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!
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