Where should I begin? Maybe two years ago, that’s when my daughter first said, “Mom, should we cycle to the Czech Republic (CZ) for the summer holidays?” She was 11 at the time. It wasn’t until last summer that we finally managed to convince our family to go on a trip together.

Written by: Eva Jacobs / Velomobiel.nl

Btw. I’m from the Czech Republic, a small country in the heart of Europe, but I’ve lived in the Netherlands (NL) for 19 years. So my daughter is Dutch. Still, she’s drawn to the Czech Republic: beautiful landscapes, rocks, forests, grandma and grandpa. And she loves cycling 😀

A week before our departure, I planned a route and used two GPS devices. My husband had our company’s Snoek (test bike) set up for our daughter. We make every Sunday an 80km ride for the past few months to get used to the bike. She doesn’t have her own velomobile yet.

Daughter in the Snoek
Daughter in the Snoek

The day before our departure, we weighed three tents from our inventory and set them up in the garden. OK, we’re going Spartan—a single-layer, one-person tent. But we’re small and we love each other 😉

Launching Into the Unknown
May 20th Sunday (121km)

After packing, we set off for our first leg. The weather is beautiful. We stop at a company in Dronten for final adjustments, and around noon we’re on our way, for real now. Yes, we’re really cycling all the way to the Czech Republic together! Sorry, I’m still processing it. I’m so happy with my daughter and that she loves cycling.

The plan for today was 125km. It’s mostly flat (NL), and we have quiet roads and cycle paths along a canal. So quiet, in fact, that there’s no café along the way. When we finally find one, my daughter is so hungry that she orders a giant ice cream sundae. And what do I see? A velomobile—the chance of even encountering one in the Netherlands is almost zero… A friend and customer of ours, Johan, how nice. But time is running out, and the weather forecast for tonight is bad. We won’t make it to the campsite in Bad Bentheim (Germany/D). Black storm clouds threaten from all sides! I quickly searched for a B&B online, and our plans had changed. We parked our velomobiles in the garage, and a thunderstorm started.

A Night of Food, Stories, and Pure Kindness
July 21, Monday

Today we want to go to Bielefeld. A month ago, I met a client of ours at our company’s 25th anniversary party. He heard through the grapevine about our cycling plans from the Netherlands to Czech Republic. He loved it and invited us for an overnight stay with dinner. When we knocked on his door that evening, we couldn’t believe our eyes. Nils, our host, had cooked a vegan meal especially for us. But what!!! Three open cookbooks on the counter revealed the source: Ottolenghi’s culinary arts. I’ve never had such a delicious vegan meal. And there were four large bowls full. Along with German beer, lemonade, and good conversation, it was a party! Nils, you did it: you delivered the most intense experience of the entire trip!

Oh yes, that day we cycled 109km. And we walked through the beautiful historic town of Bad Bentheim.

Uphill Battles, Downhill Joy, and Everything Between
July 22-27

In the next days, we have to complete the remainder of our 800km journey. The landscape begins to undulate. Every day, we climb from 750 to 1150 meters in altitude. There are few campsites in Germany these days. Many closed during the Covid period, and what we visited was OK, but not a place I’d want to stay longer.

My daughter sets the speed (I only on descents) and breaks. Our pace slows a little every day. But it doesn’t matter. As long as she’s still having fun. She especially enjoys the descents, until you realize that every downhill means another uphill.

This country offers a great network of bakeries with coffee and tables to rest. We usually enjoy ourselves around lunchtime. And if there’s no bakery, we make a feast ourselves. Like the one on the photo below.

We follow good asphalt roads. That means no bike paths and hardly any cycle routes where you often encounter gravel. In the summer, there are many road repairs, which is quite difficult to navigate with a velomobile. And cycling further east also means more frustrated motorists on the road. I send a kiss through the air and wave at everyone who cuts us off or honks their horns. Poor souls.

Collage roads
collage of roads

We’re wild camping for one night. There’s no campsite to be found anywhere. But a bench with a trash can along a cycle path through grain fields is an ideal spot. No one minds when they pass by. Not even the local farmer.

On Wednesday, we cycled through Kassel, a large, historic city. But hell for cyclists (except perhaps mountain bikers). We stopped for lunch in the Turkish neighborhood. There were only men in the cafes. At the bakery, we got a sandwich about three times larger and heavier than the German standard for a German price. Tea was only black and sweet, and coffee was filter coffee. We enjoyed it thoroughly and with all our senses.

In the city center, we visited the Grimmwelt Museum (the Brothers Grimm). It was a really nice exhibition and super educational. Outside, eight Chinese people were waiting for us for a group photo and dozens of questions.

After that, we left the city. We rushed through the endless traffic jam heading east.

On the last day of our tour, we reached the Czech border.

We followed a bike route along the railway line. The road was sometimes bad, but there were no angry drivers. Beautiful timber-framing farmhouses with ceramic and glass factories. A watermill.

On the last hill, and also the steepest part of Marianske Lazne, it started to rain. For the first time while cycling in the past week. At the top, we took a breather and went to pee. As my daughter says: we peed like ancient Romans, chatting happily next to each other. When I put my pants back on, I got a stinging nettle feeling. But more intense. The stings kept coming. I thought I’d checked my seat. It was good for plants, but not for ants. I jumped all over the place, thrashing my buttocks. Finally in the bike, I got cramps in my pelvis! Lesson learned. At the campsite by a lake, the pain subsided, and we met the rest of our family, including my parents. We had another 10 days to enjoy the Czech Republic together.

After some time, I asked my daughter if she would ever go on a cycling holiday with me again. And she said yes 🙂

Few more photos from the tour for our Premium Members only


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