Conference noted::bicycle

    There was a company in the US that offered tours of Eastern Europe
    3  or  4  years  ago. The main thing to know is that you can't get
    spare  parts,  so you have to carry them. If you broke your frame,
    you took the train to Vienna and bought a new one there.

--David

    Spare parts - no problem.  Your're talking to somebody who carries
    spare tube, cables, spokes and chain tool on a trip to the corner
    7-Eleven.
    
    I've contacted the tour companies specializing in Eastern Europe, but
    I'm not sure I'll want to pay their prices or be confined to their
    itineraries.
    
    Preferably, I'd like to gather enough information to organize my own
    tour and perhaps find some fellow adventurers to join me.
    
    Rick
    

    I rented a car and drove through Bohemia last fall.  The contrast with
    wealthy Austria is striking--it's like going back 30 years.  The
    buildings are scruffy, and very few people speak English.  It would
    be smart to learn basic German.  It's clearly the second language
    for anything having to do with tourism.
    
    While the countryside is scruffy, Prague is wonderful.  Don't think of
    missing it.  It's wonderfully free of all the signs and commercial
    stuff
    that Vienna is full of.  
    
    If you get a chance, go to Cesky Budjovice (sp) where they invented
    Budweiser.  For 17 cents a mug, you get beer that will spoil you
    for anything else.
    
       Have fun,  
    
    Patrick 
                                                                           
                   
    
    

    Thanks for the encouragement - the part about the 17cent beer.
    
    I already speak German - no problem there.  You're the first contact
    I've had who's actually seen rural Czechoslovakia - could you give me
    some idea of road conditions and motorists' behaviour from a cyclist's
    viewpoint?  England was great, with smooth roads and law abiding
    motorists.  Can I expect similar in Eastern Europe?
    

    Well seeing as how Robin isn't here....
    
>  England was great, with smooth roads and law abiding
>   motorists.
    
excuse me while I fall off my twig....
    
    rod (small r)
    

  Last November I spent 2 weeks traveling by train through Czechoslovakia and
Hungary starting from Germany.  I can comment on finding a place to stay, but
can't help much on road conditions.

My plan was to have no plan.  I had a copy of the Lonely Planet book "Eastern 
Europe on as Shoestring", and Frommers "Eastern Europe on $xx(25?)".  The latter
proved to be very useful, but I would recommend both.  They give a relatively 
good listing of accomodations, which proved to be the best bet in Czechoslovakia.

In Praha, or most anywhere in Hungary, it is easy to find a place on your own
and most people speak enough German that making arrangements is straight forward.
There seems to be a shortage of accomodations smaller towns in Czeckoslovakia,
so you would be well advised to inquire at the Cedok office, in Praha if you
can, to make reservations.  If you have in mind inexpensive lodging, you should
make a point of it, as they will try to steer you toward the more expensive
hotels if they can.   I travelled across Czechoslovakia stopping in Praha,
Brno, Stary Smokevic, and Kosice and had no trouble finding a place to stay.
  
As for road conditions, there is a considerable amount of heavy truck traffic,
and the roads are not especially well maintained.  Sort of like Massachusetts,
except not as many pot holes.  Automobile emissions are unregulated and there
is lots of smoke in the air in many areas, especially industrial cities.
The roads seem to be in good shape overall.

Hope this gives you some idea of conditions.  Feel free to contact me directly
if you would like more info.
					Ron

    	A bit late I know. I did a couple of 70 odd mile jaunts in the
    country round Brno when I was on holiday in Czechoslovakia last autumn.
    The bikes were single speed wrecks hired from the hotel. The city
    itself is pretty unpleasant for fumes from all the 2 stroke Trabants,
    but once out of town it's ok. Around Brno there are hundreds of miles
    of marked cycle routes. You buy 1:25000 maps with the route colour code
    and difficulty marked, then followed the coloured marks on the
    trees and small sign posts. Very easy, well thought out and great fun.
    The road routes don't always stay on tarmac and there are proper off road
    routes as well. 
    
    	Motorists are much more bike aware than in Britain. They tend to
    give you room when going past. No scary moments at all.
    
    		Jeremy