I Don't Go On I: My Big Premiere Is Postponed

Yesterday had to be a big day as His Majesty.cz was prepared for his debut in the World Series of Bottled Beer. I have never run this race before because it is held at night and it would be very dangerous to compete with a torch or with a candlestick as according to the Protocol I can't use a flashlight. The Pine Bottles Race which has to be held during daylight at nearly Star Game Park was a great opportunity for my first go but the competition was postponed because of heavy loads of water - the worst enemy of drunkards.

It is a pitty, so let's stick to an individual training...

Individual training units prepared in our icehouse

Long Way from Short Race

What to write about the Czech Championship on Short Distance (Middle in Czech) when I failed to qualify for the race? Better nothing because I ran only training class and so it cannot be counted as a stage of TdB 2013. So let's have a short look on the maps from long training and go ahead.

Saturday T4

Sunday T4

Below You can read why the Balkan trips are so cruel for the exalted Royal nobility as the voyage from the eastern remote county to Our capital city took me 11 hours.
13:07 CET: Leaving competition center at Qytetin e Vjetër nën Maldëborë
16:47 CET: Arrival at Holesovice railway station and taking public transport to the Bushtecastle track
17:07 CET: Arrival at Dejvice railway station and waiting for Our Royal Train. Why not drink one beer to overcome the waiting?
18:07 CET: Still waiting for the Train. Let's have another beer....
19:07 CET: Still drinking beer.
20:07 CET: Drinking beer
21:07 CET: Beer.
22:07 CET: Still waiting for the Train. Beergarden is closed so let's wait inside and drink some more.
23:07 CET: Beer.
23:47 CET: Fuck off with the train. Let's go for a tram.
00:27 CET: Finally arrival at Home...

I Go On VII Peaks To Heaven

The Czech O-cup is held once upon a long time in the West. And that time has come this weekend as the Iron Horse of Pilsen bring us to the famous location of Siete Montañas near Pueblo Mezquoletzi. I am still a greenhorn but the seasoned rovers can still remember the brutal bloodbath (Czech Championship 1995) at this place.

My performance was wilder than wild west but I was overdosed with mental power so I could not give up and after nearly two and half hours I reached the finish. Unfortunately in the evening I suffered by a lack of physical power so I could not enjoy the hospitality of local saloons.

My performance in Sunday race was much more better as I spent in the forest less than 100 minutes than the day before. So it was another unbelievable achievment as I finished in the first half of the result list in category H21B (the most prestigious category according to Waterville Carp).
 

The map

Nimburg Trials

The Wednesday PPŽ was called of because of floods so I replaced the race on map with a training according to the movie "Wool Runnings" - drinking of beer and wine combined with bobsleigh at Machalka. But I survived so I could enjoy another races which were organised by DuckTales and Footprint in Nimburg.

1st Trial

The first race took place in the historical center of Nimburg and it was very nice and interesting except the last part which led around the firefighters ground. In the end of the race I acquierd a lesson from precise map-reading. From control number 14 I thought I would use a path through a bush but it was an auxiliary contour line.

Map with my routechoices from the 1 stage

2nd Trial

The second race must have been inspired by Saint Hildegard von Bingen and her world-known nettle medicine. Sprint is a short discipline so the treatment must be very intensive and so it was. The race consists of two doses interrupted by an asphalt circuit around basketball courts. And the result of His Majesty: 17 minutes, 40 seconds, 26th place and happy face (as shown in the picture below).

His Majesty is content after rough nettle therapy

Aftermath

It was a luxury Saturday with interesting races framed by a bunch of local Aftercutting beer.

Tour de Balkan 2013 - Episode 1 - Bo(ring)hdalec

In accordance to the "Guidance for Help to Second Europe Countries" commited by European Parliament the second stage of Czech B-ranking was held in Bulgarian ville of Bogdalevts. And obviously it was a true episode of  Tour de Balkan: boring terrain, silly tracks and poor beer (Starasofia). At least that the weather was indulgent.

Despite everything above His Majesty made an excellent effort on Saturday long distance and after less than two hours of run We had safely defended the third place (from the bottom). Because of a relegation to C-league for Sunday middle distance His Majesty could enjoy a couple of beers with BT guys but no police investigation has been registered so far. The middle distance was also True Balkan so His Majesty packed Our sacks and went back to Our capital city - Vltava above Prague.

 Local speciality of Zdgarska: pico-pictograms for long distance

(with local safety matches for comparsion)

Ιλιάδα

Today His Majesty Menelaos, the king of Sparta, went to pillage Troy - the famous fort in Little Asia (established name for the territory on the eastern shore of Vltava river). Homer's epos contains many useful information about the race but there is not any reference about the steep muddy slopes of Troy hillfort. The elevation to the first control is almost equal to the whole climb on Saturdays 15 kilometers long event. According to Iliad the siege was to last ten years but His Majesty conquered Troy in less than one hour. So it was another very succesful campaign.

Map of the race by Heinrich Schliemann

Veličenstvo Went Green!

As the season is underway and the weather is hot and sunny at the end of May it is a perfect period to improve map skills. So why not take a short map training in the near forrest of Little Voice at Not-bushville. Here are the maps:

Now I can tell You it is a disgusting advertising trick as the woods around Not-bushville are full of bushes. The map from Prague Winter League is really cool but today it should look almost like the former flag of Libya. And so was the weather - cold and rainy.