Moravia

August 7, 2022 to August 12, 2022

Brno, Olomouc to the border

Started the day with a chilly dip in the river with Tim and had a long breakfast together with the group. Sadly had to say goodbye to the others as they were headed south to Vienna as I headed North to Brno. Was a little jealous of the tailwind they must have had as I struggled all day facing a headwind in 70Km of flat farmland before reaching the city. Arrived in the main square and met Lubos who let me stay at his flat for a couple of days to rest up after a long week of riding. He showed me around a bit of the city and we watched an incredible sunset over the castle.

Got to do some some touristy things for a couple of days, was great to have Lubos to show me places I wouldn't have known about including some awesome bars and some beautiful villas.

We took a ride out to a lake which was a harder ride than expected, so much for having a rest day. Was interesting riding Lubos' bike which was the same frame but with different components. I'd consider putting flat bars and thicker tires on my bike in the future for better handling and comfort off road .

Left Brno though awesome forest track away from all the cars. This soon degenerated into some super steep technical mountain bike routes which I'd struggle with on a proper bike. Thanks komoot... it was a long push.

Komoots recommended touring route though the forest

Heading further north (the wrong direction to Turkey), I passed though Macocha gorge and explored some awesome cave systems previously inhabited by cavemen.

Tempted to sleep here but too busy (+bats)

Found a beautiful spot to camp near to some behives and watched the sunset finally eating the heavy bag of potatoes gifted by Viktor.

Wasnt too long until I reached Olomouc the next day, a magical historic city with incredible architecture.

Stopped off at a café where I met Martina and we got to know eachother over some delicious food and coffee. She just returned from a hike in the mountains im heading towards and got me excited for the road ahead! It was awesome meeting a beautiful adventurous girl too and was a shame I had to leave so soon.

Got a new bottom bracket bearing fitted on my bike as it was annoying me the last week making a noise every time I pedaled.

Slept surprisingly well in a city park behind a bush and set off early to cover some good ground. Starting to feel a little bit if stress with my goal to make it to Georgia before winter (in 2 months) so need to speed up or reconsider my super zigzaggy route though Romania then back into the Balkans to Southern Turkey. I love exploring places for longer though so will consider other options and be open.

Cycled on some more fun off road tracks which were a bit slower but a lot more enjoyable with the added bonus of miles of fruit trees!

Don't know what these are called but they're delicious!

On a really scenic path though some fields I met a friendly looking man riding his bike, then he told me he was from Russia and Putin is the best. I rode off.

Was flying though the hills listening to led Zeppelin, I was feeling great and covered 45km before 10am.

Had a very close incident with the wheel of cheese rolling down the embankment, stopping just before the water. There is a God

There were 2 mountain passes before Slovakia so I decided to get one out of the way at the end of the day. It was a tough way to finish but found a great spot in a pine forest on top of a hill and I could relax for a few hours before sleeping on the floor, praying for no rain in the night.

A pine filled evening refining the spatula

Today's ride: 300 km (186 miles)
Total: 8,680 km (5,390 miles)

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