It rained on and off all day, but hey, that seems to be the weather at the moment. It did mean that my hands got quite cold, this combination of cool water on cool skin does wonders, so I bought myself some long-fingered gloves. The route today was really for relaxing, flat, along a river, … Read more
I actually slept really well in the tent, and it stood the test of rain. I woke up just before sunrise and started packing up as it was not raining that moment. Just as I was finished, it started again. I had breakfast at a petrol station. I do not know of anything else open … Read more
What a day! A bit more adventure than I had bargained for… and more climbing: over 1000m again. Woke up with muscle ache in the legs, which is not really surprising after the last few days. Trying to relax those quads did unfortunately not work in the hotel‘s snazzy bath: it was too short even … Read more
No rain today, quite a relief. Also downhill quite a bit of the time, so I suppose I could have cycled further, but I wanted to spend some time in Brno. But I still climbed over 700m, soon adds up. But I suppose today was the day of roadworks. I had to change my route … Read more
Today I was really pleased that I do not have rim brakes on this bike – it was quite a lot of downhill in very wet (and sometimes muddy) conditions. That is what the Saarer Berge/Zdarske Vrchy, which by the way seem to be a downhill as well as cross-country skiing area, do for you … Read more
Touchscreen devices are not very useful in the pouring rain, as tested for you today. It started raining just as I was setting off, so I had to climb a total of over 1000m today while sweating inside my waterproofs and getting soaked from the outside – not the nicest day of this bike tour. … Read more
Today was my day of historical towns, including a UNESCO world heritage site. Bit of culture for a change, and the weather was still good (it is forecast to rain the next few days). I also left the Elba/Labe today, and leaving a river always means climbing. I also seem to be in an undulating … Read more
Shaken, not stirred is a good summary of my day today – the path and road conditions were atrocious for about 50km, very tiring. I had to concentrate so hard to find the best line on very bad cobblestones, stay in a very narrow track (only slightly broader than my tires) and try not to … Read more
Watched somebody order a beer, getting it and drinking it at breakfast at 8:00 in the morning, different level of beer-drinking here in the Czech Republic. I, however, started culturally: with a visit to the castle of Decin, the long drive up is really impressive. Then I set off along the Labe/Elbe bike route, which … Read more
This day marks the start of my real adventures: After 6 weeks and more than 2500km of cycling I have reached a country I have never cycled in before, nor do I know the language (at all!) – the Czech Republic. Left Dresden sunny and warm and stopped off at Pillwitz castle to have a … Read more