Bart's Cycling Scribes 霸特單車遊記: February 18, 2017: One year ago Trebic, today revisited

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1581935527

202 km, 9h01, 2884 hm Trip rating 80%

Last week I ended up not going to Trebic and this time I would make up for it. I woke up early and got ready for this ride. My bike was reviewed the shop and off I went. The first picture is made in Celakovice.

Over 20 km on the road before I stopped for a picture. Daylight has come already.

Stop for snacks in Cesky Brod

The roads were very fine, but the hills didn't lose a tiny bit of that winter touch

Snow white hills of Central Bohemia, pretty much like the last six-seven weeks.

Then I arrived in Kourim, next big town on the map. Cobbles in the Kourim town center

I had many sections of cobbles today

District of Kutna Hora. There was an old man cycling here who saluted me.

Today would be a good old fashioned display of force. That means 200 km on the road bike.

Even though it is this kind of weather, 200 km was the goal

Brrrrr

Kutnohorsko cycling area

Small town called Rasovice. The roads were wet and my behind was catching a lot of that

From there it went uphill into a forest, where I already had a bad feeling...

Lately forest meant icy roads and snow walking

And another ice-walking session in week seven of the winter

Luckily it was a very short segment. Otherwise I could have said adieu to my 200 km ambitions

80 km and time for a status on FB

Once again an empty world for me

Zbraslavice, a name I remember from previous rides

Al of the sudden the clouds made way for sunlight. Would we be having a nice second part of the day?

The answer to that question was yes and it helped shape my momentum

It became downright beautiful! I knew I was again tasting something very nice

Look at this beautiful pattern of nature

I really felt good all of the sudden, ready to eat the rest of that 200 km.

As the distance neared 100 km, I made mental preparations for entering Vysocina now. It could happen any moment now.

And there it was, right at the buzzer 100 km from my doorstep. Vysocina Kraj

This area is known for its many hills and every ride I did here confirmed this

Bela which means white in Slavic languages, pretty suitable in this white setting.

Admiring the views in Vysocina. Last visit dates again from December 16th

Mighty impressive

The winter undoubtedly has charming sides as well

It went constantly up and down during this ride. No flat sections, only hills

A very long descent brought me to the town of Ledec nad Sazavou and this Rivers is the Sazava. This point was my GPS waypoint to avoid taking a too long detour. From here is was 90+ km left to Trebic

Leaving the city meant engaging in a new hill. Slowly I climbed back to 500+

Progress actually was a lot slower than expected due to the climbing and I kinda calculated that I would not make it before darkness. A feeling of light stress befell upon me.

In this afternoon section there were a few nasty stingers of 18%. They went up so steep, and down was well. It was a lot of work!

I cycled to Trebic exactly one year ago, but this time the route was different. Climbing was no less though.

Many segments of very crappy roads also

Climbing and climbing made me sweat a lot. But that's the feeling I like!

So many spots deserved a picture, I could not stop everywhere.

Here, I made a quick post on FB. This spot meant 130 km done and 70 to go, roughly 2/3rds

Then I arrived in Havlickuv Brod.

Somehow I got a cramp from which I had to recover a few minutes. That never happened before. I did not understand where it came from. It meant taking it slowly.

Tremendous nature views

I felt that cramp for quite a long time and it kinda hammered my speed uphill. I was more thankful that I was able to continue.

Later in the afternoon I saw the shades of the sunrise playing with the clouds

Me while riding

This was how I spent my afternoon, dealing with the tiny roads between snowy valleys

Where I had my last rest stop.

I put a 25mm tire on a 21 mm rim for this ride and I noticed it went faster. Rolling resistance seemed lower. Rear tire was still 28 though.

It was a tiring day but that filled me with joy

The more I calculated, the better I knew I would not make it out of the hills before darkness

So it was a matter of dong as much as reasonably possible

Then salvation came! Its name was 351. This route - according to the signs - led straight to Trebic. Even though my GPS had different plans, I stuck to this one. Why? It was a wide open road where I could maximize my descend speed as well, thus improving progress.