200 km Brevet Heidenau - Prague

06/03/2023 06:00 a.m. Velodrome Heidenau

Length 215.4 km

Altitude gain: 2891 m

Time limit: 13.5 hours

Checkpoints:

• km 0: Start, Heidenau cycle track
• 31.3 km: Air Restaurant Petrovice
• 96.8 km: Roudnice market square
• km 143.4: Hrad Kokorin
• Km 179: Zamek Veltrusy
• km 212.7: Hradcany
• km 215.4: destination, Velky Strahovsky Stadium

Brevet week starts with this 200 to Praha. As usual, the start at the velodrome in Heidenau is punctual at 8am. First it goes up to Großsedlitz. Today we leave the baroque garden on the left and continue down via Krebs into the Bahretal. Here we can rest for a few more kilometers on the flat before we head from Gersdorf in the direction of the Erzgebirgskamm. Interrupted by two short descents, it goes up to 700m. After 30 km we leave Germany towards Bohemia. Between garden gnomes, birdhouses, cigarettes, drinks and others, our first checkpoint should be easy to find here. The TU-104 of the former Czechoslovak Airline, which is now used as a restaurant.

From here it is another 7 km to the Erzgebirge crest. Of Nakléřov when the weather is nice, not only that Sněžník and České středohoří with its cone hills, but also Ještěd, about 80 km away. Interrupted by an intermediate ascent, it goes down into the Elbe valley Usti nad Labem. Here we cross the Elbe for the first time today, or rather the Labe, as it is called here. However, it goes right after that up the mountain again into the České Středohoří (Bohemian Central Mountains). until We could continue to Litoměřice in the Elbe valley, but there is a lot of traffic on both sides. This time we leave the beautiful market square in Litoměřice on the right and instead cross the Labe again.

After a few kilometers we drive through Terezin. Terezin, Theresienstadt in German, is a town built as a fortress by the Habsburgs in the 18th century. However, it gained further notoriety as a Gestapo prison as well as a ghetto and transit camp in the German Reich. After that it goes flat until Roudnice nad Labem. Our second checkpoint is at the market square, just before we head towards the Labe again Kokorinsko.

The Kokořínsko (Daubaer Schweiz) is a protected landscape area with sandstone cliffs, gorges, caves and of course castles and breweries. Our goal and third checkpoint here is Hrad Kokořín. It stands on a sandstone rock embedded in the forest and can only be reached on foot. In the 19th century all that was left of it was a ruin. In 1896 it was bought by a nobleman who rebuilt it between 1911 and 1918. Since then it has been preserved by the family as a memorial. From the road, it can only be seen in two bends on the left.

After the Kokořínsko it goes back to the Labe. More precisely after Melnik. Here we meet not only the Labe, but also the Vltava (Moldova). Both flow together here. We follow the Vltava up to Lužec nad Vltavou, where we cross it. At the Zámek Veltrusy we have our fourth checkpoint right after that. That Veltrusy Castle is a baroque country castle built in 1716 with a large park.

We continue in the direction of Prague, today's destination. The last kilometers we follow the bike path on the Vltava. First we go to the district of Troja, where we pass the Prague Zoo. Here we cross the Vltava for the last time today and shortly afterwards drive up to the Hradčany, the Prague Castle. Almost unexpectedly we land here on the cobblestones in the middle of the castle complex directly in front of the presidential palace. At the same time, one of the most beautiful views of Prague can be found here.

Actually, I wanted to have the destination for the brevet here, but it is difficult to hand over the luggage here. So it's our fifth checkpoint.

We leave the Hradčany over the cobblestones. Drive a little further up the hill to the Petřín lookout tower. If you have time, you should climb this "Eifel Tower". From here there is, at least in my opinion, the most beautiful view of Prague. However, we drive one kilometer further to the Velký strahovský stadion, today's destination. Strahov Stadium was primarily used for athletics and mass events. The playing field is 206 m × 340 m. At its best, it is said to have held up to 250,000 spectators. It is therefore considered the largest stadium in the world.