DISTANCE COVERED:  96 KM

CYCLE TIME:  5:16

AVERAGE SPEED:  18.2

We started out today at 9:25 a.m. The weather was cool, partly cloudy, and the winds were light out of the north.  We traveled on a combination of cycle routes and quiet secondary roads for most of the day.  Some of the paths were quite rough, especially one section of about 2 km which consisted of crushed gravel. Riding on this surface was much like trying to cycle down a railway line!  This, of course slowed our progress. Tom 's panniers (the same Louis Garneau design panniers that Paul had) fell off 4 times and had to be adjusted.

ONE OF THE MANY BRIDGE CROSSINGS TODAY (photo by Kevin Rodger)

There were several more climbs in the morning, but they were not as steep as in day one. The hills tended to be very long, but were all accompanied by the inevitable downhill (which Paul and I enjoyed much more than Tom).  The countryside was very picturesque as we cycled through many small villages, and overlooked the countryside as we climbed several ridges. In farmer's fields we saw pheasants, deer and the occasional free range chicken strolling about the farm yards.  Hunting must be very popular in the Czech Republic, as we saw large numbers of "tree stands" - temporary huts on stilts used for hunting. There were many ominous looking dogs along the way, but fortunately they were either tethered or behind fences, so we did not have a single dog incident. Thank god, as those dogs looked a bit on the hungry side.  

We were not able to locate any restaurants in the small secondary towns that dotted our route today.  We stopped at one restaurant around lunch hour, but noted that it didn’t open until 3:00 p.m. Even with one of the “locals” helping us, we were unable to rouse the owner to open the front door.  In Chiponice we finally came across a gas station along a secondary highway, and bought a few sandwiches and snacks.

BIKE SIGN FOR PISEK - ROUTE 1160 (photo by Kevin Rodger)

We originally planned to stay in Pisek for the evening, but Paul convinced us to venture further to the town of Protovin, as we were making good time and it would help shorten the next day's trip. For two days Paul's Louis Garneau panniers had been giving him trouble, quite often falling completely off the bike on bumpy sections of road. Eventually, one of the fasteners eventually let go.  We put together a temporary fix of wire and duct tape. When we arrived in Protovin, Tom spotted a bike shop where Paul was able to get his rivets on the fastener removed for 10 Kr. (about 60¢ CAN), and replaced with nuts and bolts. This fix proved to be adequate for the rest of the trip.  We then stopped at a nice hotel in Protovin and were surprised to hear that the rooms were all full.  The hotel manager directed us to the town of Vodnany, another 8 km down the highway.  We followed Highway 20, which was mostly downhill and arrived in the town of Vodnany at 5:30 p.m.  

ONE OF THE NICE PATHS THROUGH SECLUDED FOREST (photo by Kevin Rodger)

QUITE CYCLE PATH THROUGH SMALL TYPICAL CZECH TOWN (photo by Paul Delconte)

The first hotel we found in Vodnany gave Tom a pager number to call.  We found this a bit odd, and intimidated somewhat about our Czech phone skills, we went to another hotel we could see across the square.  That hotel called hotel number 1, and very soon a young couple with a two year old child in tow appeared.  The owners wife spoke reasonable English, and our overnight accommodations were arranged. The hotel cost 780 Kr. (about $50 CAN for the three of us, including breakfast).  Dinner cost 380 Kr. ($25 CAN), but that price also included 5 beers.  I was beginning to really like this country!

VIEW OF OUR HOTEL FROM THE NAMESTI IN VODNANY (LABELED RESTAURACE) - THAT'S OUR CORNER ROOM ON THE 2ND FLOOR

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