Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1544014058
131km, 5h30, 9520hm. Trip rating: 75%
Around eight I hit the road again, back to Prague. I finished my breakfast, dressed up and faced the ride.
Considering the snow and ice that was in the mountains, I made it a return ride to Prague. I am usually not in favor of riding the same route twice, but at least it was safe and allows me to accumulate some mileage.
I inspected this bike path and saw that it leads to Mt. Svata Katerina. A must for next summer.
Bye Bye Prvni Mlyn
The first few miles were again through the snow, which went very slowly. At least I could keep my balance and cycle a little.
Keeping focused on the thin line where I can cycle. Sometimes I was sliding away.
Only a few km and I was out of this section
Flatbar was still the best choice for this one
As I saw the sunrise, I understood I was luck to experience such a beauty
The prelude of a nice day outside
I neared the end of tis first section through the snow
Back in Chomutov, my GPS sent me somewhat differently compared to yesterday.
Then something unexpected happened: I found myself in a very grey and misty area and the temperature dropped to -14. This is not what the weather forecast had predicted.
It was so misty I had to switch on my bike lights for safety
Not only misty, also very cold and even snowing lightly
Another justification for this bike
Frankly speaking, this part of the ride was not a joy
Garmin sent me through the Region Zatec. This was fundamentally different from yesterday
Big relief that traffic was extremely low. I hardly saw any cars.
One road had a thin layer of ice, that freaked me out. Luckily it was only short
Downright depressing
The light snow was now accumulating on my helmet, clothes and bike.
What the hell was going on this morning? The 100 km left to Prague seemed impossible
And to top that off, I got some nice offroad section as well.
Going downhill and sometimes patches of thick ice
No panic, but I was thinking what options I would have to go back by train.
32mm tires proved to be the right choice for this ride
Then I navigated to a point where I had been the day before. There was a gas station
The spokes of my bike had become weight from the snow. Amazing
I bought some drinks and snacks here and proceeded
Citolibice
40 km down, 90 to go, still no improvements
The long climb to Smolnice which led to 400 meters brought salvation.
In the wink of an eye, it became clear and sunny. A genuine metamorphosis
Still cold but this was very motivational
I shared this magnificent panorama with facebook and it got a lot of likes.
Embracing this harsh winter
The road went on, seemingly without an end, but this section finished after 4km.
I was officially on the roads where I had been yesterday
Entering district of Litomerice, slowly I was approaching home
I stopped here for a snack. Slowly I was getting hungry
Approaching Peruc, which meant 60 km left
Looked a lot better with sunshine
The temperature rose significantly to -4
Compared to my morning ordeal, this was a match out of heaven
I gained confidence from this turn of events
When I came here it was exactly 42 km left, like the sign indicated
Then I made it back into Central Bohemia
Sun was setting already
608, inevitable on this section. At least it was not slippery and offered me cycling potential
Less than 30 km left
One idea came to my mind. Why not go check out the Veltrusy castle? I passed by it several times, never to visit it. So there I went
I used the narrow path in the park to approach the castle
This was the backside
Somehow I made it to the front of the castle by following the little lanes.
There it is, but unfortunately closed during the winter. Will have to come back for it..
After leaving the castle, the gps connected me to bike path 7, which I knew very well from Kralupy Nad Vltavou
Closer to home already, district of East Prague.
Very interesting here. I noticed that I was on a series of roads I only visited during my first ride ever. Now I know that this was in Odolena Voda.. Seeing it like that, nearly 18 months later, was very special.
And here it was less than 15 km, over well known terrain.
In the meantime a feeling of might befell on me, having done 270km in this weather on my flatbar.
The sun was setting and I was well in time before darkness. I felt great about this ride. Also tired.
For the rest it was the usual. Bast, Libeznice, Hovorcovice, Miskovice and Cakovice. I rode over the bike path here.
Back in Prague. I was home at 16.15. Good job!
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