Biking in Moravia

Why would I entitle this entry Biking in Moravia and begin with such a picture? The above has been an all too common experience while here. I'm not complaining! But biking has become more of a necessity than mere recreation. Let me explain. The staples here are pork, all in its various and sundry forms, dumplings/bread and beer. Someone told us before we came that we would gain weight. So on to the biking! ...well, come to think of it, while the following pics are of areas I bike, it might be that only Ryan or a few others will appreciate the pics in those terms. The rest of you might simply enjoy what the country side is like...

But first, here is my new steed, a Czech "Author" model: Zenith. Made from aluminum, including front shocks. I say this in terms of description as I will still advise that steel is the type of frame I prefer. ...and no shocks. But I simply couldn't find a steel framed bike. I struggled with whether to purchase a road frame or this mountain frame. I still prefer the cyclo-cross style... which might be easily understood as a combination of both. As it turns out and you will see from the following pics, the roads here can be of any texture. But the ones I'm loving are perfect for this style of bike.

Here is a picture of Moraske Budejovice from my most common route. This is taken late in the day. The following pictures are all from one particular route... but taken from several different rides as you'll note from the lighting.

You can see by the above that there are options of doing more "two track" style of riding. The main road here is fairly narrow, but in good condition.

Paved and in somewhat more degraded condition, but the context is quite good.

Enough forest pictures? There is much of this to be had, but below is just as common and more prevalent unless you are seeking the roads in the forest.

Big hay bales dot this land. sometimes they are nice and square or simply heaps. There seems to be little or no livestock in the area, so I'm not sure what these are for.

Again, our village... at sunset. This is a picture taken from the south.

And this picture is slightly askance, to the right of the other above. Note the big blockish apartment complex that dominates the skyline? Home sweet home.

Let me be quite clear about one thing. Some of the above pictures are taken on nice clear days. But since I have been here I'm sure that 3/4 of the days have been cloudy. I'm jealous of the fall that Chicago has been enjoying... it's been generally cooler here and gray. But the countryside more than makes up for the weather.

Here I end with the leftovers of Halloween

Ah lil pumpkins, it is the morning after, your flame extinguished, ...and quite frankly you are beginning to smell. How is it you keep your smiles?