This ride can be also called “How many hop fields can you see”. From the elevation profile, you see that you will be going up and down sharply several times. But it will really feel like you are riding on the top of the ridge all the time. You should be ready to ride over fallen dry branches at several places. The trick is not to go very fast so that you do not make the branch jump and damage your bike.
We parked in front of the local office in Žerotín and started uphill from there. You may start following the green tourist mark right from the village and follow it for about 10 km. After that, you will follow the red mark to Třeboc from where you jump on a blue mark. At point 10, looking across the valley you may spot the “crop face”, art creation by a local farmer. (If you will follow this ride, let us know whether you could see anything at this point – it will definitely change during the growing season.)
Overall, we classify this ride very high, as it was quite pleasant with a lot of forest riding which we prefer to riding on asphalt. The only unpleasant part was riding on a freshly “plowed path” next to the hop fields before point 17. And your riding skills will be tested between points 19 and 20 – sharp turn and steep bumpy uphill path.
Even though you will be in the forest, you will see a lot of hop fields. This is an area where Žatecký chmel (Saas hops) is produced for export to breweries around the whole world. Interestingly, in the pub at Panenský Týnec you can get three types of “vaccines” – Gambrinus, Kozel, or Pilsner, and you can get a second and third dose right away – see the picture below.
https://en.mapy.cz/s/hucejokera 38 km, 606 m elevation gain. To see this ride in context, check our interactive maps.
