(Luhacovice, Czech Republic to Lake Bystricka)
View 2008-05-25 Luhacovice to Lake Bystricka, Czech Republic in a larger map
Highlights: steepest morning ever, flat river roads in the afternoon, eating two ice creams, almost out of the hills (I hope), more good weather
Roadside monument (near Loucka)
Impossibly steep road - had to walk down (near Desna)
Nice job with the flowers (Vsemina)
Perfect lunch spot (near Liptal)
Unusual crosswalk (Vsetin)
Not many of these East German relics left (near Przno)
1942 U.S. WWII jeep - still runs well (near Mikuluvka)
Journal: So far the Czechs have done a wonderful job marking their bicycle routes (the signage is better than Germany or Austria) & keeping the bicycles away from the cars. The downside has been some of the steepest climbs I have ever done on a touring bike. Today was no different as I have now climbed more than 2 vertical miles in the past 4 days yet traveled less than 160 miles horizontally. Began the day with an unexpected 450-foot climb over 5.8 miles, followed by a 550-foot difficult stretch in 1.4 miles (with a 12% grade). After reaching the top (2120' elevtion) we dropped down 1000 feet to the next valley in just 3 miles. I don't particularly enjoy steep descents like this since I am an aggressive braker (afraid of losing control going too fast downhill; the hard braking can be quite tiring) and also worry about my tires popping if there is too much heat friction on the rims from the braking (this has happened before to me).
After reaching the town of Vizovice around noon we weren't ready for lunch yet, so we decided to try our luck with some more hills. It wasn't bad at first, then became excruciating once again. As a matter of pride I try to ride up every hill I encounter, but I had to walk up a short stretch. After reaching the top (500' higher than Vizovice, just 3 miles away) we encountered the craziest downhill segment yet and had to walk our bikes down about 250 feet over 0.4 miles on a rocky unpaved road. After dropping down to about 1200' elevation, we were greeted with another unexpected climb (back up to 1770' elevation) before taking a break for lunch. By the time we stopped to eat a sandwich and enjoy the Alp-like view from the top of the ridge we had traveled less than 18 miles, yet climbed more than 2500 feet (and descended another 2000 feet) making this the steepest riding I have ever done.
The after-lunch ride was a stark contrast to that of the morning. We literally coasted all the way downhill to the city of Vsetin, then followed the river downstream from there in the direction of the flatter lands. We decided to do a short climb at the end of the day to reach the last campground on our maps, and thankfully the ride up there was not so bad. Tomorrow we expect to finally leave the big hills behind and start adding some more miles each day as we make our way to southern Poland.
1 comment:
Dear John, Just reading your journal makes me tired. Hope you have more level pathways for the next few days. Glad the weather is holding out. Sure would have been difficult cycling,if it had been raining or worse still, snowing. Many things to do here in Sidney, before we return to Virginia. Think of you often. Love, Mom
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