Why this ride
From Všenory it runs 894 km to Kouřim; allow about 14 h 22 of riding. The stops in between: Rudná, Scenic stretch near Slaný and near Roudnice nad Labem. The climbs: near Řevnice and near Votice. Much of it runs through woodland.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Orlické Mountains Sweep + Krkonoše Mountain Roads
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 894 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 14 h 22
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fuel stop near Všenory
Planning note
Orlické Mountains Sweep is where the day begins. Next is High point near Řevnice.
2. High point near Řevnice
Planning note
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Orlické Mountains Sweep checkpoint 8.
3. Near Rudná
Planning note
The route ends here after 822 km. Next is Scenic stretch near Slaný.
4. Scenic stretch near Slaný
Planning note
Scenic stretch near Slaný, early in the day. Next is Photo stop near Roudnice nad Labem.
5. Photo stop near Roudnice nad Labem
Planning note
Photo stop near Roudnice nad Labem sits at 219 km, early in the day. Next is Prague / Bohemia return.
6. Pečky, on the way back
Planning note
Prague / Bohemia return comes up 274 km in. Next is Food stop near Kouřim.
7. Food stop near Kouřim
Long before Prague dominated Bohemia, Kouřim was one of its centres of power. On a promontory above the Kouřimka stream lie the earthworks of Stará Kouřim, a vast early medieval Slavic hillfort that archaeologists consider one of the most important in the country. The later town, founded in the thirteenth century, still has stretches of its walls, a Gothic gate and the sturdy church of St Stephen, which together give this small place a strong sense of age.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Kouřim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A break here. Next is Back to Orlické Mountains.
8. Back to Orlické Mountains
Two rivers meet a short ride south of Prague, and this point sits right beside the meeting. The Vltava, the great river of Bohemia, swings through the villages of Vrané and Davle on its way north to the capital, and at Davle it takes in the Sázava, which has come all the way from the Highlands to the east. The label calls this a return to the Orlické Mountains, but the Orlické range is far away on the Polish border; here you are in the green gorge country just south of the city, in the middle of what Czechs think of as their riverside weekend.
Read the complete Orlické Mountains write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Orlické Mountains. That is the ride. Next is Krkonoše Mountain Roads.
9. Fuel stop near Kouřim
Return visit. Read the place description above.
10. Near Jablonné v Podještědí, on the way back
The long ridge of Ještěd rises to the east, and on its summit stands one of the most unusual buildings in Central Europe: a hyperboloid tower that combines a television transmitter and a hotel, designed by the architect Karel Hubáček and completed in 1973, its silver cone visible for miles around. This stop is on the western side of the ridge, near the small town of Jablonné v Podještědí, in a landscape of hills, forests, ponds and villages on the way back from the Krkonoše.
Read the complete Near Jablonné v Podještědí, on the way back write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Prague / Bohemia return comes up 493 km in. Next is Food stop near Benešov nad Ploučnicí.
11. Food stop near Benešov nad Ploučnicí
Few small towns can boast two Renaissance châteaux, but Benešov nad Ploučnicí has both, an upper and a lower castle standing side by side above the Ploučnice river. They were built in the sixteenth century by the Wartenberg and Salhausen families, and their gables, painted rooms and courtyards make a surprising sight in a town of a few thousand people. Guided tours run in season.
Read the complete Food stop near Benešov nad Ploučnicí write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A break here. Next is Photo stop near Kožlany.
12. Photo stop near Kožlany
Kožlany is a small town on the high, rolling plateau north of Plzeň, and if the name rings a faint bell it is because Edvard Beneš was born here in 1884. The man who would become Czechoslovakia's second president, and who led the government in exile during the Second World War, grew up in a farming family in this quiet corner of western Bohemia. A memorial in the town marks the connection.
Read the complete Photo stop near Kožlany write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Photo stop near Kožlany, late in the day. Next is Krkonoše Mountain Roads checkpoint 8.
13. Near Třebotov
Just beyond Prague's south-western edge, the landscape changes abruptly. The city's apartment blocks give way to wooded hills and limestone cliffs, and the Berounka river winds through a valley lined with summer cottages, villages and the occasional factory. You start and finish on the plateau above the valley, near Třebotov and Černošice, a pleasant, practical place to start and finish rides without fighting through the centre of the capital.
Read the complete Near Třebotov write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Krkonoše Mountain Roads checkpoint 8 closes the day. Next is Scenic stretch near Sedlčany.
14. Scenic stretch near Sedlčany
Sedlčany sits in the Central Bohemian uplands south of Prague, in a landscape of low hills, forests, fields and fishponds. The town itself is modest, with a market square, a Gothic church and a scattering of shops and cafés, but the countryside around it is the real attraction.
Read the complete Scenic stretch near Sedlčany write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Scenic stretch near Sedlčany comes up 712 km in. Next is High point near Votice.
15. High point near Votice
The hills around Votice belong to the Central Bohemian uplands, a rumpled country of fields, fishponds and small forests between Prague and Tábor. Votice itself is a modest market town with a square, a church and a few thousand inhabitants, a quiet place where the main event of the day might be the arrival of the bus. It has a bakery, shops and fuel, which is all a rider really needs from it.
Read the complete High point near Votice write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
High point near Votice tops the climb. Next is Back to Krkonoše Mountain.
16. Back to Krkonoše Mountain
The title of this stop is a mountain range far to the north, but you are in the rolling farmland of central Bohemia, east of Prague, around the small town of Kouřim. The Krkonoše, the Giant Mountains on the Polish border, lie more than a hundred kilometres away, and this is the quiet, gentle country you cross on the way home. The land is a mixture of fields, orchards and woodland, with long views across the plain and the occasional church spire.
Read the complete Krkonoše Mountain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Krkonoše Mountain closes the day.
Leg by leg
Fuel stop near Všenory to High point near Řevnice
Fuel stop near Všenory → High point near Řevnice is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Řevnice to Near Rudná
High point near Řevnice → Near Rudná is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Slaný to Photo stop near Roudnice nad Labem
Scenic stretch near Slaný → Photo stop near Roudnice nad Labem is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Photo stop near Roudnice nad Labem to Pečky, on the way back
Photo stop near Roudnice nad Labem → Pečky, on the way back is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Food stop near Kouřim to Back to Orlické Mountains
Food stop near Kouřim → Back to Orlické Mountains is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Orlické Mountains to Fuel stop near Kouřim
Back to Orlické Mountains → Fuel stop near Kouřim is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fuel stop near Kouřim to Near Jablonné v Podještědí, on the way back
Fuel stop near Kouřim → Near Jablonné v Podještědí, on the way back is 119 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Food stop near Benešov nad Ploučnicí to Photo stop near Kožlany
Food stop near Benešov nad Ploučnicí → Photo stop near Kožlany is 134 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Kožlany to Near Třebotov
Photo stop near Kožlany → Near Třebotov is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Scenic stretch near Sedlčany to High point near Votice
Scenic stretch near Sedlčany → High point near Votice is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Votice to Back to Krkonoše Mountain
High point near Votice → Back to Krkonoše Mountain is 65 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Krkonoše Mountain Roads · short arc · 579 km
- Šumava Forest Weekend · short arc · 379 km
- Orlické Mountains Sweep · 258 km
- Bohemian Switzerland Gorges · 330 km