600 IS THE LETTER DRESDEN
Saturday June 4th
I wake up in a small 1-room apartment in Dresden. The day before I traveled by train from Graz to measure myself against the first 600 from the new ARA location in Dresden. Arrived at the starting point, the velodrome in Heidenau, the registration done, I help myself to the excellent breakfast buffet and shortly afterwards I spot the first familiar face. I know most of them from the two past participations in the Le1000 du Sud.
After a hearty breakfast and gossip, you can start your 600 km round trip to “Bohemian villages and castles” quite calmly.
After 50 km, ignoring a biathlon stadium and a toboggan run, I reach the first checkpoint and am already in Bohemia or the Czech Republic. For the first time it's a nice and fast descent.
After that, the first castles that gave the brevet its name come into view and the beautiful Bohemian countryside. Lots of cone mountains come into view and the streets lead through a sometimes impressively dense green with little traffic.
The next checkpoint is the Královský Pivovar Krušovice brewery and shortly after Pürglitz Castle. Then we continue to one of the highlights of the tour to the pilgrimage site Svatý Jan pod Skalou. Here, very inconspicuously, a monastery appears, which blends picturesquely into the landscape in front of a rock formation.
Continue down the river in a beautiful valley to Karlstein Castle. 222 km have already been completed here. The difficulty on this section of the route is the short series of climbs. The descents, which are also short, don't really allow you to relax, because the partly bad asphalt doesn't let me rest and always requires a bit of concentration.
At one of the numerous dams on the Vltava, I enjoy a wonderful sunset together with Michael, who has been with me for a while.
A little later in Benesov we get ourselves dinner in a small shop, of which there are plenty in the Czech Republic.
Sometime after that, at kilometer 300 , we move into a nice little shelter and try to rest for the next day. Bedded on my sleeping mat and wrapped in my self-sewn bivy sack, I sleep well and ignore the alarm clock early in the morning. We don't drive on until half past six in the morning. After we have reached our easternmost point at kilometer 385, we head back towards Dresden.
We reach Kutná Hora, whose old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I intend to visit this city once without a bike. At a small café I do the morning hygiene and joke with a few other randonneurs. Over the next 70 kilometers, the three of us can make good progress because the wind supports us and we exchange ideas at the front. I enjoy these fast kilometers after the partly arduous previous day.
The next control point, Stránov Castle, requires a short gravel section including a small hike for the control photo. Finally, before Decin, there is another short climb with around 500 meters in altitude. Here my Apidura bag says goodbye, the holder of which detaches from the bag. Luckily I can stow the bag on Michael's luggage rack (thanks for that!). So I can even complete the remaining 60 kilometers with less luggage and weight 😊.
I find the conclusion along the Elbe very beautiful and it reminds me of a past cycling holiday, where I rode along the river coming from Dresden. Arriving in Heidenheim, we are served first-class food and Kofola. After a very entertaining evening and a beer, I spend a surprisingly restful night in the gym.
Thank you Björn for the excellent, albeit demanding route and the extraordinarily good organization, even in the first year of the event.
Thank you Michael for the extremely entertaining accompaniment with this brevet.
Some numbers:
Distance (incl. journey): 638 km
Altitude difference: 7,639 m
Duration: 36:49 hours
photos & text: stefan eferdinger