Hanácké ʌnˈbaʊnd
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The idea for this story came to me about a week ago while I was out riding with my two riding buddies. We were riding through the flatlands of Haná, a region where I live. When we ride between these fields, we often joke that it’s like riding in Kansas, with long open roads that seem to go on forever. It’s like you’re racing the big gravel race, the Unbound. And that’s when the idea came to me.
THE IDEA
I can create a similar route to the one at Unbound in Kansas. This was it, I knew I had to make it and ride it. All of this is because I have a big dream: to go to the USA and ride those gravel roads. I don't necessarily want to attend any of the races, but I want to ride them to find out what they're like and see the nature and feel the elements. It's hard to explain the feeling I have when I talk or write about this, but I need to try it.
THE ROUTE
I will start and finish in Olomouc. I’ll head north first, then slowly work my way west, and then south, circling around Olomouc and riding back into the city from the east.
I'm planning to ride it in one day, on my own, to get a feel for how it is to ride rough gravel for that distance and that length of time.
So, here's the route: it's about 177 km long with less than 1000 m of elevation gain. I've linked all the gravel roads between fields I could find. There are 27 gravel sectors in total, with different lengths. Some are wide dirt roads with crunchy gravel, some are overgrown grassy trails that used to be roads and some are really rough roads with deep tracks from tractors. Between these sectors are regular paved roads, villages and gas stations.
THE TEST
The second part of this ride has nothing to do with the actual idea, but it has purely technical matter. I've got this amazing saddle from Posedla, and because I am going to be sitting for the most of the ride, I would like to test how comfy it really is. This saddle is 3D printed exactly to my butt through an imprint I gave the folks at Posedla. So read on to find out what my butt thinks after this epic ride.
THE RIDE / HOW DID IT GO
I set off in the morning around 7.30am. The sun was already out and high in the sky, with almost no clouds in sight. The temperature was fine for an average summer's day, but I somehow knew it was going to rise. My mind and body were determined to go for it, so without hesitation I pedaled and pedaled until I hit the first couple of gravel sectors and then it got interesting. Crunchy sounds under my wheels, a little tailwind and the sun on my back. Everything was going great and I got through the first 100km without any problems.
After the 100 kilometres the situation changed. The sun was really high and I could feel its power, not realising that I was already sun burned. I started to feel exhausted as well. My tank was half empty and I still had 70km to go. As the route is mostly flat, there were no downhills to rest on and I had to keep pedaling. That was the biggest challenge for me, to keep on going and spinning my legs.
GRAVEL ALONE
The solitude was another thing, when you are alone, the road goes by slower. This could be dangerous on the gravel sections. My eyes can easily wander off the road and look at the corn, the grain, the trees in the distance and the birds flying over the fields looking for their prey. On tarmac, I'm 100% present because of the passing cars, but on gravel, between the fields, it's easy to lose attention. I was punished for this when I missed a dry section of gravel and my front wheel went into a muddy tractor track. I couldn't stop, stumbled and went over the bars into the other tractor track, which was a bit drier. My bike and I were both fine, no mechanicals or blood. I was just dirty and shaken from the tumble, but it woke me up and I think I stayed focused and my eyes were planted on the road for the rest of the ride. I had to stop at the gas station in Tovačov for a few minutes to get my head around what had happened. I refilled my bottle, checked my bike again and carried on. There were about 55km to go, my tank was almost empty, but my mind saw the finish line ahead.
THE SECTORS
THE OUTCOME
I was relieved when I hit the streets of Olomouc around 4:00pm. I made it and I felt really happy, even though it didn't look like that. My legs were toast and my mind was happy. I think this whim of mine could be described as challenging. It was really hard.
If you'd like, you can go try that route and let me know how you felt after finishing it.
My butt: Oh, it felt amazing. I covered 177 km and spent around 8 hours in the saddle, which was really comfortable. It was like sitting on the couch watching the Tour de France. So this saddle lives up to its name and I would highly recommend it.
