One man, a tent and a bike: part 3

I did my best to take advantage of my off-day in Gdańsk (also known as Danzig).

First, I enjoyed 4 hours of non-stop eating to replenish some calories and I wrapped up a few important things thanks to the unlimited free internet. I also got my legs used to walking again by heading out into the city centre to see some of Gdańsk most historic sites. When I went out for a second time, I met up with Kamila and Martin through Couchsurfing and with their help I completed a thorough tour of the historically relevant port, where, in the 1980’s, the Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarność (solidarity) first formed. Thanks to my ‘tour guides’ I was able to fill in some of the gaps of my own limited knowledge about the movement.

The only thing that I neglected during the wonderful and informative days in Gdańsk was proper route planning.

I found myself on a quiet street in a suburb, where I had just picked an apple, when I realized the route was once again shorter than I originally had planned. The mobile internet was slow and my cellular connection was weak making it a little difficult to download a new route. I had already cycled farther inland, but I decided I wanted to head back to the coast to catch the last part of the Curonian Spit which separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast and head through Masuria instead of following the Vistula River. After roughly an hour, and more than a few apples later, my new route was downloaded with the majority of my roaming data used up. I was a little upset with myself for not taking care of all this earlier.

A good 75 km later, and according to the map, there is a ferry that saves travellers from having to turn around and repeat the same route back. When I arrived in the small town where the ferry is docked, everything was closed for the winter and I wondered if I would still be able to make it across the water to Tolkmicko. Clouds were closing in and I stopped in front of a man in a small boat. He spoke to me in perfect German and told me that the last ferry of the year was leaving in 10 min. He helped me get my bike on board and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was with the timing. The captain, Michael, came on deck for a cigarette and after an interesting conversation about life on the sea, he organized a Pokoje (room) for me in town. I then switched my Sunday pizza day to Saturday realizing that the day ended much better than how I thought it would’ve.

Various types of roads, different surfaces, hilly terrain and bad weather tested both my body and mind the next few days. It all started right after Tolkmico, where the streets turned to forest paths and the paths turned into muddy swamps.

Riding was no longer an option, and I dragged my bike through mud that, due to the tyre tracks left behind, had even given tractors some problems. To put the icing on the cake, I realized I had made a wrong turn. I cursed the navigation software which took me through a river and told me that this way was rideable. I then laughed, turned around and crossed the river once more reflecting on how it took me over an hour to get through a 2 km mud-covered hike-a-bike.

The rest of the day, the streets were paved, but full of potholes. However, a beautiful camping site and a good dinner made up for the bad start. The following morning, I woke to the neighbouring paddock being opened and a herd of cows getting uncomfortably close. Even though they were behind a fence, which looked like it had seen better days, I was still a little frightened by their horns and their critical stares, so I packed quickly to get on my way. I cycled roads and freeway sections that were all in great condition, but with a heavy wind the riding was difficult and riding on the freeway was sometimes dangerous.

In good health, I arrived in the small town of Mikołajki on a windy, sunny midday’s afternoon. The town, supposedly Poland’s Venice, was the urban tourist pinnacle of my cycling tour, but it wasn’t what I was expecting according to my guidebook. So I left and headed farther south with a light tail wind. Masuria is extremely beautiful, and at this time of year it is very quiet. The landscape is dotted with an innumerable amount of lakes and I could hear the sound of my tyres on the forest floor and there wasn’t any sign of traffic. My companions came in the form of the call of a heron, the drumming of a woodpecker and even a small deer that jumped right in front of me, crossing my path. A campsite tucked away next to a lake gave me a chance to recharge, before I began the 115 km ride to Maków Mazowiecki. In the evening, I spent the night in a hotel and had a hot shower and heating, which was necessary for me to prepare the next two days on the road.

One more night of rest and less than 100 km were between me and Poland’s capital city, where my girlfriend and family would be meeting me. Masuria was behind me, though I wish I would have spent more time exploring and giving my mind a chance to soak up all of the wonderful nature. But it was good I had left, because my gear was reaching its limits when the temperature dropped to -3° C. I choose instead to quicken my pace to get to warmer lands faster.

For part 4, click here.