I had just finished a biking in Ireland with Kathy so I had all my bike clothes and was ready, so a bike trip was going to be easy for me. It was going to be a bigger challenge for the boys as the longest ride either Kili or Jakub had done was 10 to 15 k. But Eric was confident, the boys were eager, and we knew that there was a train bail out option on Day 2 if things didn't go as planned..
It was going to be a "credit card" trip so we just needed one set of clothes. And it was a dry forecast, so few worries about dealing with tired riders who were also wet and cold. Temps were predicted to be in the 50s (F) and low 60s.
So we pumped up the tires, oiled the chains, and were off.
Tereza and Johan were in Liberec, which was sad for all of us as we regularly talked about how much we would have liked having them be with us. Johi is growing so fast that we knew that by next year we could make it a real Family adventure.
Here are a few of the highlights of the trip.
The route.
Leg 1 (blue) was by train.
Leg 2 (magenta ) was on bike along the Elbe to Melnic
Leg 3 (red ) was back to Prague along the Vltava.
We start by biking to the Train Station in Prague.
Then along the Elbe to Melnic.
Stopping to look at castles and chateaus.
And kayakers.
Found many interesting things along the way, like this huge carp.
Coffe, snacks, and lunch were part of the program.
And then we saw it - Melnik. Our hotel was right next to the Church tower.
We had ice cream, beer for the guides (of course), and climbed the church tower to look back where we had been.
After breakfast, we were off on Day 2. Butts were sore, but the group pressed on. WE watched boats go through the locks for the Vltava Canal, had great flat roads (with a tail wind). And took a ferry.
Stopped for refuelling (with a beer of course).
Then the last part was really exciting as we rode along single track next to a 6 foot drop into the water.
After a quick swim to celebrate, we made it home in time for a welcome from Johi who we know will be in the lead next year as we do a 3 day ride from Prague to Liberec!!
100 Kilometers in 2 days. These Czech Rafoth's are one, tough, group.
More pictures at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LnV8r7DGYH3N6VZ48
