22nd August 2006

Day 22 – Cieszen: Poland, a much needed rest!

So where have I been since my last full entry in Brussels?
It’s hard to know what to write about, so I’ll try and pick out the high and low points from my days on the road.

On Day 6 when leaving Brussels Colin found his pannier rack had broken and so made a quick fix with a cable tie. During the morning we had an off-road section on a cycle path which again put Colin’s rack under too much pressure and more cable ties were needed and some weight adjustment to give it a fighting chance of surviving! Later in the day we visited a US war cemetery near Aachen which was a moving if brief experience.

Day 7 brought with it many hills, thick and fast as we entered into Germany. The maps we had brought that day showed campsites as tiny little symbols and when we tried to find the one at the end of the day we got a little stuck until we realised it was actually a Youth Hostel we were looking for! We eventually did find it and had a nice meal out in Bad-Munstereifel.

We crossed the Rhine on Day 8 and having expected the Dover – Calais ferry to be my last for a while, for the princely sum of 1 euro we took the road ferry across. We hit a mammoth hill or two as we dragged our bikes out of the Rhine valley but still managed a 65 mile day.

I had a small luxury break on Day 9 when Colin and I swapped bikes for one climb, his comparatively ultra-light bike was a joy to ride for that short time even if a bit small! It was clear that if I didn’t have such a good bike as the Raven Tour I really wouldn’t manage the hills with the weight I was carrying as I was greatly helped by its smooth and efficient ride.

On the 10th Day I hit my all time maximum speed as we sped down a beautifully smooth German road towards Sinntal and clocked a breezy 46.6 mph, just over 70 kph (the speed limit, oops :) ). We also tail-gated a moped and made use of his helpful, but smelly slip stream, that was until he mounted the pavement to get round some traffic lights, we dutiful Brits just waited!

We had a little Autobahn trouble on Day 11 by not noticing the “Cars Only” sign until it was too late and then when we did get off, a little before our intended exit, we had horrendous trouble finding our way back onto our desired route & I got rather stressed out by going round in seemingly endless circles! We then eventually got to Zeyern (near Kronach) to find that the Youth Hostel was in a castle, unfortunately it was too late for reception to be open and we couldn’t contact the keeper, also the castle was being used for fireworks that night, which meant that we couldn’t have entered the hostel until 11pm anyhow. Eventually we had an arduous 12 km ride along dark main roads to a little guesthouse which the castle caretaker found us. When we got there we were welcomed and well fed and watered, we chatted with a couple of locals who had an English daughter-in-law. We experimented with the ‘snuff machine’ (or snuff catapult may be more appropriate) and ended up with an eyeful which was rather uncomfortable!

After a long day and a late night Day 12 went very slowly, we knew it should be a short day to Hof & I think that greatly reduced my motivation & the weight took its toll on the hills. I had initially planned to leave Colin at Hof to get a train and to push on myself to Cheb in Czech Republic but with sore knees and a lot of fatigue I figured it best to stop at the Youth Hostel in Hof & head to Cheb the next day. Colin therefore decided to get a train on the Sunday morning so we had one last night together and had a very nice Italian meal out in Hof.

From Day 13 I was on my own, Colin left early in the morning to catch his train & after breakfast I followed after him a little slower! I soon noticed how much easier it had been cycling as a pair with the motivational help and often the slip-streaming too. I plodded on and eventually took a whole day to reach Cheb. The border crossing was a little interesting with the German & Czech police saying different things and the Czech police asking very demandingly whether I was bringing illegal drugs into the country, I thankfully avoided a search as it’s a bit of a pain getting everything to fit back in the panniers! I cycled a long way towards Cheb before finding that the road I was on turned into a cars only road about 9 km after the last turn off so I ended up walking across a field to get to a small white road which lead me into Cheb, then thankfully I was able to use Tesco to change my Euro into Kroun as I had no local currency & it was Sunday (Tesco was 24 hr).

Using the cycle map I’d bought in Tesco on Day 14 I tried to follow a cycle path, unfortunately it ended with a dead-end or a path which I definitely couldn’t cycle fully laden and so I had to turn back & thereafter avoided the cycle paths!

Having found previously that the Czech red roads aren’t great for cycling because they are busy, fast and often narrow I looked on my new maps for a route on yellow and white roads. On the white roads I soon saw why they were so quiet and the main roads so busy! The white road surface was very pot-holed and sometimes my in build suspension of arms and legs were working overtime but its good practice for later in the trip! On Day 15 I also encountered a >12% cobbled road which was a pig to ride up but had the reward of great views from the top.

The tin I’d bought for supper on Day 15 was a horrible vinegary mix which I simply couldn’t eat and so I suffered on Day 16. After a reasonable start my energy levels quickly fell & by the end of the day I was knackered. After quite a thorough search I couldn’t find the AutoCamp so I ended up in the only other accommodation I could find which was a cheap hotel, it was a nice break from camping and wasn’t very expensive, at least by UK standards.

On Day 17 I managed to buy the tool which I hadn’t bought with me to fix what appeared to be a slight oil leak from my Rohloff hub gear. I was then actually chased away from one of my lunch breaks by very persistent wasps! This made the last section of riding quite hard work but I made it OK and refuelled at the AutoCamp restaurant. I also met a lovely Russian couple at the campsite and although neither of us could speak the other’s language we had a nice chat and I joined him for a small drink.

Day 18 was quite uneventful until I came to find accommodation. I was in Lanskroun and decided to find out what a Pension was like, as I’d assumed it was similar to an English Bed & Breakfast, but I wasn’t sure. I arrived in town just before 5pm and so found the tourist information and asked the Pension closest to my route, which turned out to be on the same Square. After sorting a room for the night I found out that it was actually quite expensive but decided to go with it anyhow as the proprietor was very friendly and it seemed like a nice place and I could get a short time of free Internet access. Whilst using the computer a lady visited me saying she wrote articles for the town newsletter and would like to speak to me about the adventure, we arranged to meet after supper. Jane it turned out was also the English teacher of the proprietors son and so Matej joined us to practice his English as we had a chat over a drink. It was good to learn a little about Czech history and I hope the story of my adventure will now be published a little further :)

On Day 19 I could have been in a little trouble when a hatched area on the map turned out to be a military area which I wasn’t supposed to be in, there was a sign on the road as I went into it but despite a lot of trying with the phrase book I couldn’t work out what it said so I risked it, no-one questioned me but when I looked back as I left the area there was a big sign in Czech, German and English saying No Entry, doh! In the military area as if by punishment there was a 3.3 mile long undulating cobbled road! After not being able to find the campsite, and my heart literally dropping through the floor at the prospect of having to cycle to the next town, I thankfully happened upon a sign on the way out to the AutoKemp & gladly got my piece of grass! Unfortunately a live ‘band’ then kept me awake till 1am which wasn’t ideal!

Despite the late night I got away early on the 20th Day and the prospect of the forth coming rest drove me on quite fast, as it was Sunday I didn’t having a shopping stop which usually took at least half an hour out of my day and so I arrived at Cieszyn rather earlier than expected. After using up my last Kroun coins (apart from my souvenir) I crossed the Border. Unfortunately Pawel and his family had not expected me until later and so were out but they very kindly came and collected me from the Border a short while later.

I have now spent the best part of two great days with Pawel and his family and he has done a great job of finding me contacts throughout my time in Poland.

I’m very grateful to Keith and Christine Keen in Brussels for putting us up, to Colin for his motivation, teaching & for putting up with me. And now to Pawel and his family for their great hospitality and support for the cause.

This has been an amazing trip so far with many, many memories and it has only just begun!! The dangers, conditions and language problems are worsening all the time, that is all a part of the adventure, but I do obviously hope to continue to stay safe and well for the onward journey.

Thanks for everyone’s support and encouragement by e-mail and txt, I have very much appreciated it along the way :)