Road riding in Czech

[geordynige]

hi all,
Has anyone experience of road riding in the Czech republic?

Me and a friend are looking at Czech republic in early June and have had some great advice from locals but wondering if any UK fold had any experience?

Cheers
Nige

[eileithyia]

Not really sure what you are asking? Road quality, treatment from other road users? As far as I recall it was no different to riding on any other road in any other country on the continent.

[les tocknell]

There are extensive signed routes across the country. We have cycled through town and country, on and off road. The numbering system is easy to follow and is replicated on the range of Shocart maps that you can buy (try Upton Maps of Upton upon Severn) and that are given out at tourism outlets. In addition, this same mapping is available free for you Iphone or Android from Phonemaps so you can use gps to be sure you're on the right road. The same numbering appears on yellow signs on the road, and, we have found, deep in the forests on logging roads etc, as on the maps. Recommended routes for cycling are shown on the maps with colour coding. Exemplary.

[Tigerbiten]

Main roads where busy, back roads where quite.
I knew roughly where I was going, Danube to Elbe.
I saw plenty of signs for bike routes but didn't have a map showing where they went.
So I made the route up as went along.
Apart from getting my tent raided at the Prague campsite, I liked the country.

[Nigel Laverick]

I did a tour in S. Poland and Slovakia about 10 years ago. The driving was awful. I met some French cyclists who had ridden in Africa , Asia ... they thought the Slovakian drivers were the worst they had ever encountered. If you like having your arms shaved by passing trucks ... Perhaps things have improved.

[Tigerbiten]

I didn't really have that problem in Eastern Europe with traffic unless I was on a narrow busy main road where there was only just enough room to cycle. ie, the northern end of the E85 toward the Ukrainian border. I soon turned off that road once it narrowed down at the first junction and found a more roundabout route to the border crossing. Once I could find/get on to quite back roads then I could go for hours/days without any trouble from traffic.

But that's a worldwide problem as it happens in the UK as well, thinks of the odd logging lorry/coach in Scotland on the A82. There's not a lot of difference.
So don't let it put you off, you may just have to divert off the direct route.

YMMV .......

[climo]

We should be triking the Prague-Vienna Greenways route this May. From memory this is route 12. It appears that there's some gravel sections and trikes are hard work on gravel. Can anyone say how extensive these parts are.
Are campsites plentiful?

[smith4188]

I cycled right across the Czech Republic in 2011. I remember friendly people, cheap and tasty food and just one hellishly busy road. But the main memory was roads that crossed rather than hugged the contours. If there was a valley you had to go up and down it. Maybe it was just my route (in from Dresden to Prague, to Brno, out into Slovakia) and maybe you'll be fine. I didn't witness any terrible driving there or in Slovakia. And I was in both countries again last year, although not as extensively in Czechia, and they were great. I reckon you'll have a ball. (Make sure you try pork, cabbage and dumplings, no matter how dull that sounds. It's great.)