Estimated Mileage: 20 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
Letzes Stück
6 years ago
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
June 24, 2010 - Wolbrom to Czajowice
Estimated Mileage: 25 miles only!
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
My trip went from care-free jaunt to a Shackleton-esque doomed journey that morning. I had a number of things go wrong all of sudden. Here's a list of some of the issues that popped up that morning:
The day's route brought me into a park named Ojcowski. It's a river gorge, with steep cliffs and rocks on either side and various ancient castles and churches lining the sides
It was a beautiful ride, but very, very wet. The last bit of the day was spent in a 2 mile ascent out of the gorge and to the hotel. After I was done climbing, I realized that I wasn't even tired or out of breath. This made me reflect on how far I'd come on this trip, in terms of my physical ability to ride. I just rode for 3 straight days, averaging 60 miles a day, through some not-so-easy terrain, and it barely phased me. I'm proud of that...
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
My trip went from care-free jaunt to a Shackleton-esque doomed journey that morning. I had a number of things go wrong all of sudden. Here's a list of some of the issues that popped up that morning:
- Serious nausea (could it be caused by the cottage cheese and kielbasa for breakfast? Nah...)
- Chased by dogs three times
- Rear derailleur shifter breaking and higher gears starting to skip yet again
- Rain, rain, rain and worthless shoe covers
- Charlie horse in my left thigh
- Left my Leatherman tool on a park bench
- I forgot to give back the hotel key
I went through the various stages of anger, annoyance, self-loathing and anger again. Then you know what I did with all these chumps? I STEAMROLLED THEM!!!!
The most disconcerting of the problems was being chased by dogs. This freaked me out considering I was completely vulnerable and could sustain a fairly serious injury if they either bit me or knocked me off my bike. Luckily, I came up a defense solution: waving my tire pump at them. I moved the pump to an easily accessible position in the Large Handlebar Bag, and felt much more secure knowing a weapon was at my disposal:
Every house that I passed for the first half of the day had a passel of barking dogs, usually fenced, but sometimes not. Not very fun...
Here's me, struggling to remain positive despite the numerous woes that beset me that morning.
The day's route brought me into a park named Ojcowski. It's a river gorge, with steep cliffs and rocks on either side and various ancient castles and churches lining the sides
It was a beautiful ride, but very, very wet. The last bit of the day was spent in a 2 mile ascent out of the gorge and to the hotel. After I was done climbing, I realized that I wasn't even tired or out of breath. This made me reflect on how far I'd come on this trip, in terms of my physical ability to ride. I just rode for 3 straight days, averaging 60 miles a day, through some not-so-easy terrain, and it barely phased me. I'm proud of that...
June 23, 2010 - Czestochowa to Wolbrom
Estimated Mileage: 65 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
Since my hotel was a bit out of the town, I passed through the center of Czestochowa to see the cathedral/pilgrimage site. The first thing I noticed was an enormous street of trinket and bauble merchants selling piles of crap:
But instead of back-scratchers and shot glasses it was various religious icons and pictures of Pope John Paul II. Heading to the cathedral, swarms of folks streamed into the square. The back lawn was all set up for some kind of huge ceremony:
Riding out of Czestochowa was surprising easy. There were labelled bike paths the entire way out, right next to the main highway out of town. However, the path took me just next to a group of really grim looking Soviet-era slums with graffiti covering the bottom 6 feet of wall. The scribbles were full of the symbol "HL", a number of swastikas and Jewish stars with some writing underneath. I like to think that this was a Jewish gang in control of the slums; that "HL" stands for Hebrew League or Hasidic Lovers or something. Anyway, it sent chills up my spine, and I was thankful that it was such an isolated incident and not something I saw anywhere else.
Things got a little hilly this day. Nothing terribly difficult, but just constant up and downs. But the real attraction of the day was the hilltop castle ruins that I saw everywhere during the day:
This area north/northwest of Krakow was the domain of the old Polish kings. These castles are from the 13-15th century and dot the landscape. The area is mostly hilly, with these much larger protrusions every few miles. If you look close enough at them, odds there there's some kind of ruin on top of it:
This area is called the "Jurassic Cuesta" which is some kind of geological rock formation that I don't quite understand. All I know is that it afforded me a beautiful lunchtime view on top of it:
The day was another one in the "Win" column. It ended rather hilariously in Wolbrom. The hotel I was staying at was hosting the 10th anniversary party of the founding of a company named "TRI Poland", which is a offshoot of a Japanese rubber factory. Now, I've spent a year in Japan, attending various official company parties, so I feel I can say this without sounding like I'm stereotyping: these parties are the most embarassingly trite and lame parties you can ever go to. The kowtowing to the heads of the company, the strict entertainment schedules: it's all just awful.
The street was shut down, and I had a hard time getting past the cops to the reception desk, me being sweaty, fluorescent and generally run-down. I look like a vagrant who just robbed a high-end camping store. After some waving, pointing and smiling, I got through to be greeted by a lobby full of Poles wearing traditional garb as part of the night's festivities. I holed up in my room and heard the blaring lounge singer belting out "Fever" and "Blue Moon" until about 10 PM. Speeches were given, first in English, then in Polish then in Japanese, kind of like some bizarre Rosetta Stone of cheesy toasts. A very funny night.
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
Since my hotel was a bit out of the town, I passed through the center of Czestochowa to see the cathedral/pilgrimage site. The first thing I noticed was an enormous street of trinket and bauble merchants selling piles of crap:
But instead of back-scratchers and shot glasses it was various religious icons and pictures of Pope John Paul II. Heading to the cathedral, swarms of folks streamed into the square. The back lawn was all set up for some kind of huge ceremony:
Riding out of Czestochowa was surprising easy. There were labelled bike paths the entire way out, right next to the main highway out of town. However, the path took me just next to a group of really grim looking Soviet-era slums with graffiti covering the bottom 6 feet of wall. The scribbles were full of the symbol "HL", a number of swastikas and Jewish stars with some writing underneath. I like to think that this was a Jewish gang in control of the slums; that "HL" stands for Hebrew League or Hasidic Lovers or something. Anyway, it sent chills up my spine, and I was thankful that it was such an isolated incident and not something I saw anywhere else.
Things got a little hilly this day. Nothing terribly difficult, but just constant up and downs. But the real attraction of the day was the hilltop castle ruins that I saw everywhere during the day:
This area north/northwest of Krakow was the domain of the old Polish kings. These castles are from the 13-15th century and dot the landscape. The area is mostly hilly, with these much larger protrusions every few miles. If you look close enough at them, odds there there's some kind of ruin on top of it:
This area is called the "Jurassic Cuesta" which is some kind of geological rock formation that I don't quite understand. All I know is that it afforded me a beautiful lunchtime view on top of it:
The day was another one in the "Win" column. It ended rather hilariously in Wolbrom. The hotel I was staying at was hosting the 10th anniversary party of the founding of a company named "TRI Poland", which is a offshoot of a Japanese rubber factory. Now, I've spent a year in Japan, attending various official company parties, so I feel I can say this without sounding like I'm stereotyping: these parties are the most embarassingly trite and lame parties you can ever go to. The kowtowing to the heads of the company, the strict entertainment schedules: it's all just awful.
The street was shut down, and I had a hard time getting past the cops to the reception desk, me being sweaty, fluorescent and generally run-down. I look like a vagrant who just robbed a high-end camping store. After some waving, pointing and smiling, I got through to be greeted by a lobby full of Poles wearing traditional garb as part of the night's festivities. I holed up in my room and heard the blaring lounge singer belting out "Fever" and "Blue Moon" until about 10 PM. Speeches were given, first in English, then in Polish then in Japanese, kind of like some bizarre Rosetta Stone of cheesy toasts. A very funny night.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
June 22, 2010 - Kluczbork to Czestochowa
Estimated Mileage: 55 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
The day started off good and just got better.
The weather was excellent and now that I knew the secrets of how to read my maps, navigating was quite easy. Towns have well placed signs telling you which town you are entering or leaving. Many of the city limits have a series of signs telling you what the name of the next town is, allowing me to easy determine exactly where I am on the map.
In a small part of the ride on this day, all of the town signs have both the Polish and the German names on the signs, a reminder of the face that this region was in German hands for much of the last few centuries. I only got lost a couple of times, necessitating a few excursions into farmland/sandpits:
My destination was Czestochowa (pronounced "Chest-o-ho-va"), one of the largest Catholic pilgrimage sites in Central Europe. My hotel was a bit outside the city, at a hilariously ostentatious French-themed hotel named "Hotel Napoleon". In stark contrast to the wonderful riding all day, the last 5 miles or so was on the most miserable stretch of highway of the trip. Here's a shot:
Every second vehicle was a semi-trailer, there was no shoulder and the right half of the road was full of potholes. Oy, what a mess.
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
The day started off good and just got better.
The weather was excellent and now that I knew the secrets of how to read my maps, navigating was quite easy. Towns have well placed signs telling you which town you are entering or leaving. Many of the city limits have a series of signs telling you what the name of the next town is, allowing me to easy determine exactly where I am on the map.
In a small part of the ride on this day, all of the town signs have both the Polish and the German names on the signs, a reminder of the face that this region was in German hands for much of the last few centuries. I only got lost a couple of times, necessitating a few excursions into farmland/sandpits:
My destination was Czestochowa (pronounced "Chest-o-ho-va"), one of the largest Catholic pilgrimage sites in Central Europe. My hotel was a bit outside the city, at a hilariously ostentatious French-themed hotel named "Hotel Napoleon". In stark contrast to the wonderful riding all day, the last 5 miles or so was on the most miserable stretch of highway of the trip. Here's a shot:
Every second vehicle was a semi-trailer, there was no shoulder and the right half of the road was full of potholes. Oy, what a mess.
Some Very Creepy Things People Have Searched For On Google Which Caused My Blog To Show Up In the Results
"Pear Sex"
"Guy Line"
"Sex and the City Premiere 2010"
"Pear Shaped Celebrities"
"Sean Bean"
It's like a window into the world's psyche...
"Guy Line"
"Sex and the City Premiere 2010"
"Pear Shaped Celebrities"
"Sean Bean"
It's like a window into the world's psyche...
June 21, 2010 - Wroclaw to Kluczbork
Estimated Mileage: 70 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
I set off this day well rested, over-fed and generally feeling the need for some exercise and motion. I took my leave of Wroclaw, one of my new favorite places, and headed into the beginning of a 4 day ride that would take me into Krakow.
The terrain was completely flat the entire day. I don't think I did 10 meters of ascent total out of 6 hours of riding. The surroundings were mostly rural. Lots of farmland and stands of working forest.
Mostly my challenges came in my learning how to read the various Polish road maps. Up until this point in the trip, I had used bike maps, which are specifically for pointing out bicycle routes and tourist features. Now, all I had were road atlases, which are a different beast entirely. Basically there are red roads, which are too busy to use (but can be used in a pinch). Big yellow roads, which are best avoided but can also be used. Small yellow roads, which are generally the fastest but can be busy near city centers, and then non-colored roads, which are the best for cycling, but usually aren't very direct.
And then there's the single lines. I figured that if a road is on a map meant for cars, then it must be paved, right? Wrong: these are mostly dirt roads which are passable on farm equipment. On a bike, things become iffy. I took a couple of these roads and got bogged down in 3 mile stretches of sand. I'd be walking my bike in the middle of nowhere, with folks on their tractors staring at the cursing, fluorescent foreigner in the middle of their wheat field. Here's a picture of the road just before it turns into a sandbox:
Despite these minor problems, it was a wonderful day. Cool, cloudy weather, perfect for cycling. Relaxed and gorgeous riding. Fully rested legs and a healthy head. Towards the end of the day I actually just said out loud "What a great day".
It ended in Kluczbork, a small, charming place with a good Italian restaurant in the middle of it's town square.
I fell into conversation with a German guy named Marty. He worked for a window manufacturer and they had sent him to Poland for 3 days to check out the nearby factory. After spending a couple of hours arguing politics with him (I wouldn't call him "America-hating". More like "America-not-liking") we said goodbye on good terms. I think both of us were happy for some conversation.
I spent the rest of the evening trying to fix a problem that cropped up again with skipping gears. Here's the Chump Steamroller, assuming the "Emergency Hotel Repair" position.
I solved the problem by slightly tightening the rear derailleur cable just a couple of millimeters. Hooray for my nascent bicycle repair skills!
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
I set off this day well rested, over-fed and generally feeling the need for some exercise and motion. I took my leave of Wroclaw, one of my new favorite places, and headed into the beginning of a 4 day ride that would take me into Krakow.
The terrain was completely flat the entire day. I don't think I did 10 meters of ascent total out of 6 hours of riding. The surroundings were mostly rural. Lots of farmland and stands of working forest.
Mostly my challenges came in my learning how to read the various Polish road maps. Up until this point in the trip, I had used bike maps, which are specifically for pointing out bicycle routes and tourist features. Now, all I had were road atlases, which are a different beast entirely. Basically there are red roads, which are too busy to use (but can be used in a pinch). Big yellow roads, which are best avoided but can also be used. Small yellow roads, which are generally the fastest but can be busy near city centers, and then non-colored roads, which are the best for cycling, but usually aren't very direct.
And then there's the single lines. I figured that if a road is on a map meant for cars, then it must be paved, right? Wrong: these are mostly dirt roads which are passable on farm equipment. On a bike, things become iffy. I took a couple of these roads and got bogged down in 3 mile stretches of sand. I'd be walking my bike in the middle of nowhere, with folks on their tractors staring at the cursing, fluorescent foreigner in the middle of their wheat field. Here's a picture of the road just before it turns into a sandbox:
Despite these minor problems, it was a wonderful day. Cool, cloudy weather, perfect for cycling. Relaxed and gorgeous riding. Fully rested legs and a healthy head. Towards the end of the day I actually just said out loud "What a great day".
It ended in Kluczbork, a small, charming place with a good Italian restaurant in the middle of it's town square.
I fell into conversation with a German guy named Marty. He worked for a window manufacturer and they had sent him to Poland for 3 days to check out the nearby factory. After spending a couple of hours arguing politics with him (I wouldn't call him "America-hating". More like "America-not-liking") we said goodbye on good terms. I think both of us were happy for some conversation.
I spent the rest of the evening trying to fix a problem that cropped up again with skipping gears. Here's the Chump Steamroller, assuming the "Emergency Hotel Repair" position.
I solved the problem by slightly tightening the rear derailleur cable just a couple of millimeters. Hooray for my nascent bicycle repair skills!
June 19-20, 2010 - Rest days in Jary and Wroclaw
Photo Album Link
Staying as a guest in a home was a welcome respite from the rigors of the road. Jary was dead silent and I slept like a rock. The morning was spent observing Robert performing some basic maintenance on the bike. Tires got rotated, a tube was patched (I did that), chains were lubed and by noon, I was all set for the second half of my trip.
Robert's friend Peter showed up and we did a quickie 20 miles through the area with Robert's daughter asleep in a trailer behind him. The afternoon was spent lazing around, with me pestering everybody with questions about Poland, Norway (Peter is from there), bicycles etc. At night, a few of the neighbors came over and we all gorged ourselves (well, I gorged myself) on habanero-rubbed chicken that had just been cooked in a brand new smokehouse. I listened to stories of the changes Poland has gone through over the last 25 years. I heard great stories from the communist era of hilariously non-functional factories, black markets, dollar stores and bootleg liquor. Once Poland got free from the influence of the Soviet Union, it seems that it's undergone a complete transformation: consistently improving economy, highly educated and skilled workforce, improving infrastructure. A German fellow I fell into conversation with a few days later told me that he expects wages and cost-of-living in Poland to approach parity with Germany in about five years.
The next day I said goodbye to Robert and went into Wroclaw (pronounced "Vross-lahv") with Peter. He showed me around the city, told me lots about the history of the city, about Poland and what it's like living and doing business there. All very interesting, and a lot of what I learned ran contrary to my original assumptions.
The center of town was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever been to. Of all the big cities I've seen so far on this trip (Zurich, Basel, Vienna, Regensburg) Wroclaw had the best feeling to it. My impression was of a colorful, lively and fun town in the midst of a major urban renewal.
I received a stark reminder of the recent past when Peter pointed out the Albert Speer-designed county seat.
This building creeped me out. Peter mentioned that they were on the verge of tearing it down, but it got saved somehow. I'm glad they kept it. History is history after all...
That night, I watched the returns of the Polish presidential elections. While the returns were coming in, I studied up on the various political parties and their candidates. As you'll remember, there was a recent plane crash which killed the president along with most of the heads of the Polish government. This was a special election to replace him. The main contenders were the current Marshall of the Sejm (kind of like Speaker of the House), Bronislaw Komoroski and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of the deceased president. Komoroski won, but didn't get the 50% necessary to avoid a run-off. Here's a good English-language webpage with news on the election.
Staying as a guest in a home was a welcome respite from the rigors of the road. Jary was dead silent and I slept like a rock. The morning was spent observing Robert performing some basic maintenance on the bike. Tires got rotated, a tube was patched (I did that), chains were lubed and by noon, I was all set for the second half of my trip.
Robert's friend Peter showed up and we did a quickie 20 miles through the area with Robert's daughter asleep in a trailer behind him. The afternoon was spent lazing around, with me pestering everybody with questions about Poland, Norway (Peter is from there), bicycles etc. At night, a few of the neighbors came over and we all gorged ourselves (well, I gorged myself) on habanero-rubbed chicken that had just been cooked in a brand new smokehouse. I listened to stories of the changes Poland has gone through over the last 25 years. I heard great stories from the communist era of hilariously non-functional factories, black markets, dollar stores and bootleg liquor. Once Poland got free from the influence of the Soviet Union, it seems that it's undergone a complete transformation: consistently improving economy, highly educated and skilled workforce, improving infrastructure. A German fellow I fell into conversation with a few days later told me that he expects wages and cost-of-living in Poland to approach parity with Germany in about five years.
The next day I said goodbye to Robert and went into Wroclaw (pronounced "Vross-lahv") with Peter. He showed me around the city, told me lots about the history of the city, about Poland and what it's like living and doing business there. All very interesting, and a lot of what I learned ran contrary to my original assumptions.
The center of town was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever been to. Of all the big cities I've seen so far on this trip (Zurich, Basel, Vienna, Regensburg) Wroclaw had the best feeling to it. My impression was of a colorful, lively and fun town in the midst of a major urban renewal.
I received a stark reminder of the recent past when Peter pointed out the Albert Speer-designed county seat.
This building creeped me out. Peter mentioned that they were on the verge of tearing it down, but it got saved somehow. I'm glad they kept it. History is history after all...
That night, I watched the returns of the Polish presidential elections. While the returns were coming in, I studied up on the various political parties and their candidates. As you'll remember, there was a recent plane crash which killed the president along with most of the heads of the Polish government. This was a special election to replace him. The main contenders were the current Marshall of the Sejm (kind of like Speaker of the House), Bronislaw Komoroski and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of the deceased president. Komoroski won, but didn't get the 50% necessary to avoid a run-off. Here's a good English-language webpage with news on the election.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
June 18, 2010 - Bolkow to Jary
Estimated Mileage: 65 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
I woke up realizing that I was all kinds of worked-up about being in Poland. Discombobulated and a bit wary, I went down to breakfast, and was treated to an enormous feast, including some very tasty homemade jam. The previous day had shaken me up: the stares and the general feeling of foreign-ness. Here's a quote from my journal that morning: "Feel very foreign and out-of-place. Surely it's mostly internal. Projecting my own fears and anxiety on people I see". Absolutely true.
Two new friends joined me for breakfast just after I sat down. Robert is a guy that I met via an online bicycle tourist mailing list. I've been peppering him with nonsense questions for the last 4 months or so ("Are they nice in Poland? What's security like?") and he's been very kind and answered them all. In addition he's a historian, a serious cyclist and a generally cool guy. He came along with his neighbor, Richard, who was also particularly nice and friendly.
The two of them took me on a gorgeous ride through to northwest of Wroclaw. The roads were 70% wonderful, 30% horrendous (potholes and/or cobblestones). They are a couple of tough dudes (Robert is a life-long serious cyclist and Richard is a swim coach and all-around strong man). Even if I wasn't fully-loaded with gear I'd have a hard time keeping up with them. They were kind to me, and kept a relatively slow pace (right around 12 miles an hour).
I amused myself by chuckling at them arguing in Polish about which way to go. I found out later they were so vehement because they had a bet about who would be right more. Winner pays for beer. For the record, Robert won, 2-1.
We stopped at an enormous religious compound at around mile 30 for beer and soup. I was told that Michael Jackson had actually considered buying this place around the time of his legal woes. Apparently, Poland welcomed him with open arms, despite the rumors, so he contemplated staying for good.
The day ended with me being introduced to Robert's family and being treated to a fantastic pile of pierogi and scrambled eggs. What a treat. I haven't slept that good in ages...
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
I woke up realizing that I was all kinds of worked-up about being in Poland. Discombobulated and a bit wary, I went down to breakfast, and was treated to an enormous feast, including some very tasty homemade jam. The previous day had shaken me up: the stares and the general feeling of foreign-ness. Here's a quote from my journal that morning: "Feel very foreign and out-of-place. Surely it's mostly internal. Projecting my own fears and anxiety on people I see". Absolutely true.
Two new friends joined me for breakfast just after I sat down. Robert is a guy that I met via an online bicycle tourist mailing list. I've been peppering him with nonsense questions for the last 4 months or so ("Are they nice in Poland? What's security like?") and he's been very kind and answered them all. In addition he's a historian, a serious cyclist and a generally cool guy. He came along with his neighbor, Richard, who was also particularly nice and friendly.
The two of them took me on a gorgeous ride through to northwest of Wroclaw. The roads were 70% wonderful, 30% horrendous (potholes and/or cobblestones). They are a couple of tough dudes (Robert is a life-long serious cyclist and Richard is a swim coach and all-around strong man). Even if I wasn't fully-loaded with gear I'd have a hard time keeping up with them. They were kind to me, and kept a relatively slow pace (right around 12 miles an hour).
I amused myself by chuckling at them arguing in Polish about which way to go. I found out later they were so vehement because they had a bet about who would be right more. Winner pays for beer. For the record, Robert won, 2-1.
We stopped at an enormous religious compound at around mile 30 for beer and soup. I was told that Michael Jackson had actually considered buying this place around the time of his legal woes. Apparently, Poland welcomed him with open arms, despite the rumors, so he contemplated staying for good.
The day ended with me being introduced to Robert's family and being treated to a fantastic pile of pierogi and scrambled eggs. What a treat. I haven't slept that good in ages...
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
June 17, 2010 - Teplice nad Metuji, Czech Republic to Bolkow, Poland
Estimated Mileage: 40 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
Riding-wise, this was a very simple and easy day. But emotion-wise, it was a bit of a roller-coaster. The day started off wonderfully: I was extremely excited to get into Poland. I was to be the first person in my family to return to the Old Country since everyone left. Here's the border crossing I took at a completely deserted spot, fairly deep in the hills:
I thought about what my grandparents and great-grandparents would say if they knew I was heading into Poland. Probably something along the lines of "What the hell, Ben, do you know how hard it was to leave that freaking place? And now you're going back?!?!?". And here I was having a frivolous bicycle holiday.
To be fair, I was crossing into Silesia, which wasn't really part of Poland until after the war. But still, it meant something to me. All my life, "Poland" has been something of a myth, not an actual place that you can visit. Obviously, like anywhere on the planet, it's just a place, with it's own set of things that are great and things that are not so great.
Some things that were great: the scenery, the storks, the over-abundance of cash machines, the easy-to-follow maps and roadsigns.
Some things that were not so great: the stares I got from everyone, the horrendous road quality, the lack of shoulders on the busy roads.
I spent the night at the Hotel Bolkow. My plans were to have breakfast with a guy that I met off of a bicycle touring mailing list in the morning. He was going to lead me to his place near Wroclaw and I would start the Polish leg of the trip from there. That night, I was in a bit of a mood, feeling very foreign and lost and unsure as to whether I had the gumption to actually spent the next 7 weeks trekking through this country.
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
Riding-wise, this was a very simple and easy day. But emotion-wise, it was a bit of a roller-coaster. The day started off wonderfully: I was extremely excited to get into Poland. I was to be the first person in my family to return to the Old Country since everyone left. Here's the border crossing I took at a completely deserted spot, fairly deep in the hills:
I thought about what my grandparents and great-grandparents would say if they knew I was heading into Poland. Probably something along the lines of "What the hell, Ben, do you know how hard it was to leave that freaking place? And now you're going back?!?!?". And here I was having a frivolous bicycle holiday.
To be fair, I was crossing into Silesia, which wasn't really part of Poland until after the war. But still, it meant something to me. All my life, "Poland" has been something of a myth, not an actual place that you can visit. Obviously, like anywhere on the planet, it's just a place, with it's own set of things that are great and things that are not so great.
Some things that were great: the scenery, the storks, the over-abundance of cash machines, the easy-to-follow maps and roadsigns.
Some things that were not so great: the stares I got from everyone, the horrendous road quality, the lack of shoulders on the busy roads.
I spent the night at the Hotel Bolkow. My plans were to have breakfast with a guy that I met off of a bicycle touring mailing list in the morning. He was going to lead me to his place near Wroclaw and I would start the Polish leg of the trip from there. That night, I was in a bit of a mood, feeling very foreign and lost and unsure as to whether I had the gumption to actually spent the next 7 weeks trekking through this country.
June 16, 2010 - Rest day in Teplice nad Metuji
Estimated Mileage: 10 miles (plus 7 miles hiking)
Where the hell is Teplice nad Metuji?The pension that I was staying at was fairly barebones (they didn't even give you clean towels), but for around $15 per night, I wasn't complaining. Most importantly, it was right at the trailhead for the "Teplice Rocks" national park. This is a series of limestone rock formations which I walked around, slack-jawed, for the good part of the day.
It was an other-worldly place, with 200-year-old graffiti, the bust of Goethe and thousands of mutant monuments. There were two major hikes and I did both of them, staggering around, sounding like Keanu Reeves most of the time ("Whoa....Whoa...Whoa...").
Not to get all New-Agey on you, but it was a very humbling and spiritual place. On top of being blown away, I kept my mind busy on the many hours of walking by naming the formations. Of course, they have their own oddly specific names given to them by generations of Bohemian tourists. For example, this rock they call "Mayor and the Mayor's Wife":
I dunno, all of the big rocks just look vaguely like oven mitts. All of the minor rocks which didn't have names I christened. Here is newly appellated "E.T.'s Face on a Cobra":
It's E.T.'s face on a cobra, right?!?!?
Anyway, the day was a rousing success. It was also my last for at least a month outside of Poland. I was nervous about crossing the border since I didn't know anything about shops, ATMs, the language etc. The whole endeavor was a big unknown. The giant rocks helped ground me and keep me from over-thinking things. It was time to simply Cork It and Do It.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Apologies for the radio silence
I've been getting spoiled by some folks in the southwest corner of Poland for the last 3 days, which accounts for my lack of posts and photos. On top of the copious amounts of barbecue, exercise, World Cup, presidential elections and Polish history lessons, I've also been having a really wonderful time.
I'll write of bunch of in depth stuff in the coming days, but for now I'm enjoying getting pampered for a final night before heading off for a 3-day stretch of mild riding between Wroclaw and Krakow.
I'll write of bunch of in depth stuff in the coming days, but for now I'm enjoying getting pampered for a final night before heading off for a 3-day stretch of mild riding between Wroclaw and Krakow.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
June 15, 2010 - Kleny to Teplice nad Metuji
Estimated Mileage: 30 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
The day started with a hilarious game of charades with the lady who runs the Pension Wolf where I was staying. I was packing up my bike, and she came out and started motioning to the key. I tried to hand it to her, and she made a "sleeping" gesture. I nodded, thinking that she was asking if I slept well. I nodded, giving a thumbs-up and continued packing. She then made a "pay-me-now" gesture. I could have sworn that I paid her the night before, so I busted out the laptop and wrote "I am going to Teplice today and I am not returning". She slapped her forehead, said goodbye, took my key and I didn't see her again.
After leaving the Pension, I rode through the large-ish town of Nachod. At the other side of the city a bike trail begins right before crossing over into Poland. I got to see my first glimpse of the Old Country before heading back into Czech territory.
My destination was a rock formation called "Teplice Skalny", or "Teplice Rocks" right near the town of Teplice nad Metuji. The road up was beautiful and partly off the highway which made it a nice, slow ascent into the shallow hills.
I stayed at a cheapie pension right at the entrance to the park (about $15/night). Busloads of students came and went the whole time I was there. It was obviously a big destination for school field trips from both the Czech Republic and Poland.
The next day was a rest day, so I stayed up late listening to the latest Best Show podcast and tried, unsuccessfully to make phonecalls on Skype using the pension's 1993-speed Internet.
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
The day started with a hilarious game of charades with the lady who runs the Pension Wolf where I was staying. I was packing up my bike, and she came out and started motioning to the key. I tried to hand it to her, and she made a "sleeping" gesture. I nodded, thinking that she was asking if I slept well. I nodded, giving a thumbs-up and continued packing. She then made a "pay-me-now" gesture. I could have sworn that I paid her the night before, so I busted out the laptop and wrote "I am going to Teplice today and I am not returning". She slapped her forehead, said goodbye, took my key and I didn't see her again.
After leaving the Pension, I rode through the large-ish town of Nachod. At the other side of the city a bike trail begins right before crossing over into Poland. I got to see my first glimpse of the Old Country before heading back into Czech territory.
My destination was a rock formation called "Teplice Skalny", or "Teplice Rocks" right near the town of Teplice nad Metuji. The road up was beautiful and partly off the highway which made it a nice, slow ascent into the shallow hills.
I stayed at a cheapie pension right at the entrance to the park (about $15/night). Busloads of students came and went the whole time I was there. It was obviously a big destination for school field trips from both the Czech Republic and Poland.
The next day was a rest day, so I stayed up late listening to the latest Best Show podcast and tried, unsuccessfully to make phonecalls on Skype using the pension's 1993-speed Internet.
Gear Notes: The Surly Long Haul Trucker
I've been mulling over an initial review of my Surly Long Haul Trucker after a month of serious touring with it. I wanted to get down my current thoughts and then do a follow-up at the end of the trip.
My current feelings about the bike are that it is an extremely comfortable and well-built piece of machinery that has some components that I either should have replaced or were improperly added by myself.
Before I get to the details, I'll just say that when it comes to a bicycle, the most important items for me are:
To both of these questions, the answer is a resounding "Yes". The bike has performed really well in some fairly strenuous terrain. Also, the steel-frame and the general feel of the bike fits my body nicely, and I can pull a 7-hour day (my current limit) with almost no creaks and pains around my body, like I used to get with my old bike.
However, there are a few things I would change right now if I could:
The Racks - I put a high-mounted Old Man Mountain rack on the front, and this was my biggest mistake.
This causes extreme floppiness of the front wheel and gives the bike a pretty bad shimmy if I don't pack it "just so". In the rear, I've got a Jandd basic rack, which has been servicable, but for some reason feels flimsy to me. Don't get me wrong, they do the trick, but I would just do something different if I had the time and parts right now.
The Seat - I would've broken in a nice leather riding saddle if I had to do it over again. Around mile 40, I start needing to give my butt a rest and find myself riding for stretches standing up. Not terrible, just enough of an annoyance that it would be nice to have something a little more comfortable.
The Tires - The tires that came with the bike are great, but for the route I chose (the Danube, the Czech Greenways then Poland) some slightly thicker tires with bigger treads would've been a plus. There's been stretches of riding that have been hairier than they need to be because my tires were too skinny. Again, they're servicable and have obviously done the job so far; it just would've been nice to have something a little different.
The gearing on it is perfect for the kind of riding that I'm doing, so that's a big plus. The granny gear is great for some of the steeper ascents, but mostly I just keep it right on the second chainwheel, even on 3-4% inclines. All in all, it's a relaxed enjoyable piece of machinery to ride, and it's been a joy to share the trip with it so far.
My current feelings about the bike are that it is an extremely comfortable and well-built piece of machinery that has some components that I either should have replaced or were improperly added by myself.
Before I get to the details, I'll just say that when it comes to a bicycle, the most important items for me are:
- Is it dependable?
- Is it comfortable?
To both of these questions, the answer is a resounding "Yes". The bike has performed really well in some fairly strenuous terrain. Also, the steel-frame and the general feel of the bike fits my body nicely, and I can pull a 7-hour day (my current limit) with almost no creaks and pains around my body, like I used to get with my old bike.
However, there are a few things I would change right now if I could:
The Racks - I put a high-mounted Old Man Mountain rack on the front, and this was my biggest mistake.
This causes extreme floppiness of the front wheel and gives the bike a pretty bad shimmy if I don't pack it "just so". In the rear, I've got a Jandd basic rack, which has been servicable, but for some reason feels flimsy to me. Don't get me wrong, they do the trick, but I would just do something different if I had the time and parts right now.
The Seat - I would've broken in a nice leather riding saddle if I had to do it over again. Around mile 40, I start needing to give my butt a rest and find myself riding for stretches standing up. Not terrible, just enough of an annoyance that it would be nice to have something a little more comfortable.
The Tires - The tires that came with the bike are great, but for the route I chose (the Danube, the Czech Greenways then Poland) some slightly thicker tires with bigger treads would've been a plus. There's been stretches of riding that have been hairier than they need to be because my tires were too skinny. Again, they're servicable and have obviously done the job so far; it just would've been nice to have something a little different.
The gearing on it is perfect for the kind of riding that I'm doing, so that's a big plus. The granny gear is great for some of the steeper ascents, but mostly I just keep it right on the second chainwheel, even on 3-4% inclines. All in all, it's a relaxed enjoyable piece of machinery to ride, and it's been a joy to share the trip with it so far.
Monday, June 14, 2010
June 14, 2010 - Jaromer to Kleny
Estimated Mileage: 20 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
This is a day that began very nicely, had a very dark middle and ended on an extremely high note. I packed that morning, excited to get out of Prague. The train station was a bit daunting, lugging around my bicycle and all, but it got done. I even took a few escalators with it, no problem. I had the whole bike storage thing figured out by then, so I got loaded up and was ready to head to the town of Jaromer, in the northwest corner of Bohemia.
This is a town I knew nothing about except that it was geographically close to the where I wanted to cross over into Poland. It turns out it's one of the most charming and beautiful places I've seen on this trip.
I found out later that the whole region around Jaromer (and especially the bigger town of Hradec Kralove, nearby) was ground zero in the Austro-Prussian war in the 1860's. This was a war between the two major empires of the region, Prussia and Austria (the Habsburgs, again), for control of the German confederacy. At that time Germany was this loose grouping of independent states that were attempting to coalesce into a single country. But some liked the Prussians and some liked the Habsburgs. So they fought. Prussia won and the major decisive battle was fought right near where I am, in Hradec Kralove, called the Battle of Koniggratz. There's plaques and informational signs dotting the route with information about various skirmishes and side battles that happened in the various smaller towns. The town where I'm staying tonight, Kleny, was demolished during the war due to Prussian artillery, apparently.
Anyway, I rode around Jaromer, looking for a place to stay. First I went to the heart of the town, and that hotel was full. Then I was sent to a neighborhood called Josefov, which turned out to be this insanely cool old fortress town. It was built by Habsburg Emperor Joseph in the 1790's and never used. If this place were anywhere near a population center, it would be swarmed with tourists, since it's such a cool piece of history. Regardless, the hotel there was full too.
I began panicking, imagining myself sleeping in Czech ditch that night, clutching my nutella and jam. As I was going through the various scenarios, a bolt on one of my rear panniers came off, from the constant cobblestone jarring.
This was the final straw of an extremely stressful 3 hours of going back and forth through Jaromer looking for accomodation. There I was, a hobo in the parking lot, rooting around on the ground looking for a bolt between the cracks of the cobblestones. I fixed the bag, re-mounted it, and looked directly ahead of me and what did I see? A freaking tourist office directly in front of me...
The counter-lady spoke English and helped me immediately find a place to stay about 10 miles out of the city. I nearly hugged her. A short ride later and I'm in the Pension Wolf, staying in a nicely appointed room on the banks of the lake for the equivalent of $15. Things turned out quite well, I must say...
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
This is a day that began very nicely, had a very dark middle and ended on an extremely high note. I packed that morning, excited to get out of Prague. The train station was a bit daunting, lugging around my bicycle and all, but it got done. I even took a few escalators with it, no problem. I had the whole bike storage thing figured out by then, so I got loaded up and was ready to head to the town of Jaromer, in the northwest corner of Bohemia.
This is a town I knew nothing about except that it was geographically close to the where I wanted to cross over into Poland. It turns out it's one of the most charming and beautiful places I've seen on this trip.
I found out later that the whole region around Jaromer (and especially the bigger town of Hradec Kralove, nearby) was ground zero in the Austro-Prussian war in the 1860's. This was a war between the two major empires of the region, Prussia and Austria (the Habsburgs, again), for control of the German confederacy. At that time Germany was this loose grouping of independent states that were attempting to coalesce into a single country. But some liked the Prussians and some liked the Habsburgs. So they fought. Prussia won and the major decisive battle was fought right near where I am, in Hradec Kralove, called the Battle of Koniggratz. There's plaques and informational signs dotting the route with information about various skirmishes and side battles that happened in the various smaller towns. The town where I'm staying tonight, Kleny, was demolished during the war due to Prussian artillery, apparently.
Anyway, I rode around Jaromer, looking for a place to stay. First I went to the heart of the town, and that hotel was full. Then I was sent to a neighborhood called Josefov, which turned out to be this insanely cool old fortress town. It was built by Habsburg Emperor Joseph in the 1790's and never used. If this place were anywhere near a population center, it would be swarmed with tourists, since it's such a cool piece of history. Regardless, the hotel there was full too.
I began panicking, imagining myself sleeping in Czech ditch that night, clutching my nutella and jam. As I was going through the various scenarios, a bolt on one of my rear panniers came off, from the constant cobblestone jarring.
This was the final straw of an extremely stressful 3 hours of going back and forth through Jaromer looking for accomodation. There I was, a hobo in the parking lot, rooting around on the ground looking for a bolt between the cracks of the cobblestones. I fixed the bag, re-mounted it, and looked directly ahead of me and what did I see? A freaking tourist office directly in front of me...
The counter-lady spoke English and helped me immediately find a place to stay about 10 miles out of the city. I nearly hugged her. A short ride later and I'm in the Pension Wolf, staying in a nicely appointed room on the banks of the lake for the equivalent of $15. Things turned out quite well, I must say...
June 13, 2010 - Slavonice to Jindnchuv Hradec
Estimated Mileage: 30 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
When you bike simply to get to your destination, rather than enjoying the ride, the trip always seem to take much, much longer. I had to go only about 25 miles to get to the train station, but I was in a dour mood. The last 3 days of riding had taken quite a bit of out me. Between the heat and the general exhaustion and the feeling of being completely out of the loop due to the language barrier, I had had enough. Even my first stork sighting barely lifted my spirits.
The scene at the train station was appropriately hilarious, with the two ladies manning the counter laughing with me quite a bit at the exasperation of trying to explain how to get onto the train with my bicycle and also how to make a connection. 15 minutes later, various maps, diagrams, arithmatical manipulations and flow charts were written and I had a rough idea of how get to Prague with my bicycle.
Three cups of vending machine coffee later (which was surprisingly o.k.) the train arrived and I was chugging along. When I transferred trains, I ran into two mountain bikers headed back to the city after a 3-day bike tour. They spoke some English, and they helped me find the bike storage car. We sat together for the rest of the trip, talking politics and history and about Prague and whatnot.
Arrival in Prague was predictably nerve-wracking. However, I found a little pension near the station for a reasonable rate. Since it was 5 in the afternoon, and I was in Prague, it seems mandatory to do a little sightseeing, even though I didn't really feel like it. So I went to the old part of the city where all of the tourists are. Ugh, what a mess.
Swarms of tourists dudes drinking on the streets. Thai massage parlors above trinket shops. Buses unloading phalanxes of Chinese tour groups. And all of this smack dab in the middle of one of the most beautiful cities I've seen. I just wasn't in the mood for any of it, so I did the compulsory trek around the bridges, the canal and the old town and went back to my room, thoroughly disheartened by humanity in general.
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
When you bike simply to get to your destination, rather than enjoying the ride, the trip always seem to take much, much longer. I had to go only about 25 miles to get to the train station, but I was in a dour mood. The last 3 days of riding had taken quite a bit of out me. Between the heat and the general exhaustion and the feeling of being completely out of the loop due to the language barrier, I had had enough. Even my first stork sighting barely lifted my spirits.
The scene at the train station was appropriately hilarious, with the two ladies manning the counter laughing with me quite a bit at the exasperation of trying to explain how to get onto the train with my bicycle and also how to make a connection. 15 minutes later, various maps, diagrams, arithmatical manipulations and flow charts were written and I had a rough idea of how get to Prague with my bicycle.
Three cups of vending machine coffee later (which was surprisingly o.k.) the train arrived and I was chugging along. When I transferred trains, I ran into two mountain bikers headed back to the city after a 3-day bike tour. They spoke some English, and they helped me find the bike storage car. We sat together for the rest of the trip, talking politics and history and about Prague and whatnot.
Arrival in Prague was predictably nerve-wracking. However, I found a little pension near the station for a reasonable rate. Since it was 5 in the afternoon, and I was in Prague, it seems mandatory to do a little sightseeing, even though I didn't really feel like it. So I went to the old part of the city where all of the tourists are. Ugh, what a mess.
Swarms of tourists dudes drinking on the streets. Thai massage parlors above trinket shops. Buses unloading phalanxes of Chinese tour groups. And all of this smack dab in the middle of one of the most beautiful cities I've seen. I just wasn't in the mood for any of it, so I did the compulsory trek around the bridges, the canal and the old town and went back to my room, thoroughly disheartened by humanity in general.
June 12, 2010 - Satov to Slavonice
Estimated Mileage: 50 miles
Photo Album Link
Trip Route Link
The maps had been consulted, the mileage checked and double checked and I had a definite Plan to get to the Polish border by the 18th, when I was slated to meet up with a friend I had met on a bike tourist mailing list.
It was a tought 6 day itinerary, with 40-70 mile days each day. Nothing I haven't done before, just some hard riding. Well, I forgot to account for the fact that the first 15 miles were straight through the heart of a FREAKING MOUNTAIN RANGE!!!!
Usually, on normal terrain, I go about 10-11 miles an hour when I have all my gear packed on the bike. If the terrain is unusually hilly, I go about 8-9 miles and hours. On the Danube, when it was completely flat, I went 12-14 miles an hour.
Well for the first three hours of this day (in 80-90 degree heat) I went 5 miles an hour. Most of it was muddy, rocky and looked like this:
I had to walk a good portion of it, since my back tire couldn't get enough traction. One thing that was very cool was that all of these bright green lizards were sunning themselves along the road, and it looked like the Tour de France with the roadside spectators. But instead of French sports enthusiasts, they were 3 inch long lizards.
I was now in the midday heat, only having gone 15 miles and completely demoralized. I got to the end of the hardcore biking and made an Executive Decision (that is, a decision that is made without consulting the Planning Commitee or the Refreshments Committee). We weren't going to bike all the way to Poland. A train was in order.
Once that decision had been made, my mood brightened noticeably. I swung through the town of Vranov, and unexpectedly picturesque town with a dam for swimming and a stunning castle that overlooks it all.
That night, I stayed in a town named Slavonice, a beautiful little Renaissance town that has since been colonized by artists. There was a powerful lightning storm that kept lighting up my room and making all of the Saturday night bar-goers say "oooooh!" about 30 feet from my pillow. Consulting Czech Railways, I saw that the nearest train station was 25 miles away. That was my goal. I slept the sleep of the dead.
Photo Album Link
Trip Route Link
The maps had been consulted, the mileage checked and double checked and I had a definite Plan to get to the Polish border by the 18th, when I was slated to meet up with a friend I had met on a bike tourist mailing list.
It was a tought 6 day itinerary, with 40-70 mile days each day. Nothing I haven't done before, just some hard riding. Well, I forgot to account for the fact that the first 15 miles were straight through the heart of a FREAKING MOUNTAIN RANGE!!!!
Usually, on normal terrain, I go about 10-11 miles an hour when I have all my gear packed on the bike. If the terrain is unusually hilly, I go about 8-9 miles and hours. On the Danube, when it was completely flat, I went 12-14 miles an hour.
Well for the first three hours of this day (in 80-90 degree heat) I went 5 miles an hour. Most of it was muddy, rocky and looked like this:
I had to walk a good portion of it, since my back tire couldn't get enough traction. One thing that was very cool was that all of these bright green lizards were sunning themselves along the road, and it looked like the Tour de France with the roadside spectators. But instead of French sports enthusiasts, they were 3 inch long lizards.
I was now in the midday heat, only having gone 15 miles and completely demoralized. I got to the end of the hardcore biking and made an Executive Decision (that is, a decision that is made without consulting the Planning Commitee or the Refreshments Committee). We weren't going to bike all the way to Poland. A train was in order.
Once that decision had been made, my mood brightened noticeably. I swung through the town of Vranov, and unexpectedly picturesque town with a dam for swimming and a stunning castle that overlooks it all.
That night, I stayed in a town named Slavonice, a beautiful little Renaissance town that has since been colonized by artists. There was a powerful lightning storm that kept lighting up my room and making all of the Saturday night bar-goers say "oooooh!" about 30 feet from my pillow. Consulting Czech Railways, I saw that the nearest train station was 25 miles away. That was my goal. I slept the sleep of the dead.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
June 11, 2010 - Valtice to Satov
Estimated Mileage: 50 miles
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
I had done 70 miles through tough terrain the day before and I was feeling cocky. "Oh, I can do another 70, not a problem. Remember: I'm a tough guy".
I set out into a beautiful Moravian morning, admiring the endless vineyards.
The Czech Republic is primarily made up of two distinct regions. Bohemia, the western, larger part, and Moravia, the eastern part. I was traipsing along the southern edge of Moravia, making my way through a very rural and hilly part of the country. From the looks of it, they too had some flooding and rain issues, and it wasn't too long before I found myself faced with a none-too-pleasant proposition.
There was no getting around it, I had to wade through this muck. When I got to the end of it, my shoes were filled with garbage water and ants. As I was walking through it, I spooked a number of frogs and they scattered before me. I had heard stories of bike tourists getting leeches from bathing in streams, so I was on the look out for black things attached to my ankles.
Once the puddle was forded, I stopped at a lunch place and asked for some local wine. The sweet waitress brought me a pitcher, just for me, at noon. The church bells were ringing, and I decided that drinking a pitcher of wine on my own in the middle of the day was the right thing to do.
And it was, for about 2 hours. Then I hit a wall at around mile 45, dragged my ass another 5 miles to the Hotel Satov, run by a Czech man who has an uncanny resemblance to Sean Bean from Lord of the Rings. I passed out around 8 from the exhaustion and the heat.
When I paid my bill the next morning, he was already tippling the Pilsners at 9 AM with his hotel partner on a Saturday morning. I think they have a different party schedule than I'm used to.
Trip Route Link
Photo Album Link
I had done 70 miles through tough terrain the day before and I was feeling cocky. "Oh, I can do another 70, not a problem. Remember: I'm a tough guy".
I set out into a beautiful Moravian morning, admiring the endless vineyards.
The Czech Republic is primarily made up of two distinct regions. Bohemia, the western, larger part, and Moravia, the eastern part. I was traipsing along the southern edge of Moravia, making my way through a very rural and hilly part of the country. From the looks of it, they too had some flooding and rain issues, and it wasn't too long before I found myself faced with a none-too-pleasant proposition.
There was no getting around it, I had to wade through this muck. When I got to the end of it, my shoes were filled with garbage water and ants. As I was walking through it, I spooked a number of frogs and they scattered before me. I had heard stories of bike tourists getting leeches from bathing in streams, so I was on the look out for black things attached to my ankles.
Once the puddle was forded, I stopped at a lunch place and asked for some local wine. The sweet waitress brought me a pitcher, just for me, at noon. The church bells were ringing, and I decided that drinking a pitcher of wine on my own in the middle of the day was the right thing to do.
And it was, for about 2 hours. Then I hit a wall at around mile 45, dragged my ass another 5 miles to the Hotel Satov, run by a Czech man who has an uncanny resemblance to Sean Bean from Lord of the Rings. I passed out around 8 from the exhaustion and the heat.
When I paid my bill the next morning, he was already tippling the Pilsners at 9 AM with his hotel partner on a Saturday morning. I think they have a different party schedule than I'm used to.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Mile Zero: South of Mistelbach, Austria, about 25 miles from the Czech Border
Well, I hit another Mile Zero milestone on June 10, on a nice little stretch of road south of the Austrian town of Mistelbach
Over the course of the trip, I've now gone about 1100 miles total, which is completely unbelievable to me. If you were to poll all of my friends and family for list of Ben-descriptions, I highly doubt that "Naturally-gifted athlete" or "Endurance Bicyclist" would ever be uttered. So it's shock to me that I've managed to come this far all by bike.
I found it interesting that these last two Mile Zeros were on the far opposite ends of Austria. The last one was at the very tip of the westernmost edge of Austria, and this one is close to the most Northeastern spot on the map. In Austria, of all places...
(and in case you missed the previous explanation, a Mile Zero is when I hit a multiple of 1000 miles on my odometer)
Over the course of the trip, I've now gone about 1100 miles total, which is completely unbelievable to me. If you were to poll all of my friends and family for list of Ben-descriptions, I highly doubt that "Naturally-gifted athlete" or "Endurance Bicyclist" would ever be uttered. So it's shock to me that I've managed to come this far all by bike.
I found it interesting that these last two Mile Zeros were on the far opposite ends of Austria. The last one was at the very tip of the westernmost edge of Austria, and this one is close to the most Northeastern spot on the map. In Austria, of all places...
(and in case you missed the previous explanation, a Mile Zero is when I hit a multiple of 1000 miles on my odometer)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
