Why this ride
779 km from Mělník to Český Brod, about 12 h 46 of riding. On the way it passes Hřensko gorge, Děčín cliffs, Litoměřice and Mělník river. in Postupice is the high point. It keeps to quiet secondary roads.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Prague · Bohemian Switzerland Sandstone Roads + Šumava Forest Weekend
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 779 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 46
- 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. Mělník river gate
Mělník stands on a spur above the meeting of two rivers, and the meeting is the thing. The Vltava, which has run north from the Šumava through Prague, joins the Labe, the Elbe, here, and from the terrace of the castle you can watch the dark Vltava slide into the paler Elbe and the two flow away together towards Germany and the North Sea. It is a very Czech view: flat fields, a long bridge, a few white churches, and orchards on the slopes.
Read the complete Mělník river gate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mělník river is where the day begins. Next is Hřensko gorge.
2. Hřensko gorge
The Elbe, which the Czechs call the Labe, does something dramatic here: it cuts its way out of Bohemia through a deep sandstone gorge, and the village of Hřensko sits right in the neck of it, on the Czech side of the border with Germany. This is the lowest point in the Czech Republic, around 115 metres above the sea, and the river leaves the country here to run on through Saxony towards Dresden and the North Sea. The data labels it a German point, but you are right on the line, with the cliffs towering above.
Read the complete Hřensko gorge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hřensko gorge comes up 60 km in. Next is Děčín cliffs.
3. Děčín cliffs
Děčín stands where the Elbe leaves the Czech Republic, and the river here is dramatic. The town sits in a gorge in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, with steep cliffs of pale rock rising straight from the water, topped with trees. The castle on the rock above the old town has stood guard on this spot for a thousand years, and from its terraces you look down onto the roofs, the river and the bridge. It is one of the more theatrical settings in Bohemia.
Read the complete Děčín cliffs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
120 km in you reach Děčín cliffs. Next is Litoměřice food.
4. Litoměřice food
Litoměřice is the old wine town of northern Bohemia, and it feels like a smaller cousin of Prague with fewer crowds. It lies on the Elbe in the fertile basin beneath the Central Uplands, in a region called the garden of Bohemia, where orchards, vineyards and market gardens fill the plain. The main square is spacious and lined with arcaded houses, and the town has a cathedral on a hill and a number of baroque churches, giving it a quiet dignity.
Read the complete Litoměřice food write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Somewhere to get off the bike, 180 km in. Next is Back to Mělník river.
5. Back to Mělník river gate
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mělník river gate 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 Mělník river. That is the ride. Next is Šumava Forest Weekend.
6. Fuel stop near Český Brod
Český Brod means Czech Ford, and the name tells you why the town exists: a crossing on the old trade road running east from Prague towards Kolín and the Elbe lowlands. Merchants, armies and pilgrims all came this way, and the town grew fat enough on the traffic to build walls. A stretch of fortification and a stout gate tower survive, and the long square, with its church and arcaded houses, is a calm place to sit for ten minutes at the end of a ride.
Read the complete Scenic stretch near Český Brod write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Šumava Forest Weekend is the fuel stop for this leg. Next is Prague / Bohemia return.
7. Near Žandov, on the way back
The country is one of volcanic hills, sandstone rocks and mixed woods, the western edge of the Lusatian region. Cone-shaped basalt peaks rise from the farmland, and the lower slopes are patched with orchards and small fields. It is lovely and little visited, and you will often have the roads to yourself.
Read the complete Near Žandov, 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
359 km in you reach Prague / Bohemia return. Next is Food stop near Bílina.
8. Food stop near Bílina
Bílina sits in the valley of the Bílina river in north-west Bohemia, between the industrial basin around Most and Teplice and the volcanic cones of the České středohoří, the Bohemian Central Uplands. Look up from almost anywhere in town and you will see the Bořeň, a massive dome of phonolite rock rising abruptly from the woods. Climbers love its crags, and walkers make the climb for the views across the basin and the uplands.
Read the complete Food stop near Bílina write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Somewhere to get off the bike, 419 km in. Next is Photo stop near Zaječov.
9. Photo stop near Zaječov
For decades the Brdy hills south-west of Prague were off-limits: a large military training area closed to the public, with forests that grew wild and roads that only soldiers used. In 2016 much of it was opened and became a protected landscape area, and the hills around villages like Zaječov have quietly become one of the more interesting places to explore in central Bohemia.
Read the complete Photo stop near Zaječov write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Photo stop near Zaječov sits at 479 km, about halfway. Next is Šumava Forest Weekend checkpoint 8.
10. Near Modřany
South of Prague, the Vltava leaves the city through a deep, wooded valley, and the suburbs give way to villages, orchards and cliffs. It is a place of transition: the city's traffic behind you, the Bohemian countryside ahead.
Read the complete Near Modřany write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Šumava Forest Weekend checkpoint 8 closes the day. Next is High point in Postupice.
11. High point in Postupice
Postupice is a straggling village in the hills east of Benešov, the kind of place where the church tower is the tallest thing for miles and the pub is the second most important building. Around it the Posázaví uplands fold into small valleys with ponds in the bottoms and woods on the crests, and the roads between the hamlets climb and drop in short, satisfying pulls.
Read the complete High point in Postupice write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
High point in Postupice is the summit of this stretch. Next is Scenic stretch near Benešov.
12. Scenic stretch near Benešov
Benešov is a busy little county town about forty-five minutes south-east of Prague, and for most riders its name is shorthand for one thing: Konopiště. The chateau sits in a wooded park just west of the centre, a Gothic castle remodelled in the late nineteenth century for Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Habsburg throne. He was an obsessive hunter, and the corridors are lined with an almost unsettling quantity of antlers and trophies. The rose garden, the deer park and the lake below the castle are calmer company.
Read the complete Scenic stretch near Benešov write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Scenic stretch near Benešov, late in the day. Next is Back to Šumava Forest.
13. Back to Šumava Forest
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.
Read the complete Šumava Forest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Šumava Forest closes the day.
Leg by leg
Mělník river gate to Hřensko gorge
Mělník river gate → Hřensko gorge is 82 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Hřensko gorge to Děčín cliffs
Hřensko gorge → Děčín cliffs is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Děčín cliffs to Litoměřice food
Děčín cliffs → Litoměřice food is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Litoměřice food to Back to Mělník river gate
Litoměřice food → Back to Mělník river gate is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Mělník river gate to Fuel stop near Český Brod
Back to Mělník river gate → Fuel stop near Český Brod is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fuel stop near Český Brod to Near Žandov, on the way back
Fuel stop near Český Brod → Near Žandov, on the way back is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Food stop near Bílina to Photo stop near Zaječov
Food stop near Bílina → Photo stop near Zaječov is 106 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Zaječov to Near Modřany
Photo stop near Zaječov → Near Modřany is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point in Postupice to Scenic stretch near Benešov
High point in Postupice → Scenic stretch near Benešov is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Benešov to Back to Šumava Forest
Scenic stretch near Benešov → Back to Šumava Forest is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.