The dot lies in the Elbe lowland east of Prague, between the small villages of Přerov nad Labem and Poříčany, about two hundred kilometres from the forests of the Šumava where the ride began. This is flat, open, intensively farmed land, with big fields of cereal and rapeseed, small villages with a pond and a chapel, and a horizon that stretches in every direction. It is the quiet exhale at the end of a weekend.
The Šumava, or Bohemian Forest, is the great wooded range along the border with Bavaria and Austria, a landscape of spruce, peat bogs, glacial lakes and old farmsteads that is protected as a national park. For decades, during the Cold War, the border zone was closed and fenced, and nature recovered in the empty space, which is why lynx, otter and capercaillie are found there today. The Boubín primeval forest, with its huge old beeches and firs, is among the last such places in central Europe, and Lipno, a vast reservoir, offers sailing and swimming in summer.
In Přerov nad Labem, there is an open-air museum, the Polabí skanzen, which preserves rural houses, barns and a small church from the Elbe region, and gives a good idea of how people lived on the plain before collectivisation. It is a gentle stop, especially with children, and it shows the practical, thatched architecture of the lowlands. Nymburk, the nearest bigger town, was the home of the writer Bohumil Hrabal, and its walls and brewery are well preserved.
The riding here is straightforward. The roads are straight and well surfaced, though busy at commuter hours, and farm vehicles are common. Wind is a factor across the open fields, and the best time is early evening in summer, when the long light turns the grain gold. Fog is common in autumn. Speed cameras guard the main roads and village entrances.
Fuel is available in Nymburk, Český Brod and Kolín, and every village has some kind of pub or snack bar. Czech lunch menus are cheap and generous, with soup, a main dish and often a drink for a modest price. After a day in the mountains and forests, the flatness is a relief, and the long sky is its own reward.