Author: anthill

I had to pack away a wet tent once again as it had been raining all night. Plus I didn’t sleep too well as there were a group of loud idiots partying all night in one of the outdoor cabins. I was up before them so I went in and stole a can of their beer. Although the last laugh was on them as I discovered later it was on 1.5% vol.

The campsite was on the road I needed to Riga, and the sign read 125km. The first town I’d reach was called Joniskis and was only 30km. The road I was on was so straight and so boring. In fact this road would have continued absolutely perfectly straight and flat all the way to Jelgava in Latvia, if it wasn’t for the town getting in the way that is.

Stopped for lunch in Jelgava and then continued to Riga. The sun was out now and I could hear seagulls, I’m finally on the coast again, the Gulf of Riga to precise in the Baltic Sea. It’s good to be on the coast again. I will stick to the coast for some time now.

I should be camping in Riga but it turns out the campsite has closed down. I had to search for a hotel but they all appeared booked. Lucky for me one hotel stuck me in the basement apartment and it has to be the best room in the hotel. Ok, my clothes might not dry very quickly but there’s a hair drier.

I slept like a log. I much prefer it in the tent than any hotel. I left early, heading towards Siauliai. This would leave in me in a perfect position to get to Riga for Saturday where I can rest. One of the good things about Lithuania is cyclists can pretty much go wherever they like. So off I headed on one of the A roads to get me out of Kaunas.

Luckily for me the headwind I had had the previous day had gone and the weather remained overcast. It rained a little but nothing to get me too wet.

The route seemed to go quite quickly. There were only miner climbs but it was mainly flat fields. When I got to Siauliai a massive thunderstorm struck so I took shelter. The rain was torrential; it wasn’t long before the roads were rivers.

At the tourist information office they pointed me in the direction of a campsite about 4km out of town. The campsite wasn’t really a campsite as such, just a restaurant that would accept tents and campers for the night, but it was adequate for the one night I needed it and the meal I had there was lovely.

Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve paid more for a hotel than the norm and got less for my money. My room was like a prison cell high up by the ceiling, the whole hotel was like being in a converted school. Doesn’t matter too much, I won’t be there again.

The further north I travel through Poland the nicer it becomes although I’m afraid I won’t be sad to see the back of the country. The ride takes me through thick forests of evergreens up until the border.

When you reach the border there appears to be a section of road which is “no man’s land”, where neither one country will accept responsibility who owns it. Therefore the pot holes are cavernous, I saw one guy with his car on its jack and a wheel missing.

Carrying on I follow signs to Kaunas, my destination for the day. It wasn’t a pleasant ride. I had a strong headwind, added with the long straight roads, blistering hot sun and steady flow of trucks.

When I finally reach Kaunas I made my way to the tourist information office where I met two cycle tourers from Australia. They were travelling from Helsinki to Rome, exactly the opposite way I had come. We agreed to meet later for a drink but they never turned up at the campsite. I think they had seen the storm closing in and opted for a hotel.

The campsite was a long way out of town and resembled a car park with a grass edge for tents. My rest day is looming and I’d like to reach Riga by Saturday.

I woke to the sound of heavy rain and thunder. Peering out of my bedroom window the sky looked apocalyptic and it looked like it was still night. I reluctantly got my stuff together and went down for breakfast.

No more than a minute after I’d left the hotel the rain came down even heavier. I darted into the doorway of a shop and stayed there for a good three quarters of an hour before the rain had slowed from torrential downpour to just downpour. I couldn’t stay in that shop front all day, I had to get a move on.

The original plan was to cycle north to Poland’s answer to the Lake District. Although the rain was so bad I could hardly see a few kilometres ahead of me, so I knocked this idea on the head and carried on towards Augustow on the 61.

I stopped in a layby a few hours later to rinse out my socks and the insoles of my shoes. This was not pleasant riding. My t-shirt had also got went under my jacket somehow. I had to keep moving just to stay warm.

Eventually it stopped raining and brightened up. I was only 30km away from Augustow at this point. I wanted to go a little further so the ride to Kuanas would be less. So when I reach Augustow I carried on another 30km to Suwalki.

At Suwalki there was a campsite signposted. It looked nice but said it was private and there weren’t many people around. So I booked myself into yet another hotel. At least they are relatively cheap out here.

After what I’d seen of Poland so far and what I’d heard I wasn’t expecting much from Warsaw but was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t get as much time sightseeing as I’d have liked due to the weather. After returning to my drying clothes once a nice couple from New Zealand said they would get my washing in if it rained so into the centre I headed once again.

I was surprised at how modern the centre was, tall glass sky scrapers and huge shopping complexes. I headed for the Tourist Info to get a map and then made my way towards the old town taking a scenic walk past the university.

The old town was destroyed by the Germans after they left during the war, but since then it has been rebuilt based on how it used to be. They did a good job but it is more geared up for the tourist than any other purpose now with lots of ice cream shops, bars and restaurants.

I returned to the campsite to find my clothes had disappeared off the washing line and were locked away in the New Zealand couples camper van. When they returned they invited me in and made me a lovely cup of tea with a biscuit. They were a really nice couple and I never got their names.

I left early the next morning and made my way through Warsaw’s rush hour traffic. Once I’d navigated all the no cycling signs I managed to escape and made my way north east on the 61 towards Lomza.

The road was busy but gradually calmed as I got further away from Warsaw. It also had a steady incline and never seemed to descend. I stopped at a bar on the side of the road and had two dishes. A kind of bubble and squeak with veggies and diced sausages named Hunter something or other, and some ravioli stuffed with some spicy vegetables. Both were very tasty but the ravioli filled me up and I found it difficult cycling the remaining distance.

I stopped for a toilet break in a bush on the side of the road. A few seconds later I was legging it out whilst being attacked by lots of mosquitoes. I escaped with several bites and got out of there as quickly as possible.

I made It to Lomza and checked into a hotel for a night as there are no campsites.

I didn’t sleep too well at the hotel, I think I’m just too used to camping now and miss that too much. Although it was nice to use a private shower and try out a bit of polish television. In Spain I thought it was bad they dub over the voices in films but in Poland its worse. One guy translates the words over the top in a monotone voice whether its male or female. I think the same guy does all the films too.

I had a nice breakfast at the hotel and left quite late. The security guard was intrigued and came over for a limited chat. He asked what I thought of Poland but the most positive answer I could muster was “Its ok”. Luckily for me he didn’t quiz me on my answer else I’d have to be brutally honest its not the prettiest country. All the buildings seem to come in a shade of brown or grey with some exposed brickwork and a whole lot of graffiti. Maybe it will get better and I’m being too ‘cup half empty’.

There is one major from Piotrkow Trybunalski to Warsaw and it was marked down as another dualc carriageway. I was worried I’d have the same problem as yesterday and get kicked off. Today I’d decided to just risk it and act dumb. Luckily for me where I got on it just said no horse and cart so on I went.

Wasn’t long before I saw a few no cycling signs but I just sailed past as though I hadn’t seen them. I kept doing this all the way to Warsaw. I’d been cycling like a mad thing all day and covered the miles needed on the dual carriageway. It wasn’t pretty but it got me to Warsaw so I can have a rest day tomorrow and wash my smalls.

I woke up early to the sound of rain on the outside of the tent. So on went the waterproofs once again. My shoes and socks were still wet from the previous day, so I put my waterproof socks on to keep my feet dry and I hung my wet socks from the back of the bike to dry out.

I decided to let my GPS get me out of Katowice. It lead me down three dead ends and I zigzagged all the way across Katowice. The day was not off to a good start. Then a bird defecated on my shoe, it was about an inch from brushing my left cheek!

When I was finally out on the road I needed I must have done 10 miles already and wasted so much time. I was finally off the poorly maintained roads and onto the dual carriageway.

This is where I get some speed up and try and claw back some of the time lost in Katowice. I was doing well into I got to Czestochowa where I hit a no cycling sign. So I had to figure out an alternative route. I knew there was a road called the 91 going north but wasn’t sure I was high enough to join it yet. So I did a few miles on the dual carriageway before I figured out how I could get on the other road.

Once I joined the 91 I was riding on very long straight roads through forests. It would have been quite pleasant if it wasn’t for the cars going past too fast. This road went on for a lifetime. By the time I reached Piotrkow Trybunalski I was knackered and couldn’t go on to the next campsite which was another 20 miles at least.

My fiance gave me the heads up on a hotel and I booked myself in for the night.

There were a few storms during the night but nothing to keep me awake for too long. My tent did get invaded by slugs at one point. I thought I’d take a picture of them all stuck to the outside of the inside netting but then I rolled over and went back to sleep. They were gone by morning.

It looked quite bright but due to the rain in the night I dressed sensibly for the weather and donned the waterproofs. Wasn’t long after leaving I was getting too hot and had to trim it down a bit.

Czech Republic doesn’t seem to have many flats. So I’m struggling to get into a decent rhythm and struggling earlier in the day than I would normally. Today was different. I wasn’t going to let the hills get me down and I powered up the climbs as well as I could.

I quickly reached the border to Poland, this was my halfway point. As with most border the amount of lorries on the road really male it quite unbearable. There was black sky in the distance, I was trying to work out if I could hear any thunder but the sound from the traffic was too much.

According to my GPS I still had over 30 miles to go at dinner. I was hoping to be closer than that. Luckily I joined a dual carriageway that was pretty flat and straight. Apart from the fact it started raining heavy all afternoon I got to Katowice in good time thanks to that fast road. Not the prettiest road in the world but functionally perfect.

I’d met a nice Czech lady on the campsite who I wasn’t quite sure about. She was by herself with three very young children and had been all over the Europe staying in asylum centres. She’d been at the campsite since March waiting for a passport so she could get to England. She also believed that God would show her the right direction. I’m not going to comment. Anyway, the weather looked like rain but at least it was cool.

Today I was heading to a town called Hranice purely because it had a campsite and was a good distance from the Polish border. Although places with campsites usually have something worth seeing.

I had to go back through Brno then head east. It was rush hour so it was busy but it wasn’t half as bad as trying to get out of Vienna. It wasn’t long before I heard thunder and the rain came down. I darted into the porch of a DIY store until it had past.

I passed a beautiful smelling factory then realised it was Nestle. This was in a town called Holesov where i stopped for dinner and had a sandwich. The rest of the afternoon was all up and down and dodging yet more thunderstorms.

Tomorrow I want to try and get to Katowice in Poland yet it looks like a good distance. There aren’t any campsites between here and there so if I don’t make it I’ll be stopping in a hotel. I should at least get to Poland.

Camping Vienna South was a great little campsite although the services could have been better, i.e. the toilets were overflowing and the internet was unusable. Although this was easily solved by using the one of hundreds of MacDonalds’ around Vienna.

I met some nice people there too. Len Ben and Kim, yet more aussies who buy cheap For transits and go touring Europe. Also, a group of English cycle tourers, about eight of them. They had cycled from Bristol then catching a plane back from Budapest.

Vienna itself is, well, nice. It’s got a very busy shopping centre which seems to mold right in to the older sights like the cathedral. It also has a whole museum district dedicated to art.

As I was staying in campsite South I had the whole city to tackle cycling north. I think it took me over an hour. The route was easy and well signposted, just once again the traffic light system let me down just like in Graz.

When I finally popped out the other side I got a good pace going on road number 7. This took me all the way to the border where I found a Tesco, but had no Czech currency to buy anything and couldn’t find an ATM. So I carried on.

I stopped for a lovely cheap dinner and paid in Euros. Then I had to get off the main road and head into the hills. The food wasn’t sitting right in my belly and I struggled all the way to Brno. I think I may have eaten too much.

Went through Brno and camped just outside next to a lake.