The Czech Republic is an absolute joy for cycling. It’s a popular weekend activity for people of all ages, and the countryside is awash with thousands of kilometres of well-made and excellently signposted off-road cycle paths. They will take you between the numerous castles in the North, vineyards in South Moravia, and beautiful towns with famous breweries in Bavaria. At weekends pop-up cafés open along the paths.
A lot of the signage indicates just the route number, if planning a route a paper map can be helpful, make a list of the numbers and easily follow them on the road.
Sustenance
Czech food is very meat-heavy, and most non-meat options are cheese. A popular, but widely derided, non-meat dish is “fried cheese”. Cabbage and potato-based dishes can be had, and are much more interesting than they sound. Many bars serve Hermelín, you may have to ask for it, it’s a pickled cheese and can be excellent.
Besides the well-known Pilsners, many areas have their local breweries, all making some of the best lagers in Europe.
Roads
You mostly won’t be on roads shared with cars, but when you are the drivers are very respectful of cyclists.
Surfaces are invariably perfect, but in Prague there are large cobblestones with gaps large enough to lose a touring-width tyre. Be careful, and watch out for the tram lines,.
Warnings
In South Moravia, cycling between wineries is a popular weekend activity. If you join in, watch out for the police, they are known to set up next to the cycle paths and breathalyse exiting cyclists. The limit is quite low and the law applies exactly the same on paths as on the actual roads.
