Our goal on this ride from the last year was to get to the top of Plešivec peak (hill) in the Brdy Mountain range just about an hour drive from Prague. Most of the Brdy range is covered by forests, and it is one of the largest contiguously forested areas in the interior of the country. Given Polly is from Montana she finds it hard to qualify this as a “mountain range” but there are several elevations to climb that make it a perfect area for hiking and biking. Large sections of this range are designated as a restricted military area and closed to the public. So some of this ride was along the boundary of the military areas with signs forbidding entrance into the forest, although it is not fenced off. They have been decreasing the military use area since 1989 and even more as of 2005 which is why Michal had not been here that much when he was younger.
Our 40k route took us around and through the military area and village of Jince. The ride mixed the worst possible road and a long ride on an asphalt road. We typically try to plan the uphill in the beginning of the trips as to not have to stress over battery saving. So the first part was a hard uphill and as we neared Plešivec peak it became more loose rock and tree roots so we walked the bikes about the last 200 meters. We are always thankful for the ‘walk’ function on our Apache electric bikes that let the bike take care of its own weight while we push it up the hill.
The last 4k we rode on a busy road which we try hard to avoid, but to make the trip a loop we sometimes have to do this. However, the map shows the alternative from point 11, which we believe might be more interesting to ride… But we did not ride it, so we cannot say we checked it thoroughly.
There are plenty of hiking routes from our start point, but we would not recommend the walk along the military forest as it wouldn’t be that interesting if you can’t wander into the woods from the road.
https://en.mapy.cz/s/jofanobuho 39km, 750 m elevation gain
-
Top of Plešivec looking at the village of Jince -
-
