The Road to Prague (You call that a @#$%*!& bike route?!?)

Hello from the Czech Republic!

Yesterday we rode 120kms into the city of Prague (Praha). The day started as all others, pack up tent, eat breakfast, make lunch, get route directions and head out in your riding pod for the day. The first leg was fairly uneventful, after riding a rough bit of the bike route, full of mud and stones, our group elected to take the highway as far as we could into Prague. Other than a flat tire which delayed us for half an hour, we were making good time. Making good time, that is, until about 40 km outside Prague. From that point it all went downhill (and UPhill!).

We were cruising along the highway in what we thought was the right direction. The wind was picking up and the hills were increasing, but we were still going at a good rate. It was then that we realized that we were off our route. We had somehow missed our turnoff and were now heading west instead of south. By the time we realized this, we had gone about 6 kms uphill and in order to get back on track, we needed to go up another 5-6 km uphill. All in all, about 20 kms was added to our route, arrrgg!

We continued into Prague. 25 km from the city, as the highways multiplied in both number and volume of traffic, we decided to take the designated bike route along the river the rest of the way into Prague. We had heard about the well established bike routes and had a mapbook to refer to as well.

Well, it started off great. A paved, wide path along the river. Scenic, direct, relaxed and awesome! Or so we thought.... 5 km into the route the path became gravel. Not as good as paved, but no problem, we could rock it. Another kilometer in however, gravel made way for a narrow single track trail through the grass on very bumpy hard packed mud. Less than ideal, but we'd suck it up. Then, we rounded a corner, and now our trail through the grass became a full on mountain biking, cross-country trail, over roots and stones, through stinging nettle and at the very edge of the river! WTF! You call that a touring bike path? The trail would have been a lot of fun with my mountain bike, but keep in mind that we were all on road bikes with 40 lbs of gear in our panniers! Crazy! Well, we got through this crazy stretch, like a bunch of troopers and the only casualties were my front fender which got totally destroyed and our bare arms and legs which got stung from the stinging nettle. By the time we got through that section of trail, we were all slightly stunned, adrenaline pumping and cursing the fool who thought that a trail like that should be put in a guide book for touring cyclists.

After that ordeal, we stopped to get directions from a Czech couple who told us the rest of the trail into Prague was much better than the one we had just ridden. With only 14 kms to go and a new sense of hope, we headed off again. False hope. The next section was only marginally better! Arrrgg! And then another flat tire!

At this point it was starting to get late. We got off the trail as soon as possible, figuring that being lost on the road, was much better than navigating more crazy bike trails in the coming darkness. Finally, after cycling up another HUGE hill, and getting directions from some helpful locals, we found the rest of the group in our accommodation for the next couple of nights.

After some hugs, a shower and dinner, the days adventures became another good story to share with the group, but I can't lie, I am soooo happy the next day was a day off!