České Velenice

Early start - no breakie binge, just a couple of pastries. Nice easy start as well - down to the river & then along for a few miles. Then hit the dreaded E55 - the busy road endured yesterday. Managed a couple of cut throughs. Rain loomed & took a break at a bus stop. Old lady actually waiting for a bus looked suspiciously or just confusion. Pushed on but took shelter in Lidl. Stocked up - not making that mistake again. No climbs listed today and progress was good, if a little busy. Made it to Trebon, after negotiating a veritable maze of carp ponds & lakes. Primarily feeding this areas Chrimbo feast where live carp are bought & kept in the bath tub until the day. An early lunch in Trebon by one of the said carp lakes. It was shortly after Trebon that the route became a little tougher. There'd been a mile or so of gravel shortly before Trebon & the SATNAV had indicated 95% of the route was on sealed routes. Assumed the rest now would be straightforward. Indicted route had concrete slabs so strictly speaking it was sealed but boy was it rough - big gaps between, uneven levels & hefty pot holes. No traffic though, apart from mountain bikers - hmmm. Got to take the rough with the smooth. Had little choice - this seemed the only route through this seemingly endless forest. Ended up going with the gravel in the middle. Heard a few woodpeckers but saw nothing - eyes were trained on what was ahead and avoiding pot holes. Eventually tarmac was rediscovered. Add to that the wind was behind me and the miles were rattled off. Ended hitting Gmünd at around 3ish & the most unobtrusive border crossing ever. Rickety footbridge & a little sign at the edge of a park. Cycle out to the hotel suggested Gmünd was nothing more than an industrial border town & the hotel was based in service station - nice. Once washed, wandered into town & it had a little more to it than first appeared.Read more