Tuesday morning we woke up and continued rolling through the beautiful Polish countryside
We’ve noticed that the Poles are an incredibly tidy people: all the houses are well-kept (to the point that they almost look brand new), the yards are maintained , and there is almost no trash in the streets anywhere. In fact, we’ve seen several people sweeping up the sand in the streets with brooms
Speaking of sand, a note about the roads on this route. We’re mostly following Eurovelo route 11, a cross-Europe bicycle route that is still in development. For the most part it’s been great: primarily very quiet country roads, and a surprising amount of shared-use cycle paths. There’s only been a few times we’ve had to ride on busy roads with little shoulder, but the drivers have been really respectful. However, several times the quiet country roads have lost their pavement and devolved into little more than ruts in sand, and often the sand gets deep enough to become unrideable even with our relatively fat tires. So we’re also getting a bit of an upper body workout from pushing our bikes – but it’s still a good time!
Several times we’ve encountered old men who have insisted on trying to have a conversation with us in Polish as we just stare back at them with dumb looks on our faces. Most of the other cyclists we’ve seen have also been old men, so maybe there’s a connection?
Public bathrooms seem few and far between. Also, now I know to watch out for stinging nettle
Tuesday night we had dinner at a cute little restaurant, where I had my first Polish pierogi – mushroom and buckwheat, with a side of four different slaws. Absolutely delicious!
We found another great camping spot in a small forest
On Wednesday morning, the bakery we were looking had apparently closed several years ago (at least that’s what we think based on the hand-gesture conversation we had with a local), so we went back to the same restaurant we had dinner at. Some kielbasa and delicious crepe/pancakes later and we were back on the road
We stopped for coffee and lody (ice cream) in Lomza at the cool town square
Mostly just another day of rolling through gorgeous countryside and cute villages – we followed a river for a good part of the day
We slept last night at a bicycle camping spot in someone’s backyard. The owner spoke no English, but we managed to communicate the important bits in french (except me misinterpreting 6 fingers to mean the price was 6 zloty – about $1.50 -instead of 60 zloty)
He didn’t seem too perturbed that we washed clothes and used his clothes line
We woke up Thursday morning to the sounds of Corpus Christi mass from the church down the road. This tiny village has a really talented tenor!
We rode on into a Polish national park – beautiful forest and marshlands. Supposedly there are many moose and elk there, but we missed them
We tried to get brunch at a cute looking restaurant, but it had late hours for the holiday. While we were waiting to see if would open, we were approached by some motorcyclists to help push-start one of their bikes. We tried our best, but it wouldn’t get going
The Eurovelo route we have been following joined another bike route, the Green Velo, that seems to be very popular, especially with the long holiday weekend. We started seeing lots of other bicyclists along the way
We ended up riding with a Polish cyclist named Bogdan who didn’t speak a lick of English. Nonetheless, he continued the tradition of constantly talking to us even though it was clear we couldn’t understand him. He was definitely a character. Here’s what we know about him: He’s from Che?m; he’s a cycling madman; he tries to do a long bike ride every 6 months; he constantly made fun of our beer guts. At one point when I used a porta potty he ran up and started shaking it and yelling – he found this hilarious.
Bogdan helped us navigate a particularly rough, washboarded section of the route through a pretty nasty headwind
We eventually made it to the cool resort town of Augustow, where we offered to treat Bogdan to dinner. He found a pizza place called the “Chillout Bar.” We agreed to get a large Greek pizza to share. I went up to order with him, and he started having a much longer and more animated conversation with the cashier than ordering a pizza would normally warrant. He seemed to keep confirming if I really wanted a large pizza… Of course I did! Then there was some confusion about what kind of dressing I wanted, so I assumed he also ordered some salads. Long story short, three pizzas – a small and two larges, and all three the same kind – showed up at our table, along with some sort of pizza aioli/dipping sauce. We managed t polish off two of them, and carried the third back to the campsite for breakfast
The next we continued to follow Bogdan over hill and dell, as he would repeatedly stop and grumble a bunch of Polish at his GPS (and sometimes at us) before continuing. He convinced us to deviate off our original route a bit and continue along with him, but eventually our paths parted and we bid “do widzenia” to our newfound friend.
Shortly after leaving Bogdan, we found a bridge over a lovely stream and decided to have lunch there. Soon, a group of five cyclists showed up and began asking us questions about our trip, where we were from, etc. About 45 seconds into the conversation, one of them asked us if we wanted some liquor, and produced a 2 liter water bottle filled with an unknown brown liquid, as well as a small snifter glass. Far be it from us to refuse roadside shots, we joined in downing what proved to be a delicious and incredibly smooth booze. All they could tell us about it was 1) you can’t buy it in stores 2) it is not made from a grain 3) it is “from the forest”
We later rejoined that same group farther down the road, and they took us to a small food truck with a small Polish grandma dishing out some amazing fruit-filled, deep-fried pirogi – so good I went back for thirds.
We stopped at a small restaurant for one last Polish meal – delicious stuffed potato dumplings for me, before heading off into the woods, where we crossed over into Lithuania on a non-distinct forest road. We made camp in the woods amongst the songbirds and mosquitoes.
On Saturday we rolled into a small village and picked up some breakfast at a corner store. While we were eating it in the square, an old woman with a very cute obedient dog sat near us. Even though we made it pretty clear we didn’t speak any Lithuanian, she proceeded to talk to (at?) us for about 15 minutes. She may have told us her entire life story
We stopped for supplies at a large grocery store. Part of the fun of a trip like this is that even buying groceries is an adventure. I still can’t figure out why they had pine cones for sale next to the limes and peppers. I also had my first taste of kvass, which is essentially sweet bread-soda – it’s pretty good!
We visited a cool historical town – Merkenës – and visited the museum there. A lot of it was the same story we’ve been reading over and over again: there used to be a lot of cool stuff here, but it was all destroyed in one of the many times this region has been invaded. Also, all of these cities and villages used to have large Jewish populations… One thing we learned was that in the 11/1200s there were christian crusaders invading this region trying to forcibly convert the locals
Met a German father/son cycle tourist duo who were appalled by how much stuff we were carrying. Also when I tried to tell the dad what their route ahead looked like (they were heading where we came from), he replied “yes I know. I can see it on the map”
We ended the day at a gorgeous campground next to a lake. Only trick was they didn’t take credit cards, and we hadn’t seen an ATM to withdraw euros yet, so I had to spend a bunch of time on a poor cell connection setting up a bank transfer app just to give the guy 10 bucks
On Sunday we decided to try and do a longer day of riding (around 70 miles) to make it to Vilnius that night
At a corner store I discovered the amazing Baltic treat that is basically a block of sweetened cottage cheese. Delicious!
We had lunch at a cool hotel restaurant that had an upside-down glider built into the ceiling. We shared the room with a party of about 20 people, but we couldn’t figure out what the gathering was for
We made it to Trakai, a cool old town with a castle on a lake. We decided to take the easy way out and hop on a train for the last 20 miles into Vilnius. The train was super easy to navigate, even with our bikes.
In Vilnius, we met up with my good friend Dress who happened to be traveling there the same time as us – he had already been there a few days and showed us around
We had dinner at a nice cafe on the river in Uzupis, an artsy neighborhood that declared itself an independent state in the 90s. We got a fight of tasty aromatic bitters
We got a room at the same hostel as Dress – pretty nice, and great location in the old town
Vilnius is a really cool town with lots of public art – there was a giant Tony Soprano statue at the train station – and also a million churches. The old town has that perfect old European feel of lots of narrow cobblestone alleys (though the cobbles don’t make a very smooth bike ride)
Oof we’re having too much fun to keep this blog updated!
We had a good time wandering through Vilnius with Dress last Sunday
We decided to change our route: instead of riding directly from Vilnius to Riga, on Monday morning we hopped on a train out to Klaipeda on the Baltic coast
Klaipeda was a pretty chill city.. We ended up in a bar talking to two Americans who worked in a very specific unit of the US military. It was a pretty interesting conversation…. They had a lot to say
We spent the next several days riding up the coast, crossing into Latvia along the way
Liepaja was a really nice town with a mix of old buildings that had been restored, and old buildings that were falling apart. It also had a nice beach, though my pockets ended up full of seaweed
Mostly it was just really nice riding through the countryside, popping into little stores for supplies, and occasionally rolling through a larger town with classic old European alleys and squares
We got an amazing campsite on a bluff overlooking the ocean one night
We also camped in a national park next to the second-widest waterfall in Latvia – we had passed by the widest (in all of Europe) earlier that day in Kuldiga.
Once again we took the easy way out and hopped on a train the last 20 miles into Riga
When we went to our hostel, right nearby there was a gathering of people with red hats…. Sure enough they said “Make Riga Great Again”. I made a joke about Zach and I forming the Latvian contingent of the Brass Liberation Orchestra, and then sure enough a brass band showed up! They did not interact with the MRGA crowd however
We spent the rest of the day roaming the streets, probably spending equal time marveling at the architecture and the tourists. Riga is definitely a destination for roving bands of super-drunk, loud Brits.
We had lunch in a town themed for Baron Munchausen (because the actual baron’s wife was from here?)
We camped at a really nice free campsite on the coast just after we crossed into Estonia
We met a guy who had ridden from Tallinn and had nothing good to say about the route. It made us a little worried, but he must have gone a different way because our trip was amazing
We met a pair of older Polish bike tourists who were pretty much following our route all the way to Stockholm. They were kinda our older Polish doppelgangers – one was even named Grzegorz!
We used the train cheat to get into Tallinn, which is yet another really cool old city with a well-preserved old town. We ended up in a tourist-trap bar in a dungeon where a bar-maid served flagons of ale and “cats and dogs pies”
The next day, we took the ferry to Helsinki, which turned out to be a full-on cruise ship with like 4 bars, three restaurants, and live music. It was full of Finns with trolleys full of booze (turns out the cheap drinks trend was about to end)
We arrived in Helsinki in the afternoon and had a good time roaming around the city.
We met up with Alice and her friend Christine for brunch the next morning.
After a quick stop at a bike shop for Zach, three of us took a ferry to Suomenlinna , a historic island with a fort and boatyard
We then rolled out of Helsinki – pretty much all cycle paths for over 30 miles! We ended up finding a really great camping spot in a park in the burbs on some smooth rocks
Eesh…. I’m not sure how I’m going to summarize the last three weeks, but for now I’m just going to start from the last few days. Suffice it to say that it has been an amazing ride, and more details/pictures will come soon.
Zach, Alice, and I arrived in Bergen, Norway two days ago (on Friday).
On the way into town we rode through “the world’s longest bike tunnel” – an over 2 miles long former train tunnel that they’ve dressed up with colored lights and artwork – it was a pretty rad experience
We had a pretty good time exploring the city, even though it was thick with tourists (many from cruise ships)
We did some pub hopping, met some locals, and ended the evening with some karaoke at a pretty empty bar (I continued to stay in my safe zone with some Neil Diamond, but Zach and Alice were more adventurous)
We had a nice sleep-in the next morning, and then took the funicular up to the top of the mountain overlooking Bergen. It was a perfectly sunny day, and the view was stunning. We hung out at the top exploring the forest, people-watching, and meeting some very cute and friendly goats
After returning to the surface, the sad inevitable moment came – Zach and Alice were flying out of Bergen the next day, so I had to leave then behind as I headed north out of the city. We said our tearful goodbyes, and I rolled on
It was a very hilly ride out of Bergen, much of it along hard to follow bicycle paths. The weather was amazing, and the scenery was great – a combination of striking seaside bluffs and rolling sheep pasture
This morning was significantly wetter. I slept in too much and got a late start. I also managed to loose a sandal off my bike and had to backtrack a few miles to find it
Despite the rainy weather, it was still a nice ride today – more beautiful coastal scenes alternating with lush ]forest climbs. I had two ferry rides and several tunnels to keep things interesting, and the roads have all had very little traffic
I saw plenty of other bike tourists today, including a guy who rode here from Toulouse, France who I chatted with on the ferry
I wrapped up the day at a cute little campground on a lake, and had some nice chats with friendly Dutch and German campers in the kitchen.
Had another late start because a) I overslept, b) the curse of the leaking sleeping pad struck again and I had to find the leak by dunking it in the lake, and c) I had to change my tube which was also on a 2 day slow leak cycle
shortly after getting on the road I may a cyclist from Estonia who was on an epic 12,000 mile trip around Europe. He had a very specific distance to hit as he was trying to get to 100,000 kilometers of lifetime touring! He has also ridden from the northern tip of Norway to the bottom of South Africa, and the same from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego! We rode together a bit, but our routes soon split.
I had a couple of big climbs today but nothing too steep. The terrain has been gorgeous as I hop from valley to valley. I ended the day by following this raging river upstream as it was interrupted by serene clear lakes and gushing waterfalls
unfortunately, the rain that had been threatening all day finally caught up with me at the end. I had been planning to wild camp, but decided to take the opportunity when a campsite appeared. I think they have me a discount since I looked like a wet cat
The weather is not looking great for the rest of my trip – rain is forecast for every day – but we’ll see how it goes! Regardless, I’m still having a great time!
Yesterday morning was very wet – I’m glad I made the decision to stay at an official campground.
The previous day I was having some trouble shifting, but it was pouring and I was almost at the end of my day, so I let it go. When I started inspecting yesterday morning, I noticed that my chainring bolts had become loose. Easy fix! Except one of them must have been cracked because when I went to tighten it, it snapped right off! I’m always finding new ways to break my bike! According to Google, I was days away from the nearest bike shop to get a replacement bolt, with several big climbs between. After kicking myself for forgetting to bring zip ties, I realized I had a shallow-head bolt and nut, and was able to get some washers from the camp host, and was able to jerry-rig a fix to add enough tension that I wouldn’t make things worse, as long as I rode easy on the middle ring, and mostly relied on the granny ring.
I also somehow managed to crack one of my tent poles but it was a pretty easy fix with some electrical tape and a pole splint
I had a long slow climb up to about 2,500 ft., and, despite the cold rain, it was really beautiful. More waterfalls and clear lakes.
Just after the summit there was this cool overlook that looked out onto the valley below and the super windy road I was about to descend. Also there were sheep with bells on them
The descent down the switchbacks of the Gaularfjellsvegan was pretty awesome, but I was definitely soaking wet and cold by the time I got to the bottom. Here’s a video I made of the descent
I had a short ride along the fjord and then spent some time warming up and drying off in the waiting area for the ferry that would take me across the fjord. I also managed to book a cheap room while researching camping options. On the ferry I had a tasty pancake with brunøst, a yummy brown, sweet cheese!
Once I got to the other side of the fjord, things improved: the rain lessened just a slight drizzle and also I had an amazing tailwind rushing me into the next town, as I raced along the fjord
But I got to the town, Sogndal, I found out that by what Google said there was a bike shop and I had gotten there in time to go get the part I needed, and it was still even early enough that I could still buy beer! (In Norway you can’t buy alcohol after 8:00 p.m. The other Scandinavian countries had similar rules)
I got into my room, laid out my clothes to dry out, fixed my bike (the chainring bolt install went without a hitch), ate some dinner and had a great night’s sleep. I also did some route research based on some suggestions I had gotten and decided to change my route to add more mountains and fjords, with a ferry bailout option if I get behind
This morning the weather was much better – warmer, and partly cloudy with only the occasional drizzle
I started the day off with some more riding along the fjord – the color is unreal! I had a small climb along another gushing river, then a fun descent into a village where I caught another ferry
On the other side I visited an old stave church from the 1100s – very cool stuff
After that, more fun riding along the coast, with more stunning waterfalls than I could count, the occasional tunnel, and almost no traffic at all. Oh – and I saw a seal sunning itself on a rock!
I ended the day by climbing up the steep switchbacks of the Sognefjellsvegen, the highest paved road in northern Europe, topping out at 4705 feet. I got up to about 2500 before finding a spot to camp (I started pretty much at sea level). It’s a bit drizzly, and probably in the upper 40s, but I’m feeling pretty cozy in my tent. I also can’t believe I get a strong cell signal here!
On Thursday I had a long steep climb to get to the top of Sognefjellsvegen – I’m really glad I got a head start on the climb the previous day. But wow was it a pretty ride! In Norway, you can only be a few thousand feet up to reach the Alpine environment – at 4500 feet everything looks like what you would see at 10000 or 11000 feet in California. And there were glaciers!
It got really cold at the top – maybe low to mid 40s? I’m really glad I carried all this cold weather gear for 2000 miles
After reaching the top, I had a fast ride down into a valley, which I then followed down along a crystal blue river for about 20 miles to the village of Lom.
Had some tasty pizza, then headed east UP a valley along a different crystal blue river, until I found a nice place to set up camp on the shore
On Friday morning I made a tasty breakfast of pancakes with brown cheese and cottage cheese (you can buy premade pancakes at the grocery store)
The rest of the day was just a beautiful ride slowly climbing up the valley past lakes and waterfalls
I ended the day a bit early because I didn’t want to go down the other side of the mountain too late. Instead, I set up camp at around 3200 feet, which was practically a tundra. I had to use the extra guy lines on my tent because the wind was gusting so hard. I then went on a short hike up along a cascade near my campsite
Another damp, chilly night, but I was cozy bundled up in my tent
This morning, after packing up, I discovered I had a flat….boooo! I’m pretty sure it was from a defect in the tire rubbing against the tube. I put in a folded up dollar bill to hopefully prevent it from happening again.
I had a little bit more climbing, and then another glorious switchback descent down into Geiranger, a small village on a deep blue fjord.
The town itself was a bit of a letdown – it’s another giant cruise ship stop, so it’s a bit overrun with tourists
In Norway, what goes down must go up, and so I climbed back UP a series of switchbacks to around 2100 feet. The climbs really aren’t so bad when you have such excellent scenery though
I did have a crazy incident where, as I was huffing up the hill, an RV stopped in the middle of the road. I continued on past it on the right, when suddenly the door flew open and almost knocked into me as a guy jumped out, presumably to take pictures. I never expected I would almost get doored on a switchback mountain road!
Another fun descent led me to another ferry crossing. Then a fun ride along a fjord before turning up another valley to head to another climb! I’m pretty much just winging my route at this point, but I’m driven to buy all of the scenic roads I can. Tomorrow I’ll be tackling the Trollstigen, probably my last big climb, then I head back out to the coast.
