Česky English

2021

Mountain bike marathon (Hradec Králové, May)

gallery

Summer is coming, COVID-19 is leaving and it looks like all the canceled events from last year are going to happen during this month. Bike marathon in forests around Hradec is a huge event for wide spectrum of people from children (short Kids' cup) through hobby bikers (30 km of mostly ridable dirt trails and roads) to hardcore racers (the same plus another 30 km of mud and hills). I participated as a technical support for a fellow triker. I have no mountain bike, but it is not necessary for the medium level track. Ultimately, the most important requirement was "it must fit in this small car together with the trike", so my folder (partially disassembled) was the only choice. It has plenty of gears and brakes, hopefully it will not fall apart.

Hardcore category started first, the pack flew away at 40 km/h or something like that, oh my gosh. Luckily, our trike is not that fast, otherwise the only support I could provide would be cheering at the start line. There are four difficult places on the track: a short, but steep and muddy descent (we managed to get over it unharmed), an ascent onto a dam of a pond (a trap for low ground clearance chassis), a very narrow bridge (too narrow for trikes), and a labyrinth just before the finish line (tipover). Other than that, it was not as bad as I feared. We finished alive and well, muddy and happy.

Spring critical mass ride (Prague, June)

gallery

This year's big ride started at a park at Pankrác, continued via the biggest highway in the city and ended at the island of Štvanice. The date happened to be Thursday (World Bicycle Day), departure time was half past six pm and weather was just perfect. There were around 500 participants (including people from at least ten embassies), delays on crossroads ranged from 5 to 10 minutes, no big drama. The event was organized by AutoMat (good job), supported by the UN and overseen by police.

Visit at Katanga (Brno, June)

gallery

Katanga is a small company in Brno which produces WAW velomobiles, Pony4 quads and Armadillo pedal trucks. Besides that, light electric/pedal hybrid vehicle called VM45 is being developed here, aiming to fill the gap between velomobiles and automobiles. Thanks to friends from LSH for the invitation and to Katanga crew for showing us around.

Recumbent meeting (Lučina, August/September)

gallery

I have enough holidays left this year, so why not try to ride to the international 'bent meeting under human power and collect some more foreign-named villages on the way. I left Prague on Sunday afternoon with a tailwind and almost all cars headed in the opposite direction, so it was nice and easy. Tuesday was full of rain and hills. Wednesday brought a difficult search for a habitable forest among southern Moravian fields and vineyards (note for next time: Pálava hillside under Dívčí hrad is not a comfortable place to sleep, due to incline, mosquitoes and noisy scarecrows). I finally arrived at Lučina campsite near Tvarožná Lhota on Thursday afternoon. The site is nice and also provides good food, the only drawback are coin-activated showers: water and time is limited and sometimes you're finished before warm water reaches the faucet. It's better to rent a hut with its own bathroom or to bath at a sink.

I enjoyed two evenings of chatting with friends and a group ride on Friday. On Saturday morning I had to pack and go because there was work awaiting me 400 km far on Wednesday. I picked a flat and fast route, kilometres were flying past, I built a tent at Třebovské sedlo on Sunday evening, ate dinner - and that was a mistake, the mayo salad was probably spoilt, so I spent the night running around and fertilizing the forest. Morning found me more tired than in the evening, so I just limped to the nearest train station. Free Tuesday came handy, I had never before slept this long.

What's the lesson learned? 100 km per day is sustainable, but it is absolutely essential to spend nights sleeping, digesting and regenerating energy reserves. One sick night stops you for a day, maybe two. It's good to add several spare days to your holiday schedule.

Around the world, part 3

gallery

I must loosen the rules a bit, some of the visited villages were not marked by classic big roadside signs. But they were quite difficult to reach, so they deserve a place in the collection.

Ads: