Hodonice lies in the vineyards and fields just east of Znojmo, in the southernmost corner of Moravia, a few kilometres from the Austrian border. The village is small and quiet, with a church and rows of houses, but the surrounding landscape is one of the most famous wine regions of the Czech Republic. The Znojmo area produces crisp white wines, and the cellars in the villages are often open for tasting.
Znojmo itself, a short ride away, is a lovely old town perched above the gorge of the Dyje river. Its castle complex includes a Romanesque rotunda with remarkable wall paintings, and beneath the town lies a labyrinth of medieval cellars and tunnels. Znojmo is also famous across the Czech Republic for its pickled gherkins, a speciality since the sixteenth century. To the west lies the Podyjí National Park, where the Dyje has carved a deep, wooded valley along the border, matched on the Austrian side by the Thayatal park.
The riding around Hodonice is gentle and pleasant. Roads wind through vineyards and fields, with long views over the rolling countryside. The surfaces can be variable, and the villages often have narrow streets and sharp corners. Traffic is light, but be careful of tractors and cyclists, especially on weekends. The climate is warm and dry, and summer can be hot.
Hodonice has limited services, so for fuel and supplies head to Znojmo, which has everything you need. A stop at a local wine cellar is a classic experience, but leave the tasting for when the riding is done. After this stop the ride crosses into Austria and heads towards the Neusiedler See, Central Europe's great steppe lake.