Debbies erste Radreise – 500 km von Würzburg nach Prag

Vor nur drei Monaten besaß Debbie nicht einmal ein Fahrrad. Nun starten wir ihre erste Radreise: In sechs Tagen wollen wir über 500 km von Würzburg nach Prag radeln. Unsere Route führt uns entlang des Mains, durch das Fichtelgebirge, über die tschechische Grenze, entlang der Eger und über viele Hügel, bis wir schließlich Prag erreichen. Dabei entdecken wir nicht nur die Grenzen des Reisens mit einem E-Bike, sondern auch unsere eigenen.

0:00 Intro
0:37 Erste Erfahrungen
4:41 Entlang des Mains
13:19 Hinauf ins Fichtelgebirge
17:56 Über die Grenze nach Tschechien
22:50 Die anstrengendste Etappe
27:31 Was wir gelernt haben
30:01 Fazit

Verwendete Musik:
‘Three Sheets To The Wind’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
‘Hymn To The Dawn’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
‘Ignis’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
‘Clarion’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
‘Pomp and Celebration’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

We are in Würzburg and my fiancée Debbie is sitting on an e-bike for the first time in her life. Our destination is still more than 500 km away: in 6 days we want to cycle to Prague. I have already

A few bike trips behind me. But Debbie owned not even a bike three months ago. Through a misunderstanding of communication, we then came up with the crazy idea of cycling to Prague. To be honest, we have no idea whether that will work. We have no experience

With e-bikes and ask ourselves whether the battery and our strength will be enough for the day’s stages. And whether Debbie’s butt can withstand the many hours in the saddle. It’s really nice here, isn’t it, Henrik? Yes! It’s gorgeous

Weather: not too warm, not too cold. And I am also happy with my e-bike. It’s really cool! As you have just seen, Eco mode is at the start, 17 kilometers per hour. Really cool! I’m delighted! Turbo, bye!

I think it will be a really sporty trip for me. Debbie really has fun with the e-bike whizzing through the neighborhood. That is simply something quite other than herr normal bike at home. Hey, first of all

Buy ice cream. There is ice cream! I am absolutely thrilled! So, strawberry is awesome, white chocolate, oh my God! Yes, the ice cream machine comes just in time. We enjoy the refreshing ice cream and continue our journey after a short break

Our route is roughly based on the EuroVelo 4 long-distance cycle route. We follow the Main river and then cycle up into the Fichtelgebirge. After the Czech border, the route continues along the Ohře river further on. And shortly before Prague a few more hills await

Us. Debbie quickly gets used to riding an e-bike. But We also realize that an e-bike does not ride by itself. So, it’s exhausting, too, in eco mode, because you can simply drive but in your head, that you are riding alone but you have this support. But you have to

Get used to it first. Especially uphill you notice the engine. Debbie is already long gone and I’m still creeping up the hill at 10 km/h. But that is good, then she can take a little break. We enjoy the vast landscape. But the unusual strain on Debbie’s bottom

Is slowly becoming noticeable. It just burns. Especially here. And I think we’ve only covered 20 kilometers or so. I don’t know. And Debbie how are you doing after 45 km on the bike? Yes, that’s fine. My butt hurts. The

Sitting hurts. And my legs are about to give out. And why are your thighs so red? You, I just didn’t put any sun cream on. Another 10 km or so to the campsite. But I’ve had enough now, too. I am not yet

So completely in the bucket, as usual on my tours at the end of the day. But we ride here all the time in the sun at over 30°C. That is also very exhausting. So, I have Fanta, beer, tomato sauce, Corny, Tortellini, sausages and cheese and a beer.

Wow, that tastes kinky, really cool! Wow. That’s really cool! Like fizzy water. But the beer is better. I hate beer. Good night! After a restful night the new day awaits us with bright sunshine again. All important: Do not forget to apply sun cream so that we don’t turn bright red again.

We set off on our bikes and after a few kilometers we find a hearty breakfast in a butcher’s shop. Awesome! We are on the road again, now along the Main river on the Main cycle path in the direction of Bamberg. Will

Probably be the most relaxed stage today, as we don’t actually ride up any hills, we have 70 km. We are curious to see if it is really the case. Well, the stage is perhaps short. But that does not mean that there are less problems. More on this later. Now,

We first roll between the Main river and the highway to the beautiful town of Bamberg. Now, it’s getting exciting. Debbie is somehow over the hill scurried up. I took a few photos. I don’t know where she is and her smartphone is

In my pocket, of course. Here I am! You ran away. No, I rode up because you told me to and suddenly I didn’t saw you anymore. Then I thought you’d ridden that way. Anyway, let’s keep riding. I’m hungry. Cheers! Great! Delicious! Good

Night. Unfortunately, the cycle path is closed. I hope that we are not riding on the road, now. But that there is also another beautiful cycle path. And as is so often the case, the detour signs for the

Cycle path stops somewhere and then you have to find your own way back onto the cycle path. Now there’s Henrik’s special abbreviation again: bit off-road, but so far it’s been great. Yes, and somehow I have the feeling all the time that we

Have forgotten something at home. But so far I haven’t thought of it yet. Tell me first what is going on! What’s going on? I found out what we have forgotten. What have we forgotten? The train tickets for the return journey. No

Joke. Our train tickets for the return journey are several hundred kilometers away in our apartment. We do not have digital tickets, because with Deutsche Bahn you can buy bicycle tickets for abroad only as a paper ticket at the counter buy. And we have our apartment key

Unfortunately not passed on this time either. So our landlord is the only chance to get the tickets somehow. Yes, we have now given our landlord a call. Unfortunately, he doesn’t live in the the same city as we do and it’s not even

Planned to come by there at the weekend. But he’ll see if he can perhaps arrange it. That would be great! Oh man, sometimes you think you only have your head so that it doesn’t rain down your throat. The idea is to send the tickets either as an express letter

To Prague or transform them at the ticket counter into a digital ticket. At the moment we can do nothing more and try to continue enjoying the journey. How is your butt doing? Not good at all. It really hurts. I can only ride partially standing up or when I’m on the left,

Ride on the right side so that the left buttock can rest. Henrik’s special abbreviation again. Actually the GPX track went a different way, but there was a sign that you are not allowed to go through there because there is a gravel works, it was also very roughly ballasted.

On the map, this looked like a normal route, but, once through the hedge, I would say. We all agree that riding on gravel tracks is more strenuous than asphalt. Henrik is riding my bike right now. Speedy Gonzalez! We still have, I think, 18 kilometers to Lichtenfels. And that’s our next stop. There

We’ll go shopping right away and then set up camp. The last kilometers of the day lead on dreamlike cycle paths along the idyllic banks of the Main river. Oh, now it’s empty. Henrik hasn’t drank anything for an hour because he thought there was nothing left.

Luckily it’s only raining now. We only have one rain jacket for two people. And that’s why we have our romantic dinner under the roof by the toilets. Now that it’s raining, we watch

Chips… or something like that. We had something with chips and movie at the end of the day. Good morning. We are already awake. Today we start the day in the Fichtelgebirge. I’m looking forward to the climb. I have a bit of respect before that, but we’ll manage.

Henrik is still asleep and I’ll wake him up right away and then we pack up and then here we go. Good morning, my darling. So full realistic. Yes, it has to look authentic. Did you sleep well?

Much too short. Can we put this together already? No, that is still a bit clammy on the sides. It still needs to dry a bit. What are you doing? Drying it. I’ll put the T-shirt on later anyway. It will dry

On the body, then it doesn’t matter if it’s wet. Not normal, That is not normal. Definitely not normal. But what is normal when you ride 500 km to Prague without previous cycling experience? For now we enjoy the beautiful cycle paths along the Main river.

What’s here? Lemonade is the coolest! Awesome! Something salty is always followed by something sweet. What kind of cycle path is this? The cycle path here is very bumpy. I hate paths like this, it always makes my ears tingle. It feels like you can’t even

Ride onto this paving stone or how that are called. I think it’s really bad right now. Today it’s right nice to ride, isn’t it, Debbie? Oh yes, I’ve just ridden 25 km/h in tour mode. Really cool, went

Really cool! And I also like the scenery really good. You can finally see the Main river now, nice, idyllic, small. Then through these beautiful meadows. It’s great, wonderful cycle paths, too. As beautiful as the

Cycling is, we still need to clarify, how we are going to return from Prague. We talk to the Deutsche Bahn and make phone calls to all known postal senders. Unfortunately, it is neither possible

To convert a paper ticket into a digital ticket nor send the ticket to Prague in the short time available. Buying new bicycle tickets online is not possible and Flixbus unfortunately also does not take

E-bikes with them. But we have said that we now enjoy the day to the full and see that we can move forward. Really nice here. Just yet in the valley. 40 km to go. 40 km to go, exactly, now uphill.

And now it’s slowly up the mountain to the Fichtelgebirge. You slowly notice the inclines increase at a leisurely pace. The landscape also changes once again. There’s a lot more forest now. And who says that with an e-bike

You don’t have to do anything else, so Debbie, with its 500 watt-hour battery still had three strokes left out of five at the end of the day. Currently, after almost 50 km, she has only

Used up one bar of the five. So, I think she still has the turbo mode for the ascent saved. Without Corny I don’t think I’d get a hill up. So, the climb has begun. We have to go about 400 meters uphill. That

Is pretty neat. I think, Debbie, for you, you are never cycled this far up before, have you? I have never cycled over 100. Yes, but so far we are really lucky, because we ride such a beautiful

Cycle path up and it has a super pleasant inclination, nicely paved and no cars. Okay, engine’s off. Oh, my God! Shit, how can you drive like that? Comes from the Spätzle. Oh, no, I’m riding with tour mode again. Oh, thank goodness!

Thank you! I’ve now ridden up half the mountain in tour mode. Already crass. Because I still have three bars and I do not know, if I ride turbo, whether it is completely there. Do you know what I mean? It holds. I’m not so sure. That’s why I prefer to ride

In tour mode and sweat my ass off before I have to walk. You have to wait on the slow duck anyway. So this old railroad track, that is simply fantastically beautiful. Really idyllic

Here, great forest, a few meadows we have here now, earlier the brook, just now a fox crossed the path. One last crisp climb. Then we’ve made it for today, then we’re at the Fichtelsee. I’m definitely really looking forward to the barbecue later and I hope that there will be

A cold beer at the campsite. In the supermarket there was only warm beer. But that’s not for me. Last hill for today. For the last time, I am struggling and Debbie is tickling the last out of the battery.

But I think the end is already in sight and then it’s another 5 km or so downhill to the campsite. It’s brutal, like the e-bike goes uphill. On the flat, you hardly notice the difference

To the normal bike. Not on a downhill at all, but uphill high, disgusting. Kick it three times and it’s up there. I believe that is really fun. I just rode with turbo . I found it really exhausting. The last few meters, it

Was really bad, I was riding like that and it hurt so much. That’s it! But Debbie was right with her assessment. With only one bar left of battery charge we reach the beautiful Fichtelsee. If she hadn’t fought like that the battery was probably not enough. Exhausted

We enjoy the evening with a barbecue and good company community with other two-wheeled travelers at the campsite. Good morning! We’re on the road again. Today is the longest stage: 94 km. We have to be careful with our strength and battery to make it. But we’re hungry now.

We’re rolling around the idyllic Fichtelsee and then we look for a bakery for breakfast. Hello? We are now on our way beyond the Czech border and I’ve now taken the Jacket on because it’s very cool,

The wind. Henrik is still in his T-shirt, right at the start, and it is fantastically beautiful here. So it’s real, I think it’s very beautiful. Today is a very special day for both of us. Our

Longest stage with almost 100 km lies ahead of us and For the first time we cross by bike an international border, into a country whose language we don’t speak. We are a bit excited, what awaits us. The way there leads us through a beautiful, lonely landscape.

I can’t believe it! I am in Czech Republic! I can’t believe it! We’re just in the Czech Republic! I’m shitting myself! I’m right proud of you. I’m shitting myself. Right, right well done. It makes me want to cry. It’s right nice, it’s really nice and we are in the Czech Republic.

All the stress, all the strength that gives off. Somehow a bit different now in the Czech Republic. People greet you in a different language, the street signs look a bit different, you now ride on the cycle path here directly on the road. But luckily there’s a thick hard shoulder.

Somehow everything also feels unfamiliar, although it is somehow the same as in Germany. The first kilometers in the Czech Republic are very varied and we let

The many impressions on us for the time being work. I think it’s so beautiful about the Czech Republic that there is such an endless expanse here. It is nothing around it. It’s so beautiful, everything green. It is much greener than Germany. In Germany, everything is yellow.

Everything is green here. I don’t know how they irrigate either, but it’s really cool. And they have really great cycle paths. We also always try to make sure that in every country we visit and don’t know the language that we

At least learn hello, goodbye and thank you. And here in the Czech Republic it’s actually quite funny, because hello and bye means ahoj to both. Just then a whole family with five little children, really cute, and all in turn: ahoj, ahoj, ahoj,

Ahoj. We still have 20 km to the campsite and somehow Debbie has gotten into her head set, we have to be there in an hour. Now we have just completed the 90 km, I am incredibly proud of Debbie, quite

Great respect for what she’s doing. Now we are glad that we made it right away. Another 5 km or so. We’ll see if we can find a restaurant on the way where we can try the Czech kitchen. The long day’s stage is done and even at dinner

We are lucky. In a beautiful old town we enjoy the delicious Czech cuisine. A less pleasant surprise for us is then the campsite. Somehow the campsite turns into a party on this Friday evening and we are right in the middle of the

Chaos. It’s raining cats and dogs. And now we’ve just indulged ourselves here: Fanta and non-alcoholic beer. We guard our battery while charging here in the hustle and bustle and we have also lost our credit card The ATM withdrew it. Apparently because I entered the wrong PIN too often.

Luckily we have a second one with us. Life runs I would say! Yes, the main thing is that we can still laugh. Tomorrow can only get better. And there’s no end to it here at the campsite.

One group after another comes here and it’s just different to Germany. They just put up their tent. If there is a free square meter somewhere, then a tent goes there. One, two, three. Double and triple

Secured. For the next cycle tour, the Ear packs are also in the luggage. It gets louder and louder here, we hope we can get some sleep. Good night! Let’s see how long it lasts. Good

Night! Good morning! The night was indeed pretty loud until 0 o’clock, but after that it was then suddenly quiet. So obviously there was a night’s sleep, which was kept to some extent. But we didn’t really sleep well after all. Today is

Already the penultimate day of our tour and the goal of Prague is within reach. A long stage and one with a lot of elevation gain we already have behind us. But today’s challenge combines both: more than 80 km and over 1000 meters of altitude lie ahead of us.

It is our most strenuous stage so far and once again we ask ourselves: Can our legs and the battery do that? We have breakfast in Karlsbad first of all. Tastes really good! For the two things and for a snack for later we didn’t even pay €3, €2.50 or so, which is great.

I can’t do any more. Eco mode up here is really mean. But I’m afraid that if I go turbo, the battery will run out. That’s why I’m struggling up here. Riding an e-bike is not simple. Water!

I can’t take any more. Disgusting! I think you can see it on the camera. Here it goes straight up the hill. I have to push. This isn’t a normal mountain, it’s a Mount Everest or something. The gradient increases slightly off. But the rough gravel is now sapping our strength.

The paths demand everything from us. And for the first time, I have serious doubts as to whether we can still make it to the campsite. We can’t just put up a tent. We have to go somewhere

Charge the e-bike battery. And Debbie can actually, we are a little familiar with her range indicator in the e-bike, and our experience over the last few days is that we only ride everywhere in eco mode. Otherwise the battery won’t last.

Now, we have to think about whether we might take an alternative route. But it is here somehow a mountainous area. We don’t have any alternatives. A short downhill keeps the mood at least briefly up. Before the tour, many people said to Debbie,

You’ll never make it, you’re crazy. We knew that it would not be easy, but we believed in ourselves and we are fighting now for that. And that’s also the reason why I have Debbie taken on this crazy tour at all: She is a fighter. One last time

The paths become really strenuous again and then we just take it with humor. Official cycle path according to the sign. Oh my God! I’m not a mountain bike! Will it hold? If it does crash. I howl. Getting fit for the wedding. Pizza, here I come! Pizza! We’ve finally arrived at the campsite.

After 1062 vertical meters, I think 83 km, exactly. Henrik is already hard at work setting up back there. We’re going out for a bite to eat right now. We have a ravenous appetite. It has really given us everything.

Yes, exactly, and we are simply delighted to be here and spend the evening enjoy. And now we’re going to sleep. Good Night! Good morning! Heading for Prague now. And tonight we are in Prague. We are looking forward to it and, exactly, I can’t even

Believe that it is the last day. After 5 days on the tour it is also time for a brief conclusions on the e-bike. We didn’t really know right what awaits us there. We don’t have much

E-bike experience, actually none at all. We have rent it in Frankfurt for €180 a week, which is what we think, that’s a pretty good price. Debbie, how was the ride? Yes, riding an e-bike is a lot of fun.

It is a very good support. Above all, it has to be said that what we rode the 70 to 100 km with hills, also a lot in eco or or tour mode, because you have to save the battery.

The kilometers you can not really estimate, because the display always changed the range. Exactly, but it was still very nice and I’m looking forward to Prague. Let’s go to Prague. The last 84 km today. Let’s see when we

Arrive in Prague. Our legs definitely feel very, very tired from yesterday after the many meters of altitude. But that will come with time then hopefully better again. We can manage that! For whatever reason. But the tired legs are quickly forgotten. The express is rolling really well today. The anticipation

On Prague drives us incredibly. On our last stage, we enjoy everything once again, what makes cycling so special for us: the freedom, the closeness to nature, traveling off the beaten track, the discovery of a new surroundings and simply switch off

From everyday life at home. Traveling by bike gives us a whole new perspective. We learned to know our limits and grow beyond them. Debbie’s father gave us one more tip about the beta version of the new homepage of Deutsche Bahn. So we were still able to

Buy our train tickets with a bike ticket for the return journey. Now Prague can come! And Debbie, what can you say after six days in the saddle, what’s the butt doing? Well, I have to

Say, I ride without cycling shorts and it was really okay at the beginning. In the middle it really just hurt. So it was really real irritated. And now it’s still going well. I

Just want to get to Prague. Another 20 km, then we’re finally here. Guys, I can’t anymore. Prague lies ahead us. I can’t believe it, we’re in Prague. We are in Prague. We’re almost in the city center, another 10 km or so.

There is only one question that remains for me now, which I even had before the tour: Did I completely ruined Debbie’s cycling and she never gets back on her bike or does she even feel like

Getting more? We have finally arrived in Prague, after 500 km and 6 days later, we have finally made it. It is quite windy here, but we are happy and we are still enjoying the days in Prague. Are you going on another bike tour? Yes, so me would definitely go cycling again.

Maybe next time, maybe a little fewer mountains, but I think we’ll find something good.