Hluobka nad Vitavou is a small town with a stunning chateau set on a hill. Our “opulent” hotel is adjacent to the “chateau of Hluboka”.
We leave Tabor under cloudy skies with a forecast of 60 – 80% chance of rain. It’s cooler this morning (56 degrees) and there is a fairly strong wind so almost everyone has on jackets. The morning’s ride is difficult – lots of hills. And they’re steep – 6%, 8%, 10%, 15% grade. It’s this grade or angle or gradient or slope which impacts cyclists, not the length of the hill. (Of course a 15% grade for .25 miles is a different ballpark from a 15% for 25 miles.) Other than the photo at the start, I took no photos this morning. I was too bust trying to keep up with Brenda on these hills. (Now why was it I married a younger woman?) Oh yes, the wind also impeded us this morning.
Once again we had a picnic lunch. While we were eating Henry, the driver, filled our water bottles and equipped every bike with a banana and energy bar. What service! As we were leaving lunch the weather deteriorated. We’d only had a couple of very light showers in the morning. As we left lunch we had to go uphill, into the wind and it was raining pretty hard. God, this is fun. I can’t believe that everyone doesn’t take their vacation on a bicycle.
The bad weather was brief and the scenery was great. We went through farmland (grains and corn), by lakes and ponds and in wooded areas. Near the end of the ride, we were on a one-lane road with no cars, no jogger no cyclists, in the forest next to the river. Of course the hills continued along with sweeping curves. The previous rain dampened the road and the still cool weather (62 degrees) plus leaves on the road gave the impression that autumn is just around the corner.
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