Prague: And the rest of the country

October 27, 2013

I carried on west towards Prague as the terrain flattened out again.

I didn't spend a lot of time in Prague in the end, because I was a little behind schedule for reaching Munich, and because I'd been to Prague before. The one thing that I remembered doing from my first trip that I had most enjoyed, was walking up the big hill in the city at the top of which was a sculpture that looked like the Eiffel Tower. I decided to cycle up there this time, which was absurd because the paths up there were ridiculously steep, and I got a lot of strange looks from confused tourists. It was worth it though, ostensibly just to make this joke:

After three long months on the road I finally arrived back at my start/finish line, the Eiffel Tower, a little worn out, yes, but glad the journey was at long last complete

Beyond Prague I was actually cycling on after dark in order to make the required distance on most evenings. This was actually really nice - imagine being out riding your bike on a quiet country road and looking up and seeing thousands of stars above your head! What a rush! And I was, genuinely, using a tip I had got from Bear Grylls about how to navigate using the stars (its quite easy to locate the north star using the big dipper.)

On my last day in the country I encountered a rather annoying problem when this happened:

In case you can't tell, this is my bike falling apart again

A screw that was holding my front rack together had completely sheared off for no good reason. That was annoying because the screw seemed impossible to remove and there was no easy way to fix this. Luckily I am a very skilled engineer and was able to craft a brilliant solution.

I was therefore unable to believe it when later the very same day the corresponding screw on the opposite side of the rack also sheared off for no good reason.

But as I said, fortunately I am a very talented blacksmith and I was able to craft the following ingenious solution:

The only problem was that the rack kept rubbing against the front tire because it was impossible to align properly. By this point of the six screws that originally held the thing together, four had now completely sheared off, blocking the holes and seemingly impossible to remove, and of the two left, one was half screwed in/half out and seemed impossible to remove. The last screw was doing a sterling job of holding the thing together, ably supported by tape and cable ties but I ended up putting most of the heavier items from my front panniers into the back panniers and making do as best as I could until I could find a solution. The way I saw it I had three options. 1) Continue the trip without front panniers. I would have to lose some luggage and I would be very 'back-heavy.' 2) Buy a new rack and try to find a way to fix it on depsite all the screwed-up holes. 3) Fix this rack somehow, perhaps with the aid of a miracle-worker. Oh, and one of my crank arms was also coming loose constantly.

But the country was fantastic!

CZECH REPUBLIC SUMMARY:

Time: One week

Distance: 649km

Best bits: The amazing cycle routes were amazing, and cycle routes. The amazing map boards were boards with maps on them that were amazing. The mountains were amazing and beautiful and mountains.

Worst bits: I didn't like the restaurant at the top of the mountain, and I didn't like my bike breaking. Everything else I liked.

Top touring tip: Go to Czech Republic!!!

27/10/13 - 106km

28/10/13 - 101km

29/10/13 - 85km (55km in Czech Rep)

Today's ride: 262 km (163 miles)
Total: 8,599 km (5,340 miles)

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