Olomouc–Vienna

A challenge that Romča came up with. Is it possible to ride from Olomouc to Vienna, and are we going to be able to ride 200 kilometers in one day? These were the questions we had to answer.

When we were choosing the route, we had three options. Two options were shorter, around 230 km but with plenty of vertical metres. The third option was the longest at 240 km, but a complete straight line. We opted for the straight. We didn't want to climb hills and linger when we didn't know if we could even do 240 km.

So here we go.

So this was the longest and at the same time the hardest ride I've ever done. A total flat in the form of... you pedal straight for 6 km, then turn right for 4 km, then turn back for another 5 km. With a slight headwind this was not an easy one. It was pretty fast at first because there was a lot to look at. Villages, ponds, people going by, shopping, getting groceries, sun tanning. Once we hit the bike path along the Morava River, where on one side is the river and the other are fields or forest. Time and kilometers don't pass, they slow down and it's like having your watch stop—not good for my mind. In Austria it got a bit better with the prospect of drinking Radler and sitting on a chair instead of a bike saddle. Last 20 or so kilometers my bum did not have a good time.

I'm so glad I suffered through this trip and I'm also grateful that we chose this route and accomplished it otherwise we wouldn't have known what it was like to ride 230 miles straight in one day.

We have completed the challenge we prepared for ourselves. We are happy and we are in Vienna. At dinner we were figuring out how and what to do next. One thing was clear, no more flat roads. Since we had accomplished what we set out to do, we had no great ambitions to go further—in other words, we were sore. The plan was to walk around Vienna, sample the local bike paths, feel the vibe of the city, hop on a train and skip the boring flat part back to Brno. From Brno we would zigzag between valleys and hills towards Olomouc.

I just want to talk briefly about a train station experience between Vienna and Brno. When a tourist—with or without a bike—gets off the train in Vienna, everything is clean, well maintained, with signs telling you where to go and what train to take. There is no litter, no drunks, no junkies. Everything seems to work as it should, but in Brno? I think we all know where I'm going with this... if I were a foreign tourist and my first impression of Brno was a train station... I'd be fucking shocked! Sorry but not sorry, Brno.

Well, we couldn't wait to get out of Brno and disappear into the woods on the gravel roads leading home.

The final dirt road is lined with grain on both sides, Olomouc is in sight and smile on Romča’s face. Her idea was a very good experience after all. We found out a lot of things we would not have known without this trip. I won't name them, they belong in the pub with the beer in my hand, not here. We can talk about them until the morning.

So once again the rule, ride and explore, proves true again. It will open your eyes and new horizons. Oh, and preferably by bike!