I was so comfortable that I slept-in. So much for the early start!

On such a beautiful morning, it would have been wrong not to have a lazy breakfast while basking in the sun. So that’s what I did.

After mounting my steed I held a steady pace over rolling countryside to Tucapy.

Surprisingly I was full of beans and quite happy to attack the hills, spurred-on by the inevitable downhill rewards, and promise of noodles while people-watching at the castle of Červená Lhota.

The route became more arduous from there, not helped by the gusty headwind, but I made it to Jindřichův Hradec in good time, and celebrated with a cold beer.

By this stage the roads had become smaller and more isolated as they transformed into into rough cycle track and eventually gravel.

The bike was well tested and held up nicely. I am in good command of it now, I’ve adjusted to the extra weight, and the body is settled-in for long hours in the saddle.

Nevertheless, I was quite happy to stop often and take-in the countryside. I met a cyclist taking the route from the opposite direction. We exchanged knowing grins and a thumbs-up as we whizzed past each other.

It wasn’t long before I reached the Austrian border, but instead of crossing over I swung east towards Moravia. Austria can wait.

A few km outside Nová Bystřice I passed a lake and decided to camp there. I cooked dinner and collapsed into my sleeping bag.

My phone battery was dead now, so no GPS tracking, but I reckon I covered approximately 85 km today, diversions included. Not bad.

More photos and videos to come (need wifi…)

I was woken at 5am by a cacophony of birdsong, which I supplemented with porridge and strong coffee. Then back on the road, still following route #11, and with some trepidation about the coming hill climbs.

But I needn’t have worried, I was in Neveklov no no time, picked up some water and went to see the Jewish memorial in the the busy town square.

All local Jews had been rounded up and deported during WWII. There are similar memorials all over.

After Neveklov the road went up quite steeply and then plateaued, with a short respite before more gradual, but very long, climbs. The only thing to do is to find a comfortable gear and keep the head down. Never look at the top of the hill, it always seems further away.

Having said that, there were a few times when I had to walk the bike. The whole question of weight is being answered. I need to lose some cargo. If the hills here are tough, then what about the mountains of Greece?

By now the sun was really warming-up, but there was still a cold breeze, which became a strong headwind for a few hours, slowing the pace.

Next town was Sedlčany where I had a peak at the town square (eh), but nearby was the red castle Červený, which seems to be a private residence. Lucky people!

There were more steep climbs leading to Sedlec-Prčice and after, including a particularly hard one to a tiny village called Červený Újezd. From there, a smooth ride down to Borotín. By now I was pretty knackered, but the weather was close to perfect and my legs had begun to adjust past the pain barrier. They now seemed happy to pedal away without me consciously wiling them-on.

Tabor is a big, busy town. I planned on looking around at the medieval buildings, however the traffic was too much. But by now I was regaining energy and decided to crack-on, so I did, on the lookout for a camping site. Found one about 10km south, in a field just off the road, but well hidden. I’ll making an early start – it’s nearly 100 km to Slavonice, my target for tomorrow.

My GPS tells me I did 87 km today. I’m pleased with that.

…wasn’t as easy as I expected! If I had gone directly from the house I could have followed the river south and just veered of to Průhonice. But I decided to ‘start from the start’ and follow the ‘official’ route as much as possible.

It begins in Central Park, which isn’t central at all – it’s south-west, in Prague 13. Getting there took much longer than expected, mainly because of the heavy traffic. I reached the trailhead shortly after midday.

The Greenways info board is easy to find – it’s just under the elevated metro tube. The sun was out and although a there was a nippy breeze, temperatures of up to 22 Celsius are forecast for the week. All looking good!

A passing cyclist stopped to wish me luck and to brag that he had done the trip in four days. I’m looking at six days, taking time to smell the flowers. I’m in no rush.

While there is the info board – situated at the intersection of 4 paths – there is no indication about what direction you should take! I walked around and saw no signs or arrows to set me on my way. This dampened my hopes of humming ‘Ride of the Valkyries‘ as I set off.

No worries, I knew I needed to head towards the river, passing through the Hlubočepy district, and crossing the Berendov Bridge to Bráník. This called for a cheeky GPS check. I still got lost 😛

Eventually though I found the first sign to follow. From there is was smooth sailing until I got over the bridge. The official guide doesn’t mention Chodov, but it is well signposted from Bráník, and close to the Opatov metro station – where you need to take an elevator up to the bus station and walk back through the crowds.

A little further up, across the motorway a cycle path takes you to a sign for Průhonice and Újezd. Here’s where the signs for cycle route 11 begin to appear, some of which are marked as Greenway. Now we’re golden! Just continue to follow route 11, which is mostly busy roads. Yes, there are reckless drivers here too, but I had no scrapes.

I had read that the first two days towards Vienna would require a lot of climbing, but I still wasn’t prepared for the brutal reality. Usually, what goes up must come down, but not here! It was a lot of up! Tough going, but ultimately each hill conquered is a small achievement in itself, and the legs were holding-up fine.

The big reward came when I hit Petříkov. Between there and Týnec nad Sázavou were some long downhill sections, each several km long. Great fun!

Building-up speed did reveal a problem. The weigh distribution wasn’t great and this was causing a slight sideways oscillation in the front wheel. It needed to be solved otherwise I might end up with a broken axle. I shifted some weight to the rear panniers and everything was much more stable.

And even though I was ever-conscious about weight when planning, I still think I can shed some more. Every gram counts is the big lesson of today. The tent weighs less than a kilo, sleeping bag not much more, but it’s bulky. By far the heaviest cargo, apart from myself, is the water. Even so, two bottles are not enough. Also, I’m carrying food, and although it’s fairly light, I think I will change strategy and buy only the foods I need at the end of the day.

At about 6pm I decided to camp in the woods just outside of Týnec nad Sázavou, and pondered tomorrow’s climbs whilst wolfing down some pasta.

In total I was 4-5 hours on the bike, covering about 70 km. This includes getting to the start point and getting lost a couple of times. By now I’m really in the countryside, and I know where to go from here.

And the bike is humming now. Tomorrow I’ll have the full day to make some serious mileage. Tabor, here I come…