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
Wow, what a day! I had not planned to go into another city, but something Phil said made me do it after all – and I have not regretted it. I started reasonably early, as more rain was forecast mainly for the afternoon. In the end a few showers caught me in the morning and … Read more
I was intending to something like 30 – 50km today, so much for intentions… In the end I had climbed nearly 750m again. It absolutely poured all morning, so my motivation was huge – not. My goal was to see as much as possible of Landkreis Leipzig, ah well, all I can say is that … Read more
As there were thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon I got going reasonably early. The atmosphere on the campsite overlooking the Saale was special. After having seen the enormous construction site for a motorway just before (apparently it should have been finished by 2003, but there were delays because the Greens were opposed), stopped of for … Read more
Started off following the Elbe for a bit and then wanted to go cross-country in the direction of Leipzig, after having looked at the wooden henge of Poemmelte. This henge was built about the same time as Stonehenge. But then this hot dry summer struck again: not enough water in the Saale to run a … Read more
Continued on the route of the Stästepartnerschaft, which turned out to be quite undulating, I climbed 750 m in the end. There was also definitely more headwind than I had before, but still dry, good weather. Went through little towns and villages all day, that all had interesting aspects and history. My highlight on the … Read more
Spent a wonderful as well as very practical weekend in Braunschweig with Phil. The weather was great, we wandered about a lot ( even had a guided tour), ate well and talked a lot. As my panniers were finally coming apart at the seems, Phil had brought a pair of front panniers that used to … Read more