Biking Czech Republic
18 July 2023, near Řásná, 30.89km
Camp Velkopařezitý 340kč [R282]
It is a truism, I know, to say it is hotter in the sun than in the shade, but we were particularly conscious of this today as we climbed long slow hills on a long hot day. The trees lining the verges were either planted close together casting their shade onto the tar for lengthy stretches, or were planted intermittently casting shade at intervals. Either way, we were noticeably cooler in the shadows!
We had planned a short ride, so rose late after last night's libations! Our hosts were a Dutch couple in their 60s/70s who have been resident in the Czech Republic for 25 years. Their campsite is attractive and well-run, offering options for camper vans, tenters and those wishing to rent a small caravan. Located just outside Ondřejov, their attractive bar also attracts locals. So last night we were kept company by a Scottish couple travelling by car, two Dutch motorcyclists on a whirlwind ride through Europe, a lone Italian cyclist, two Czech long-distance cyclists and three locals - a nurse and two engineers. We were up quite a lot later than usual!
We breakfasted on sliced apple and cheese before hitting the road. In Rynárec, we broke for ice-cream and a slushy. In Horní Cerekev we had a leisurely, oddly old-fashioned lunch, Charl's beef soup including alphabet noodles, and my "Coke" being a bottle of Royal Crown Cola complete with the words "Gives every gentleman time to slow down and enjoy the moment 1905".
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This time the road closure warnings indeed brought us to a stop, 7km after they first appeared and just 100m from our turnoff. Luckily we only had to backtrack about a km before finding a rough dirt track through the forest up an incredibly steep incline. As there was a boom across the track, we were pleased to encounter a small group of cyclists on their way to swim in the lake near our campsite who assured us the track would deliver us to our destination.
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In my video I mention that Charl has become very good at sourcing chairs for us to sit in. He has borrowed chairs from groundsmen, from bathrooms and from kitchens. Today we are using two castaways outside the maintenance man's garage.
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We saw and photographed what we thought were bunkers, but which turned out to be underground storage for, for example, wine.