Worse start than yesterday - puncture after only 6 km! Yes, you know it, same pr
oblem with rear tire causing the issue. I needed food badly, 1 Snickers does not count as breakfast, and I know my blood sugar was low by the time I reached the first gas station of the day. My breakfast choices were limited: chocolate bars or nothing. I loaded up on Snickers and Mars bars. (I may never eat a Snickers or drink a Coke again after this trip - well, not for 48 hours anyway).
Decided that I may not make it to Riga on this tire and sent a SMS to Adam, my Polish boss, who was driving over to meet me in Suwalki for dinner, asking him to bring me a new tire. I knew he knew something about bikes as he had built at least one wheelset for his son - not an easy task. Duly the responses came: is it slick? 'yes'. OK, consider it done. Witih that weight off my mind I began the journey through Biebrzanski National Park.
To say the road was desolate is an understatement - it took 10 km for the first car to pass me. Before this trip, if you had asked me what the weather was like in Poland, I would probably have given the answer most people give about England: gray and rainy. For the last three days the sky had been a bright blue and I had been baked under the hot sun. Today was no different. I was roasting and grateful for the lunch stop in Gondiaz at the one restuarant the town had to offer.
Fr
om this point on the day went downhill. Once I found it, I took a left turn for Jasionow - I had already cycled 5 km past it before realising I was on the wrong road. The road was great for about 1 km when I crossed the river and local swimming spot where families were bathing. Immediately after the bridge the road turned to gravel. I asked how long it went on for - given the complete lack of common language between the two of us I am not sure my question was understood or if I understood the intended answer. However, my perception of what was communicated was that the gravel lasted for 35 km!!! I tried to ride it for few km to see - I was really not sure of the answer. It quickly became a sandy base I did well not to fall off as the front wheel slid away from me. I got off and could barely push the bike. I would have to turn back and re-route. This meant going 3 sides round a rectangle and adding about 25km or an hour and quarter to my ride time. Various four-letter words went through my mind. I was hot, tired, and hungry again alreday and the psychological part of the ride was now proving a big challenge.
I made hard work of getting to Augustow where I realised my tire had about 15 psi of pressure in it. I pumped it up and let Adam know I would not be in Suwalki for 7:30. Closer to 8:00 if I dropped the hammer. The hammer was dropped for 5 km - At this point my rear tire needed more air. I changed the inner tube. As I had finished but before inflating tire, Adam passed me and pulled over. The new tire was put on the bike. For time's sake, Adam took the trailer - I had 26 km to go - and I rode 'light'. Wow! I flew into Suwalki in less than an hour.
With Adam arriving in town first he had secured me a room for the nig
ht. At any other time I would not have given this bar/restuarant/hotel a second look. He assured me it looked better on the inside. For 20 euros it was what you would expect: water stained carpet, peeling paint, ongoing construction. I wondered if the place was a front for a brothel - the first 3 people I saw all looked like they could have been contestants in a hookers' beauty pageant - tight, short skirts/dresses, making sure the relevant bits were sucked in/sticking out in front of the mirror in the bar/reception area. Still, the room had a bed and a shower - all I needed. The shower was cold - apparently I was the only guest (what were the girls doing downstairs I wondered) and the water heater was only turned on after my arrival.
Adam toured me around the region - naturally beautiful with lakes and fields. We visited an old Monastery and Hermitage where the homes of the hermits had now been rennovated and were available to holidaymakers for the right price. It was an idyllic setting and understandable why first royalty and then Pope John Paul II used to vacation here. We entered the restaurant at 9:10 to be informed that food service ended at 9:00! They did at least let me buy water.
Following a good meal in a downtown Suwalki restuarant I retired for the evening. It was late and I decided to leave later than usual in the morning and lie-in. I was woken at about 3 am by the sound of doors slamming - at least 10. If Iwas the only guest, who was slamming doors? Maybe it was the girls changing shifts or possibly Madam checking the rooms with vibrating beds. I went back to sleep.
oblem with rear tire causing the issue. I needed food badly, 1 Snickers does not count as breakfast, and I know my blood sugar was low by the time I reached the first gas station of the day. My breakfast choices were limited: chocolate bars or nothing. I loaded up on Snickers and Mars bars. (I may never eat a Snickers or drink a Coke again after this trip - well, not for 48 hours anyway).Decided that I may not make it to Riga on this tire and sent a SMS to Adam, my Polish boss, who was driving over to meet me in Suwalki for dinner, asking him to bring me a new tire. I knew he knew something about bikes as he had built at least one wheelset for his son - not an easy task. Duly the responses came: is it slick? 'yes'. OK, consider it done. Witih that weight off my mind I began the journey through Biebrzanski National Park.
To say the road was desolate is an understatement - it took 10 km for the first car to pass me. Before this trip, if you had asked me what the weather was like in Poland, I would probably have given the answer most people give about England: gray and rainy. For the last three days the sky had been a bright blue and I had been baked under the hot sun. Today was no different. I was roasting and grateful for the lunch stop in Gondiaz at the one restuarant the town had to offer.
Fr
om this point on the day went downhill. Once I found it, I took a left turn for Jasionow - I had already cycled 5 km past it before realising I was on the wrong road. The road was great for about 1 km when I crossed the river and local swimming spot where families were bathing. Immediately after the bridge the road turned to gravel. I asked how long it went on for - given the complete lack of common language between the two of us I am not sure my question was understood or if I understood the intended answer. However, my perception of what was communicated was that the gravel lasted for 35 km!!! I tried to ride it for few km to see - I was really not sure of the answer. It quickly became a sandy base I did well not to fall off as the front wheel slid away from me. I got off and could barely push the bike. I would have to turn back and re-route. This meant going 3 sides round a rectangle and adding about 25km or an hour and quarter to my ride time. Various four-letter words went through my mind. I was hot, tired, and hungry again alreday and the psychological part of the ride was now proving a big challenge.I made hard work of getting to Augustow where I realised my tire had about 15 psi of pressure in it. I pumped it up and let Adam know I would not be in Suwalki for 7:30. Closer to 8:00 if I dropped the hammer. The hammer was dropped for 5 km - At this point my rear tire needed more air. I changed the inner tube. As I had finished but before inflating tire, Adam passed me and pulled over. The new tire was put on the bike. For time's sake, Adam took the trailer - I had 26 km to go - and I rode 'light'. Wow! I flew into Suwalki in less than an hour.
With Adam arriving in town first he had secured me a room for the nig
ht. At any other time I would not have given this bar/restuarant/hotel a second look. He assured me it looked better on the inside. For 20 euros it was what you would expect: water stained carpet, peeling paint, ongoing construction. I wondered if the place was a front for a brothel - the first 3 people I saw all looked like they could have been contestants in a hookers' beauty pageant - tight, short skirts/dresses, making sure the relevant bits were sucked in/sticking out in front of the mirror in the bar/reception area. Still, the room had a bed and a shower - all I needed. The shower was cold - apparently I was the only guest (what were the girls doing downstairs I wondered) and the water heater was only turned on after my arrival.Adam toured me around the region - naturally beautiful with lakes and fields. We visited an old Monastery and Hermitage where the homes of the hermits had now been rennovated and were available to holidaymakers for the right price. It was an idyllic setting and understandable why first royalty and then Pope John Paul II used to vacation here. We entered the restaurant at 9:10 to be informed that food service ended at 9:00! They did at least let me buy water.
Following a good meal in a downtown Suwalki restuarant I retired for the evening. It was late and I decided to leave later than usual in the morning and lie-in. I was woken at about 3 am by the sound of doors slamming - at least 10. If Iwas the only guest, who was slamming doors? Maybe it was the girls changing shifts or possibly Madam checking the rooms with vibrating beds. I went back to sleep.
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