The first tour of 2022 takes me to the Sudetes, which, while nowhere near the Alps in terms of twisty road experiences, are significantly quicker to reach.
The Sudetes are a mountain range stretching over 300 kilometers, extending southeast from the Elbe Sandstone Mountains to Silesia. They encompass several mountain groups, including the Jizera Mountains and the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše). The highest peak is the Sněžka (Schneekoppe) at 1,613 meters.
In Josefsthal, a small village in the Czech part of the Jizera Mountains, I check into a cozy hotel with good food and a welcoming beer garden. The village turns out to be an ideal base for several varied motorcycle day trips.
Even on the day of arrival, there’s time for a first ride: A round trip of about 150 kilometers first takes me to the well-known winter sports resort of Harrachov, where the impressive ski jumping and flying hills on the Devil’s Mountain (Čertova hora) are worth a look. The route continues across the border into Poland to the popular holiday town of Szklarska Poręba. On the way back, it’s worth making a stop in the charming spa town of Świeradów-Zdrój (Bad Flinsberg), before heading back to Josefsthal via Frýdlant (Friedland) in Bohemia.
The next morning, the weather shows its wet side. It rains until the afternoon. But once it clears up, I take the opportunity for a shorter but rewarding ride. My destination is Liberec (Reichenberg), from where I head up to the 1,012-meter-high Ještěd. The ascent of this striking mountain, with its futuristic television tower, is worth it for the spectacular views alone. A detour into the old town of Liberec, with its magnificent town hall square, nicely rounds off the day.
On the third day, the weather is at its best – ideal for a longer day tour. I start in the valley of the Jizera, a tributary of the Elbe which has its source here in the Giant Mountains. The route takes me along winding country roads that snake through the hilly landscape on the southern side of the range. While the road surface isn’t always perfect, the ride through small villages, past meadows, forests, and gentle ridges more than makes up for it.
A particular highlight of this stage is the Broumov Highlands (Braunauer Bergland). This region is characterized by impressive rock formations that frequently appear along the roadside and invite short stops and moments of awe. Especially striking is the so-called “Road of 100 Curves” – a legendary section of the DW 387 between Kudowa-Zdrój and Radków, offering pure riding pleasure for motorcyclists.
Another beautiful tour leads to the Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj), another upland region which, although not part of the Sudetes, lies only about 30 kilometers south of Josefsthal. The landscape is marked by towering rock spires, forests, and rivers. Even the approach via the well-developed DW 10 / E 65 builds anticipation for the many twisty roads in and around the Bohemian Paradise.
