a hill. There was a cafe-restaurant right behind it and that is where I sat down for 45 minutes, had a lunch, charged my GPS and relaxed a little. After all, progress was good and I would be in Ostrava by 16.30, plenty of time for getting a train back to Prague

When I resumed my trip, there were still 62 km to cover. From studying the map during my lunch I noticed that I would be soon exiting the Olomouc region and here it is: The region of Moravskolezsky. My first visit here ever. Now there is only one region in the south west that I have yet to visit on my bike. All the rest has been covered over the last 10 months

Another geographic achievement

This was also very funny to see: a village with my name in it. Nice way of honoring my name

It was very warm in the afternoon and I stopped at this little cafe where I had water and malinovka

The views were nice as usual and the feeling of conquering east Czechia filled me with joy

Just another Sunny Sunday Afternoon

Closing in on Ostrava

The city-region of Ostrava. It was still 18 km to the train station from here. Worst of all, when I got there I realized I had to go to another station, which added 9 km to my trip.

I stopped here for a nice ice-cream. Why not? Time was on my hands...

I finally made it to the Ostrava railway station. The only train I could take was 90 min waiting. So I went to a nearby outside pub and had a drink. I ordered a meal but it took them way too long. So long that I had to run to catch my train. Or maybe they just never made it. Anyway, I left the place and will never know what happened to that meal...

Buildings in Ostrava. Many Czechs say they don't think Ostrava is that beautiful. I will not comment about that, but it is just another city in Czech style, that's for sure.

The train took almost four hours. During the ride I made grateful use of the WIFI and chatted with Narmin. Time seemed to fly by. I was in Prague at 22:30. The mission of this weekend, cycling to Ostrava, had been successful!