Hevlin

August 23, 2017

First order of business this morning was my saddle. I had fixed it the night before. In fact, it was the first thing I did once I was settled into the hotel. After some effort, I was able to loosen the bolt holding the saddle clamp to the seat post. I then slid the saddle forward so that the break was between the two supports, but just barely. It only had to move forward 1/4" or so. The last time I recall doing this, I was biking the Finger Lakes and on a climb up to one of the adjacent ridge lines. I think I rode it a year like that before replacing the saddle, so I was somewhat confident this would work in the interim.

And it had to. I had looked for bike shops in the towns we were going through over the next several days, and it didn't look promising. While biking is very popular in Europe, most of the biking is done for transportation and errands, not the kind of biking we were doing. So the pool of saddles out there was not likely to be what I was looking for.

The broken saddle rail, moved forward between the support points.

So having "fixed" the saddle, all I needed to do was reinsert the seat post, adjust the height, and hit the road. Ha ha, easy. Well, it was, with just a few adjustments in the first couple of miles. But even a 1/4" shift was going to take some getting used to. But there were other things to worry about. Like the climb out of town. A bit steep for so early in the morning. I need my ten-mile warm-up after all! But sometimes it is what it is, so up we went. It really was not so bad, just unexpected.

Today's ride to Hevlin.

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At the top of the climb. We passed many vineyards on the way up . . . so this is looking back over the hillside.

And at the top were the expected great views of the vineyards but also some unexpected roadway construction. Which, in retrospect, was the continuation of yesterday's highway project. Basically, a new highway through the countryside, and this was just another segment. But we crossed it effortlessly (after some discussion). It's really odd. Coming from where we come from (the US), the assumption is there is no passage. However, as we have learned — multiple times in Europe — passage is ALWAYS accommodated. It's not "if" but "where." And the construction crew actually waved us through! Nice!

Looking back on the road construction while on our way to Lednice. We passed through on the near side. I can't imagine this happening in the US.

So after that challenge, we moved on to the Czech Republic. We were still in Austria but knew it was close. And we needed the obligatory border-crossing photo! But it required two more nice climbs to get there. The border was at about MP 9, so I was still in my warm-up phase, but I actually tackled these two hills fairly decently. So, for bragging rights (lol), while I was the last one out of the hotel, I was the first one across the border. For whatever reason . . .

So we (I) crossed the border.

Actually, we crossed, then went back for photos because it's a little unclear exactly where the border is. Remember, this used to be a border between "free" western Europe and "communist" eastern Europe, so things appear "odd" at times. But we figured it out, and, having arrived first, I waited for the boys to catch up. Which did not take long. Plus, they arrived with friends, more or less. Arrived at the same time? Not so sure. Friendly? Definitely. And they were more than happy to take our pics. And it turned out they were Austrian. So we were yet to meet our first Czechs!

Introductions and negotiations for the photo op! This discussion was most likely about the Bike Fridays!

Along with his friend on the far right. Neither seemed to have any difficulty with the hills . . . but then they were cycling (mostly) load-free!

But that meeting was not long in coming. Soon we were at the Colonnade Reistna, a somewhat impressive but not particularly significant edifice overlooking Valtice. We lingered there for a while, taking in the view and, of course, meeting some Czechs. It was a mean climb up, but it would have been a little easier on me if I had been paying closer attention. But I have a habit of missing turns when tackling hills. Fortunately, I was called back by the boys and then followed them (and my Garmin) to the top . . . but missing the turn did add some climbing to today's ride!

. . . and the view of Valtice. Happy always said you need to cross some "mountains" to get into the Czech Republic, and he was right.

From the Colonnade, we had a nice descent into Valtice, our first Czech city, where our first mission was to find money! At least for me, it was. We needed some Czech korunas, Czech crowns, so Valtice was our first expected source, and after some exploring, we were successful. 4000 korunas later (about $170), I was content. My biggest concern going deeper into the Czech Republic was the acceptance of credit cards. I knew we would be going through some rural areas, and cash tends to rule supreme in that environment.

Opposite of which was the church (of course).

I also took the opportunity to stop at a bike shop to see what the saddle selection might be but was disappointed. Not surprised really since I did not really expect to find high-end saddles outside of, say, Prague. So far, my "fix" was working, so no sweat.

From Valtice, we made our way to Lednice, which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, taking us slightly off the official Greenway but making for a nice diversion on the way to Hevlin. And really the only diversion! And it was a nice ride indeed! We approached through a wooded section (with some rough roads), passing by several significant structures. It actually reminded me a bit of the carriage roads through Acadia National Park (which Happy and I biked in 2015).

The road leading to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

And into the woods we go . . . we saw many cyclists here (and at the colonnade earlier).

Crossing the Hlohovecký, Prostřední, and Mlýnský Ponds "inbound" on one of two causeways. We left on the opposite causeway in the distance. This view is of the center pond.

Our first sighting of the castle grounds! The sign reads "Castle Gardens" and probably would have provided a back way onto the grounds! But I didn't know that at the time and only took the picture because I liked the gate.

Lednice Castle . . . which we did not tour. Apparently, it was stripped of all of its furnishings and valuables when the House of Liechtenstein lost most of their land after World War II.

We lunched in Lednice, close to the castle, and then made our way out of town. This required crossing the lake a second time and then turning west onto local roads. Eventually, though, we were back on dedicated bikeways/bike trails and making our way for Hevlin. We were quickly in real country! And, I have to say, quickly boring country. Very flat, and often, very straight and long!

It wasn't "unpretty," as we did pass through some interesting villages, but all the hill climbing was done, and flat riding is not my forte (per se). And I was solo again, riding ahead of the others.

After passing the ponds on the way out of Lednice, we reached open and very flat country. To the north (our right while traveling west), you could view The Way of the Cross on Holy Hill outside of Mikulov.

And yes, long and straight and flat. But no cars!

And occasionally I would see other cyclists, including families and club rides.

We mostly followed the border with Austria, which during the communist regime was well-guarded and fenced. This is looking to my left, southward towards Austria.

Hevlin is not exactly a destination point! But it was a layover point. And it was my first exposure to a mid-sized, former communist-type village. So my eye caught the Soviet-style apartment building, which stuck out rather prominently. It was not only the tallest building but was also my first vision of a type of architecture, which I had only seen in pictures before.

An (apparently) Soviet-era apartment building, the tallest structure in Hevlin.

Our hotel was passable. Jerry had been super concerned that it had a casino. The casino turned out to be a bar with video games (suitable for gambling). Not loud and not rowdy. And our rooms were well-removed from the action!

Our lodging for the night, Penzion Dyje. This is the hotel/restaurant side of the business (although the restaurant was closed; we ate down the street).

All that said, the proprietors were very accommodating, even making a call on our behalf for the next night's reservation (she did not speak English). Later, we found a local bar to enjoy several refreshments before having dinner at the only restaurant in town! The one at the "real" hotel.

Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 1,379 miles (2,219 km)

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