106 km, total ascent 1889 m

May 2025 in Germany was packed with extra days off on Thursdays, turning Fridays into a mini-vacation. Such a Friday even has a name - Brückentag (bridge day).

This time, we decided to cycle from Chemnitz to Prague over three days (about 320 km). The core group was Jozef, Daniil, and me. On the first day, Andrey joined us.

The start of the trip wasn’t perfect.

The day before, I checked my main camera and found it stopped working. I had to take my old, slightly more compact 100D instead.

The weather forecast predicted rain.

In the morning, Jozef got a flat tire on his way to the station. He changed the tube on the train, but the new one was leaking too. Later, he replaced it again, this time with a standard black rubber tube instead of a thin, lightweight TPU one, and the wheel issues stopped.

Around 11 a.m., we arrived in Chemnitz by train and set off toward Karlovy Vary. It was quite warm (about 20°C in the sun) and, despite the forecast, no rain.

The first day had the biggest total climb - about 1,900 meters.

We passed through a small town when it was time for lunch. Almost everything was closed. We found an Italian restaurant, but its kitchen was on a break. A quick online search led us to a place in the woods nearby. It was a gamble whether it was open, but we rode over the hills to check. We were greeted with warm hospitality, Russian speaking staff and a delicious meal.

After lunch, we reached the Czech border and began climbing Klínovec. The temperature dropped fast, hitting 10°C. We didn’t linger on the mountain and continued with a long descent. The headwind made the cold feel sharper, but it got better lower down.

Approaching our destination, Jozef spotted a small brewery where we happily replenished our electrolytes.

Most eateries in Karlovy Vary close at 10 p.m. We found a Mexican bar-restaurant open until 11 and enjoyed a tasty dinner there.

West Bohemia

Panoramas