Posing by a wooden church, first day it was warm enough to wear my Timothy Taylor cycling shirt.
It was an easy exit from the city, a cycle path taking us alongside the busy roads with priority at side roads. The cycling wasn’t hard initially but we soon had to pack away our jackets as the temperature rose. We stopped for a rest by picnic benches near a cafe which unfortunately was attuned to lunch rather than mid morning cake, and a friendly Polish man out with his children stopped by for a chat. With a fair distance and a lot of climbing in store, we were determined to cover half the day’s distance before sitting down with the sandwiches.
The ascents were hard in the heat but cooling clouds from mid afternoon made them easier. The last was the longest, maxing out at 17%, after which it was downhill all the way to our accommodation. The owner spoke only Polish but we were able to communicate sufficiently to check in and order food and beer. This is our last night in Poland, tomorrow we enter Slovakia. It’s been interesting seeing different cultures and architecture and comparing cycling infrastructure and public transport provision. The scenery has been pleasant but similar to what can be found in Britain, there’s not been the excitement of radically different landscapes that we’ve enjoyed in Scandinavia, Spain or South America.