A British Bike-Packer Riding Across Poland

[Stefan Mikes]

I knew my country was beautiful and cycling friendly. Now, Poland as viewed by a foreign cyclist. Enjoy!

Hah, how funny the Polish place names sound in English Not Morag. It is Moron-g

 

[PedalUma]

I am all for bikepacking. I am just a bit concerned about the topic of a moron's g-spot.

 

[Chargeride]

Hotel staying, at those prices why bother camping.
Morag is a Scottish womans name and also a Loch Monster.

What a beautiful country, I dont know why he commented 'tedious, boring and then it got worse, waves of impatient traffic, pretty horrible'.

I'd have to say I would have taken the train to Warsaw as well.
The mountains were superb but I cant fail to notice he wasnt enjoying the busy roads.
I mean Stefan overall he isnt exactly gushing about the trip.
Could he have ridden a better way.
It didnt seem ti line up with your rides, was he just deciding to be annoyed?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

This guy has made a grave mistake with the route planning and the general information Chris. First of all, he should have planned his routes with Komoot in the "Cycling" mode. It would take him by zero traffic roads, picturesque terrain; he would have avoided the construction works or the flooded road, and Komoot would also tell him cycling was not allowed in the Tatra National Park.

Secondly, Komoot offers plethora of fantastic ready routes for Cycling, Road Cycling, Gravel Cycling and MTB.

You are right about taking the trains. He could've travelled from Gdańsk through Pomerania, Varmia, Mazuria and Sudovia (the Lakeland) then take a train from Suwałki right to Warsaw. Then, he could take a train to, say, Częstochowa and cycle through the Jura(ssic) to Cracow. I could find many attractive scenarios for him. There is an Intercity Premium from Warsaw to Wrocław. As @DiggyGun already knows, Lower Silesia is the most beautiful montane region of Poland, perfect for mountain cycling.

Yes, ask me and I will plan a beautiful stay in Poland for you, the weather and season permitting.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hotel staying, at those prices why bother camping.

Exactly! This is what I'm doing myself. Had I no Jacek or Pawel or Marek, I would have taken a train to Ruciane-Nida (Mazuria), pedal for 18 km, and still could ride the Great Lakes Gravel. I could have taken a train to Olsztynek and ride Varmia Gravel. Or a train to Suwałki for Sudovia Gravel...

 

[Chargeride]

Yrs, I was sure thete were better roads than that to bikepack along.
I think he was looking for disaster clicks.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It's Bacardi with me today, Charge

"The Red Belt". The drinking song of Polish People's Republic It refers to Hucul mountaineers in the former Poland's Southeast near the Romanian border (now Western Ukraine) (My Mum was born there in 1922!)

 

[Chargeride]

I searched the lyrics and found this.

Also poured Bacardi down the sink.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've brought a bottle of Bacardi from Mazuria. The high season just ends there. Most local shops close for the off-season and had already sold out most of their stock. Bacardi was the last bottle of rum in the convenience shop!

Oh, well, we have many drinking songs same as you English do Your video are Upper Silesian coal-miners feasting in a "beer inn" event The Upper Silesian perceive themselves as a different nation! (They speak either Polish or many of very different local dialects -- some unintelligible for a Pole! -- a mix of Polish, German and Czech).

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Silesian can see a young boy drinking from a puddle. The man is sympathetic:
-- Come lad to my home. I will make a glass of tea for you! (all in the dialect). The boy:
-- WHAT?! The Silesian (in Polish):
-- No, nothing. Drink, drink, you little Gorol!
(A Silesian is a Hanys, a non-Silesian is a Gorol).


Or, for a Gorol who lived for many years among the Hanys:
-- A cow might stand by a horse for 20 years and will still not become a horse!

 

[stompandgo]

Yrs, I was sure thete were better roads than that to bikepack along.
I think he was looking for disaster clicks.

Agreed. Hype buys clicks.

@Stefan Mikes , you have posted many pics from your rides and races of nice cycling roads around Poland, enough to convince me that this guy is either and idiot or a gaslighter. I would love to ride some of the roads that you ride on.

@Chargeride , I can't say the same for you. Your "roads" are way too gnarly for this roadie.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thank you both Chrises for your opinion. I admit I expected more from that video, it was getting more and more disappointing as I watched it.
Here is my comment and his reply:

Not convincing at all. Generally, Komoot would have never lead a cyclist in a construction zone. There are also clear warnings about the rules of riding in National and Landscape Parks.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

There's another youtuber, a British expat by name of Jack Ramsay. In one of his programmes he described his cycle trip along the eastern border of Poland. He only talked about it and showed several pictures. Totally convincing as I know the reality of that area and Jack was telling the truth.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Sheesh, you guys are throwing the baby out with the bathwater! And why get so worked up over the planning mistakes when he took them in stride with a live and learn attitude? Life's too short to waste stress hormones on stuff like that.

I quite enjoyed the scenery, the excellent narration, and the look at Poland. Overall, he enjoyed himself despite the mistakes. And he tackled an adventure and physical challenge that many wouldn't have the nerve to try. Hats off to him.

 

[stompandgo]

I've got no issue with rambling along and discovering what life presents to you on the bike. Just don't b*tch about it to grab clicks.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Jeremy, thank you for your opinion too! I must have been making similar mistakes when I was a noob (I had no Komoot at that time and lacked the experience as well). Now, I have a plan for the next vacation, which might even sound crazy! Everything here knows Mazovia and some neighbouring areas are boring. My plan is "Several towns you have always wanted to visit but never wanted to ride off the main roads" The plan is to leave Warsaw by train to a location outside the beaten trails, and ride cross country through several forgotten towns in Mazovia. Then I would ride into the beautiful Mazuria and then in South Sudovia to end the trip in Suwałki. A week worth trip with stops at accomodation along the route.

If done properly, it could demonstrate how exciting even the most boring part of Poland could be if you ride instead of driving.

My personal heatmap. I had several rides in the mountains (South Poland) but too few to be visible on this map (unless zoomed in).