🗺️Travels

EuroVelo 9: 202th Km Day 3 I forgot it’s Sunday. Progressing through Jeseníky county with only two liters of water left. All the grocery stores closed. Drinking fountains non existent here. Road turns hilly and narrow. I push the bike a lot. Finally, in the middle of nowhere, an open Coop. Lifesaver. I grab soda and a kilo of bananas. Enough food and water to climb further. The scenery shifts as the road rises. More turns. Cleaner air. But no more weekend cyclists. Just me, cars, and locals commuting. On one downhill I forget to close the front bag. Bananas fall out on a bump. I roll right over them. Heavy bike cuts through like butter. I stop. Pick up the smashed fruit. Still edible if I eat fast. Heat will rot them anyway. So I sit at a bus stop, busy finishing them. The hills are beautiful. Wild camping would be easy here. But I’m set on reaching Hanušovice before sunset. Last bigger town before the border. Catch: the only decent room I find is under 30 euros, but cash only. And I have none. Map shows only one ATM in the whole village. I gamble. Make the non-refundable reservation. 6 p.m. Hanušovice. The ATM works. Big relief. There’s even an open supermarket, and the Holba craft beer factory, the natioanl brand. Perfect stop for the night. I roll into the motel’s outdoor dining area. Packed with guests. Everyone stares at the bike. No reception. I ask the waitress. She says it’s complicated, different owner, no memo. Tells me to wait. So I sit outside. Still stares. Twenty minutes later she leads me to the bar. I hand over 30 euros. She gives change, but rounded heavily. Service fee? Annoyance fee? Doesn’t matter. Got the keys. She says the bike room is safe. Cameras everywhere. Outside, some gypsies hanging around the houses. Whatever. Feels fine. With daylight left, I take the Brompton to see the Holba factory. It’s open, but only for workers. They even work Sundays. Incredible. Museum and visitor part closed. My time in Czechia is almost up. Tomorrow I’ll cross into Poland. That’s when the real adventure begins.

EuroVelo 9: 185th Km Day 3 9 a.m. I pack, leave the hostel. Throw the keys in the box. Still thinking about that burger, but the joint opens at 11. Too late for me to stick around. No breakfast at the hostel, so plan B, the local grocery store. Coop. Classic backcountry chain. Lock the bike, step inside. Turns out it’s owned by Vietnamese. I say hi. Exchange a few words. But people start rolling in. Sunday, short hours, small shop. Can’t block the entrance. Grab donuts, cookies, banana. At the counter, I watch locals line up. Each holding three, four bottles of alcohol. Moravia. Heavy drinkers. Everyone looks a decade older than they are. I get a discount. Didn’t expect it. Say thanks, leave. Eat the donut on the square. Then back on the bike. 7 km just to get back to the EuroVelo path. That’s the tax for the detour and a bed. Garmin tells me my sleep plan isn’t working. Tried to max out recovery. Two nights in hotels, still only a 65 score. Body wrecked no matter how comfy the bed. Tent sleep would probably be 35 or worse. Let’s see how fast my muscles adapt to the kilometers stacking up. The route drags me through small villages. Lots of construction. Maybe next year it’ll be smooth bike path. Today it’s me pushing through sand, carrying a loaded bike over ditches. And all of this is just the warm-up. Jeseník district ahead. Borders Poland north and west. Mostly hills. South, mountains. North, plains. Only one road to cross it. Which means busy climbs. But for now I’m enjoying the flat, peaceful scenery. Like cement mine like this.

EuroVelo 9: 173th Km Day 2 4 p.m. The storm had passed. Time to make up for the wait. Next section was slow. Paved road but broken asphalt, full of holes. My tiny wheels feel every scar. I stop often. Chugging down this giant homemade pastry. So big it takes 20% of my front bag. But it fuels me. Morning breakfast energy long gone. It’s weekend. Cyclists everywhere. They look at me, standing on the roadside, chewing. Finally, I get through the worst of it. Surprised it’s still only 5 p.m. Could make it to Mohelnice. But when I check Booking, my favorite option is gone. Only overpriced stays left. So I zoom out. Bigger picture. Spot a hostel 7 km east. Tiny village, Lostice. Has a kettle. 25 euros. Worth it? 14 km detour round trip, just for shower and sleep. Hell yes. Turn left, go fast. Roll into the town square. Everyone stares. I stop at the hostel. Doors open, reception closed. I call the number on Booking. Woman answers. She’s working at a restaurant somewhere else. Tells me I can either pick up keys at her bar, or use the secret key box. Gives me the code. It works. Room’s fine. No AC. But electricity, shower, fridge. Good enough. Still hungry. Not dark yet. I scout food on Google Maps. Restaurants all low rated. Except one burger joint. Nearly 5/5 stars. Closes in 30 minutes. Quick shower. Rush out. When I arrive, they’re already packing. I ask if I can still order. Lady hesitates. Almost turned everything off. Says she can do it, but without bacon and fries. I ask for a discount. She smiles, agrees, 15% off. Hell yes. She’s tired, wants to go home, but still fires up the oven. Outside, I ask a kid chewing his burger what’s best on the menu. He says, “Everything.” Not helpful. I push deeper. He says, “The cheese one.” Turns out this whole area, around Olomouc, is famous for its stinky cheese: Olomoucké tvarůžky. Even burgers get it. So I order that. Twenty minutes later, I’m carrying it back to the hostel. First bite, best burger I’ve had in years. Melted fried cheese, jalapeños, everything. Tasted even better with the discount. That’s how Day 2 ended. Unplanned. Dry, lucky, full. Detour well worth it.

EuroVelo 9 — 121th Km, Day 2 10 a.m. Leaving Prostějov. Still regret not exploring the city last night. But that motel left a bad taste. So I just pedal harder. Focus on leaving. Next up: Olomouc. Biggest Czech city on this route. 100k people. Student kinda type. Perfect for a rest day. But too early in the tour. And I didn’t make it yesterday anyway. So today it’s just a quick pass-through. Maybe one day I come back for a day trip. Forecast said rain. Raining around 2 p.m., 30% chance. That’s what the iPhone said. So I stick to the route. Leaving Olomouc behind. About 23 km further… I start feeling it. Wind picks up. Clouds dark. Then thunder. Not even forecasted. Couldn’t see the lightning, so no idea how far away. I was on a cycling path through open fields. No shelter. Until I saw a bike stop, one of those gazebos with a roof. Parked my Brompton under it. Waited. Then every few minutes, a thunder. Must be big, I told myself. But weirdly, it only showered for a bit. Then stopped. Just thunder going on somewhere. Cyclists kept passing like nothing. Mountain bikers, calm faces. Maybe their rides were short. I still had 50 km ahead to reach a bigger town. I hate waiting. Doing nothing. But I also didn’t want to be caught mid-road in the rain. So I sat there. For an hour. Then I got bored. No big rain. Thunder faded. Time to move. The first 20 minutes — it drips here and there. I stopped four times. Once under a tree. Once under a chapel. Then finally — clear skies. I am saved, but have to make up for the time lost. Will I get to Mohelnice today in time?

EuroVelo 9: 86th Km, Day 2 How did I end up in Prostějov, in a hotel? Yesterday I pushed through the highest peak of Moravský Kras. Then was awarded with half-hour downhill. Pure fun. And I went so fast I realized I could actually make it to Prostějov before sunset. Last trip I burned out too early from wild camping. This time I wanted max sleep recovery. So I checked Booking. Found an okay motel with breakfast and okay price. Motivation spiked. So I pushed. Out of the forest, into countryside. That’s when I met this kid on a bike. Coming opposite direction. She saw me and was like: “Thank god! It’s so tough. I wanted to bike to this place but its too far. I told myself if I meet someone, I’ll try again.” So now she had company. Me. She was curious. Where I was heading, where I sleep, how I camp. It was kind of exhausting. I’d forgotten how to talk to kids. They only want to know if you know this cartoon, or that TikTok star. I was at 65 km, tired, empty, couldn’t keep up with her energy. She kept yelling “Come on, let’s gooo!” We rode together until her destination. An abandoned watchtower. Half abandoned. The tower itself was closed. You needed coins to pass the gate. Light was running out. 15 km still left. She squeezed herself through the gate and started brainstorming how to squeeze me through. Not possible. So I said goodbye and split. From there it was straightforward until the town lights of Prostějov showed up. Relief. At the hotel, owner hands me the keys. Tells me, “Room is small, I won’t help you with the bike. Your business.” At least he didn’t mind me keeping it inside. Too late to explore town, so I called it a day. Next morning: Breakfast buffet. I was first. Classic cheap czech hotel spread. I go for cappuccino at the machine. Owner stops me: “No no, only espresso. Here is the milk." Okay then. Soon, restaurant fills with Polish couples. Same cappuccino problem. I hadn’t even finished my sausage when owner tried to grab my plate. I tell him: “I haven’t finished.” He pauses. Five seconds. Winks. “Okay.” Didn’t expect to get rushed out of breakfast, my favorite part of staying in hotels. Sucks. Day 2 begins.

EuroVelo 9: 35th Km, Day 1 EuroVelo 9 starts easy. It’s 10 a.m. and the route out of Brno follows the Svitava River. Getting through the busy city center from the train station to the actual path was the only tricky part. After that, piece of cake. First brownfields. Then a nature reserve. Shared road with cars, but drivers are polite, they expect cyclists here. Hot day, but most of the path is shaded under forest. By the 30th km the vibe changes. Cars start paying tolls. Hotels everywhere. Hills too. Looking at the map: I’m at 360 meters, and the peak I need to cross today is at 620. Not great considering I haven’t bike for a year. I push the bike a lot. Tourists everywhere, hiking out of the hotels. They look at me and my little folding bike and laugh. I shrug it off. Finally, I see the attraction, the cave complex. Famous spot. I’d been here once as a kid on a school trip. Just remember it was cold, dark, and exciting. I don’t go inside. Probably expensive. Just stop at the entrance, eat my homemade Vietnamese rolls. Dry and heavy. Luckily, there’s a drinking fountain right in front. So I am saved. The mass tours stress me out, so I move on. It’s already 2 p.m., the peak still ahead. No plan for sleeping yet. Haven’t seen any good camping spots. Mosquitos everywhere. That’s future me’s problem.