Tournov, Czech Republic, 12 June 2008, ca. 50 deg 38' N
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Hi!

Greetings to you all from Tournov in the Czech Republic, close to the border with Poland. I hope to cross into Poland soon, probably tomorrow. It might have been tonight, but then I finally found access to the Internet. The Internet cafés seem to be only in large towns, and I'm usually more interested in finding my way out of those, rather than looking for Internet access. ;-)

Unfortunately, this computer is set up to speak Czech so, even if they would let me, which is doubtful, I'd have a job to upload any photos, so you'll have to make do with text. Maybe I'll get luckier in Poland.

The cycling is going well. 80 km per day is easy; 100 km is possible with some effort, unless the terrain is difficult. 120km is probably the upper limit for comfort.

Getting from the area of Lake Constance (Bodensee) to the Danube (Donau) was quite hard, mainly because of the miserable weather. That was the second day. Then going down the Danube was dead easy, but for the mucky tracks after all the rain.

I followed a recommended cycle track from Regensburg to the Czech border, and it was much easier than expected. The main climb was a disused railway line, so the gradient was moderate, if long. The weather and views were also very nice.

From the German border to Plzen (Pilsen), the German cycle track (Chalbtal Radwanderweg) turned into Czech Cycle Route 3. After about 15 km, this then turned into more of a mountain bike track than a cycle track. I hit a hill where I was forced to get off and push for the first time. I very nearly had to ferry my bags up the hill 2 at a time, like on a canoe portage!!! The border itself was an anticlimax - no steep hill and no border checks.

I find that reading the map and finding one's own way on side roads is much more satisfactory than following marked tracks. One always knows where one is and one is not in danger of missing a signpost. All in all, it's been great fun so far, and nowhere near as hard work as expected. I still have to test the tent. The weather, although not bad, looks a bit unreliable, and it's too easy to find a hotel or B&B!

Best wishes to you all,

David