Just an aside: when I googled Pine Mountain in Polish so that I could at least attempt to match R2R's style, the search threw up 10 Best Polish restaurants in Pine Mountain! Oh, come on!
sosnowa góra -- thanks to Google Translate
Yes, that would be Sosnowa Góra precisely!
There are at least five locations by that name in Poland.
The Brotherly Ride (Around All Vistula River Bridges in Warsaw and Beyond)
I drove in my brethren lot in Kiełpin (north of Warsaw) at 10 a.m. on Saturday. We had a morning coffee with Jacek and then we were ready for a ride (I had my cycling clothes already on when I arrived to Jacek's place, my backpack prepared, too). Jacek, who is only 3 years younger than me, is fit and strong. We were both interested about my Giant Trance E+ real range and whether a 25 km/h e-bike could keep up with a fast traditional MTB rider.
I was unaware that Jacek's plan was to fulfil my dream: Riding around all River Vistula bridges in Warsaw. Actually, I know all the routes there but I've never completed the round trip around all ten bridges we have in our capital city. (There's the bridge #11 under construction now). One really
warm day I will do some even more interesting trip with riding
over the all ride-able bridges and taking a plenty of pictures. Not on our latest ride, as Jacek is all about the ride, and he hates making stops
He added several kilometres to the trip to show me several things I might be interested with for our future rides.
The maximum
power-assisted speed of my Giant was 26.2 km/h. Which was rather sad, as overtaking slower cyclists had to be done on pedals only. Jacek cooperated very well, he was in the lead over almost the entire ride.
The full suspension is worth every money! Whatever the terrain was, the ride was smooth and comfortable. (
There was a single exception, read on).
Conquering The Slab
To my surprise, Jacek standard route had never extended southwards beyond the Łazienkowski Bridge. "Why don't we ride up to the Siekierkowski Bridge? I know all the routes there!" -- I suggested, and we rode even further southwards. Yes, I had known all the routes there except one. So we rode through an extremely narrow concrete embankment of the Vistula (it was dangerous because one could fall into the river there), then we negotiated the Ulga Canal through a silly gangplank, and we found ourselves at the lowest level under the Siekierkowski Bridge. No-one really uses that route since there are plethora of bike paths above, at the Miedzeszyński Wall (embankment). And we met
The Slab (sorry, no pictures taken!) It was a buttress supporting a pathway above. A concrete slab of at least 45 degrees or more. You could just walk up the stairs, walking your bike sideways...
-- Walking the bike up?!
I?! -- I was looking at The Slab with contempt (and with awe at the same time) while I was slowly riding towards it. Left thumb dialling the Max Assist mode, the right thumb energetically downshifting to the granny gear...
I made it. It was something I could only see in dreams before. The front wheel was ready to fall off the wall -- I pushed my weight on the bars -- The Monster crawled up the slab as if it were a giant spider. I made it! Glory to Electric Mountain Bikes! If the rider has no fear, the e-MTB is fearless too! Oh my... Jacek stood with his jaw dropped.
My Monster and me at the Żerań Pedestrian/Bike Bridge, over the Royal Canal.
My mentor Jacek, wearing a quality breathable face-mask.
There are several water intakes in Warsaw, all looking alike. Some of them are built in the middle of the river. The ones you can easily see bear nicknames such as Fat Kaśka, Slim Wojtek. I could see this specific water intake for the first time in my life, so well it is hidden from the view. The bridge in the background it the Siekierkowski, the most southern of Warsaw bridges (until the Southern Bridge is completed).
I'm not sure if the paving you see is used in your country. A Polish engineer Władysław Tryliński patented it in 1933. It is made from hexagonal blocks of concrete and we call it "trylinka", the tri-link. When it gets damaged, it becomes the only type of the road surface the full suspension bike is incapable to tolerate
Jacek, the Warsaw Mermaid, and the Świętokrzyski (Holy Cross) Bridge. We're at the left river bank there.
The arrows indicate the most apart Warsaw bridges.
I was very satisfied with the ride. The range would be 75 km if I travelled at the maximum power-assisted speed or more if I rode alone but slower. The riding experience was just fantastic!
