How and when

No rules, no timetable, no agenda.

Kind of.

Originally I was going to set myself a rule not to stray more than x miles from the Czech border. But having studied the route in more detail, I've decided that's neither practical nor desirable. So, the frontier will generally define my route, but I'll venture further "inland" or "outland" when the terrain demands it, or just as the mood takes me.

As I wrote in my last post, I can't afford to do the trip all in one go. So, I've broken it down into seven stages, as listed in the left-hand column. My Lap Chart is now festively festooned in coloured balloons indicating where the stages start and finish. Each start/end point is easily reached by train from Prague.

Each stage is around 150-200 miles long and should take me a long weekend to complete. I expect to do three stages a year. That means starting in spring 2010 and finishing in spring 2012.

Approximately.

Over the next few weeks I'll be describing each stage in more detail. All I'll say for now is that the official start point is the Silesian town of Bohumín (the green balloon on the map). I'll then head west, travelling anti-clockwise around the country until I eventually hit Bohumín again.

As for my agenda, I'm not seeking sponsorship and I'm not trying to convince people to go green. I'm just going on a bike ride.

A bloody long bike ride.