Migration to Bikemap.net

I'm in the process of transferring the routes of the first three stages of my circumnavigation of the Czech Republic to Bikemap.net, where they will be on display to the world and his bicycle.

Five fave photos

Winter is upon us in Prague. This morning there was frost glistening on the rooftop outside my flat. A smattering of snow is forecast for the weekend. I’m planning to keep cycling as much as I can in and around Prague throughout the winter. However, I won’t be able to resume my ride around the Czech border until next spring, and that seems an awfully long way off at the moment. To console myself, I’ve been looking back at the photos of my travels earlier in the year. It occurred to me to put together some of my favourite snaps that hadn’t made into any previous posts. So here they are.

Trees cowering from the wind

Little Otik is one year old today

It’s exactly one year since this blog - an ongoing account of my cycling circumnavigation of the Czech Republic - stuttered into life. To celebrate its birthday I’ve baked a lovely virtual cake.

Prague Airport by bicycle

(This article was updated on 22 January 2016)

If you’re planning to start and/or end a cycling tour in the Czech Republic, you may be wondering how to get from and to Prague Airport with your bicycle. It’s not easy on the face of it; bikes are banned from the vast majority of the city’s buses, and the metro and tram lines don’t even run to the airport. Yet there are few options available. Read on for a guide.

Prague Airport

Cycling in Prague - My Top Ten Tips

Prague isn’t known for being cycle friendly. Quite the opposite - it’s a hilly city with lots of tramlines and narrow, cobbled streets. Worse still, the drivers are notoriously aggressive. But things are getting better. The city authority has invested heavily in cycling infrastructure in the past few years, and biking is booming. Here are my top ten tips for cycling in Prague. Feel free to add your own in the comments section below.

Prague - gorgeous, yes, but cycle friendly?

Job done for 2010

Stage 3, day 4 (Tuesday, 21 September 2010)
Kraslice to Aš (68 km)

It’s decision time. Do I keep going straight down the main road to the finish at Aš? Or do I have time for one last scenic detour through the forest? Stages 1 and 2 of my journey around the Czech border (ridden in May and July of this year respectively) both culminated in a mad dash to catch the train home to Prague. I don’t want to repeat that mistake this time. On the other hand, I don’t want this ride to end yet; I want to squeeze every last bit of goodness out of it before bottling it for the blog. I check the map and check my watch and I do the mental arithmetic. And then, with a big smile on my face, I turn right and disappear into the trees.

The road out of Kraslice

Bogland

Stage 3, day 3 (Monday, 20 September 2010)
Vejprty to Kraslice (72 km)

Almost every day of my ride around the Czech border so far has started with some sort of climb. It’s the last thing any cyclist wants first thing in the morning. And today’s is a real beast - ten miles almost continuously uphill to the summit of Klínovec, the highest peak in the Ore Mountains. It’s a long way above my starting point, Base Camp Vejprty - a full 1,670 feet in fact, making it one of the biggest ascents of the entire trip. Worse still, it’s a decidedly chilly out here and I’m cycling into a pretty hefty headwind.

My hotel in Vejprty - The Harlekin