The end (of the winter) is nigh

The Central European winter drags on for months, and to a cyclist on a mission to cycle around the Czech border it can seem never-ending. But now, on the last day of February, I can finally see the end in sight. The sun was out in Prague this weekend, and for the first time this year I could feel some heat from it. Soon, I hope, the daffodils - and the hemlines - will be rising.

Like the ice at the Czech Yacht Club, the winter is receding

As an Englishman I’m accustomed to long autumns and long springs. Here in the Czech Republic, though, the transitions are abrupt. The heat is switched off usually sometime in November and back on again in April. I call it binary weather.

The winter does have some advantages, I suppose. It has given me time to plan my route and to clean up and service my bikes for the season ahead. But it’s not easy being a bike blogger in these parts at this time of year. I simply don’t have much to write about, as I’m not doing much cycling.

It’s not the cold that’s the problem - I have the clothing to keep me warm(ish) on the bike even when the temperature is below freezing. It’s the slippery surfaces that thwart me. This winter has been particularly bad in that regard. The snow has been lying on the ground so long it has gradually metamorphosed into sheet ice. As my fellow Prague bike blogger Grant found to his cost last month, it’s not a good surface to cycle on. Now, I’m glad to say, it’s thawing fast.

One thing I do try to do in the winter is stay fit. I’ve learned the hard way that doing no exercise only leads to agony when I get back on the bike in the spring. My love-hate relationship with spinning continues. And, for the first time ever, I’ve been doing strength training, inspired by some helpful advice posted on the Loving the Bike blog. It’s all good exercise, but it’s no substitute - physically or psychologically - for cycling.

The next stage of my circumnavigation of the Czech Republic runs from Aš down to Nýrsko in the west of the country. It’s mostly fairly low-lying, so I’m hoping to be able to cycle it in April. That should give me plenty of time to complete the three remaining stages before next winter sets in.

I just hope the summer is not such a wash-out as it was last year.

Circuit Rider’s packing list

It’s a much-discussed topic among touring cyclists - what (and perhaps more importantly, what not) to take with you. There’s a trade-off between comfort on the bike and comfort off it. On the one hand, low weight makes the bike easier to propel and easier to handle. On the other hand, every traveller has things they can’t bear to be without, even if they don’t absolutely need them.

Online cycling map of the Czech Republic and Slovakia

About a year ago I wrote a post about Czech cycling maps. In it, I concentrated on the various series of printed cycling maps available, and I only mentioned the online Cykloserver cycling map of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in passing. However, the link I gave to this map has since become the number one exit link from my site. In other words, people click on it and never come back here.

Stage 7 route plan

Stage 7 will be the last leg of my jaunt around the Czech Republic, the one that takes me back to Bohumín, where I started my journey in May 2010. It’s another long stage across some arduous terrain. Day 1, however, should be relatively easy, taking me over the low-lying flatlands of southern Moravia, past the tripoint with Slovakia and Austria, and into the foothills of the Western Carpathians. Then things get seriously hilly as I negotiate the series of mountain ranges running along the Czech-Slovak border (the White Carpathians, the Javorníky and the Beskids). The highest point on the stage will be Čartak viewing tower at 950 m above sea level. From there I’ll enter Slovakia and head further east until I reach the Czech-Slovak-Polish tripoint near Hrčava. Then I’ll turn north and descend into the historical Polish town of Cieszyn, the final overnight stop of my trip. The last section is a short, flat run around the back of the city of Ostrava to Bohumín railway station.

Stage 6 route plan

It’s a long stage, this one, but it’s the flattest one of them all - especially once I’ve completed the first day’s ride between Horní Dvořiště and Nové Hrady. With a bit of luck I’ll have the prevailing wind aiding my progress as well. I’ve cycled through this region before, on my way to Vienna on the Prague-Vienna Greenways route. This time, though, I’ll be criss-crossing the border with Austria to vary things up a bit. Points of interest along the way include the northernmost point of Austria, the tripoint where the historical borders of Bohemia, Moravia and Austria meet, two national parks (Podyjí in southern Moravia and Thayatal in Austria) and several historical towns (Slavonice, Hardegg, Znojmo and Mikulov). And just before I end the stage in Břeclav there are two real treats in store in the form of the Pálava Landscape Protected Area (a UNESCO biosphere reserve) and the immediately adjacent Lednice-Valtice Area (a UNESCO world heritage site). I just hope I’ll find time to sample some of the region’s best-known products - its excellent wines.

Stage 5 route plan

Šumava - the largest continuous area of forest in Central Europe and the biggest national park in the Czech Republic - is the setting for Stage 5 of my trip. It’s a stage of two halves, this one: a brutally hilly first 100 km and a flatter latter section. Instead of following the relatively easy Šumava Cycle Trail (Šumavská magistrála), I’ve elected to use lesser known and - I hope - more interesting paths that pass through some of the remotest areas of the park. The climbing begins as soon as I leave the official start in Nýrsko and culminates the next day at the viewing tower on top of Poledník. At 1,315 metres above sea level, this will be the highest point of my entire journey around the Czech border. Later, I’ll be passing by the source of the Vltava, the river on which Prague stands. Things should get a lot easier on day 3, when I hit the 45-kilometer-long Schwarzenberg Canal, formerly used to transport timber out of the forest towards Vienna. As well as the Czech Republic, I’ll be riding through parts of Germany and (for the first time on my circuit ride) Austria. And if time allows I’ll take a detour in search of the most southerly point in the Czech Republic, before catching the train home from Horní Dvořiště.

Stage 4 route plan

I’m not sure why, but I’ve had a sense of foreboding about Stage 4 right from the start. It’s certainly not the longest leg of my trip - in fact, at an estimated 270 km it’s going to be one of the shortest. Nor it is the most mountainous, although you could not describe it as flat (as the profile below graphically shows). It does, however, pass through one of the most sparsely populated and least-frequented parts of the Czech Republic - the Bohemian Forest (Český les). During the Cold War, this area was out of bounds to all except border guards, as it formed part of the Iron Curtain that descended across Europe after World War II. Indeed, for much of Stage 4 I’ll be travelling along the official Iron Curtain Greenway cycle trail. My base for the first two nights will be Cheb (one of the few towns on this stage). This will allow me to leave most of my stuff in the hotel and cycle super light around the Aš salient on day 1. Then I’ll pack my bags and head south, crossing in and out of Germany until I reach Nýrsko, gateway to Šumava National Park. Along the way I intend visit the westernmost point of the Czech Republic and (according to one definition at least) the geographical midpoint of Europe. However, that gut feeling of mine tells me things might not go entirely to plan...