Cycling in Czech Republic

I'm not in Western Europe  nor a former USSR country, but seemingly a blend, with a leftover grittiness of people who have endured many transitions.  Tiny farms link tiny villages by single-lane roads that are either headed straight up or straight down.  These unmarked roads offer up signs that only point to the next village. 

We cling to the smallest of the roads, ones that on a map have the largest numbers. Road 10 for examples means two lanes and fast cars. Road 104356 means traffic that consists of large farm vehicles or lost tourists.  Often the tiny roads with the big numbers are seemingly driveways that abruptly navigate through a farm, dodging between buildings.

We follow Kevin's carefully mapped out courses on our GPS.  I'm not sure how we would ever make it without the GPS.   (Every two or three miles we would be stopping to read the map and argue over the correct direction.  But instead we buzz along rarely every turning around. )

We are lucky to be living in the one town we can pronounce in a manner that people understand:  Mala Skala.  Other towns such as Brzeszcze, Splzov, or Bzi would not be so easy. 

We are not the first to have discovered this area for cycling; many Eastern European tourists ride mountain bikes.  But we rarely hear any language spoken besides the confusing Czech dialect. 

Occasionally someone will speak English to us, maybe even ask us where we are from.   I always laugh as Kevin explains we live close to San Francisco, a description we would never use in the United States. 

But the riding is excellent.  Five stars.  Lovely loops with scenic towns and farms along the way.  Hills that roll, up 500-800 feet and then back down.  Small coffee shops and mini marts that offer up enough food to keep us going.  And cars that keep their distance and drive slow enough not to surprise us. 

Beyond language, my only problem is how to pry Kevin off the bike. Every day he will want to explore a new set of roads; the combination is endless around here.  But always going one of two directions:  straight up or straight down.   :-)