Nice ride to test our new winter gear – gloves, hoods, and shoe covers (see above). And we like to say – yes, they were needed!
Parking close to the town center is convenient and not very crowded even in the summer when we did our ride from here the first time. As there is basically no elevation gain, an e-bike is not essential. Most of the trip is on very reasonable forest roads and simple paths. From point 2 to 5 you will follow the blue tourist mark and then up to point 11 the yellow one. As the ground here is sandy, you will be passing along several sandpits. You can visit one in a close up at point 10 and admire different colors of the sand, and you will see a big one between 13 and 14. From point 2 to 3 you will be passing between two privately-owned ponds, the one on left completely taken by ducks and geese of different kinds. We have never seen so many of these birds in one location before, and it did not even smell so bad.
You will be crossing the river Labe on two modern bridges built recently for pedestrians and bicyclists. If you are lucky and ride during a day with a strong wind, you will be able to hear the vibration of the cables – it can be even a little scary. When you are crossing the blind arm of Labe, called Grado, look for the nutrias (water rats) who found a home here. The most surprising sighting is at point 7, the chapel dedicated to Saint Venceslas. St. Venceslas was murdered by his brother Boleslav as you can see in detail in this chapel. The authorship of the statues was not yet established, but it looks like it was commissioned from the workshop of the famous Mathias Bernard Braun. It was funded by count Špork, a big supporter of arts living in Lysá nad Labem. (More about Špork in our earlier blog.) In the summer months, there is a refreshment mobile point “U Fazole” next to this popular spot.
After passing through Sojovice you will be crossing another major Czech river called Jizera. The second time you will cross this river in Káraný. Káraný is a major source of drinking water for Prague. Water from Jizera is naturally filtered through the sandy ground and provides about 1000 litres per second from 687 wells in the area around which you were riding between points 6 and 10. You cannot miss the factory dealing with water purification when you pass through Káraný.
https://en.mapy.cz/s/fojotejove 22 km, no elevation gain. To see this ride in context, check our interactive maps.
