Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Active Recovery Pizza Ride
Even if I was really exhausted post my Saturday ride, I took the advice of a Forum member (to go for an active recovery ride) quite seriously for the Sunday late morning! As the day was cold, I took the precautions (goggles! balaclava! gloves!) and prepared for the outward leg of the trip upwind (the same steady easterly wind as helped me on my Saturday ride...) To make the trip light, I only took a single 532 Wh Vado battery and set the Smart Control for "70 km, 250 m elevation gain, 20% of the battery left at the end of the ride". Mission Control Smart Control decided to assist me with 40%, and I admire how precise that control was!
Chilled, I arrived in META Bar ("Finish Line") located at the southernmost tip of Warsaw (near to the Kabacki Forest and Specialized Warsaw). On warm days, the restaurant's garden is teeming with picnicking cyclists. On that cold day, all the guests chose staying inside the cosy interior of META heated by a firewood stove and propane burners. (You can safely leave your bike outside; it is a cycling friendly place with no single case of bicycle theft!) My real 31 km ride aim was to have Countryside Pizza with Winter Tea. I love the pizza at META, as it is made in a firewood stove! (If it is of interest, the meal cost the equivalent of US$14; nothing is cheap these days).
I must have burnt too many kcal on my recent rides because I still felt hungry. So I pedalled to SUCRE Cafe at KEN 49, Natolin, Ursynów, Warsaw. The cafe is located in the same apartment block as the flat I and my girlfriend @Brix stay at during Ewa's trips from London to Warsaw, so the place is close to my heart! I was so full I could not finish that big mug of Chocolate Mocha!
I chose a random interesting ride home, so my way led near to the Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW). Here, a grounded LOT aircraft.
The Ferrari dealership is there, too.
As the WAW airport is actually located inside the city, it is a heaven for plane-spotters. Just fancy I took that photo with an ordinary smartphone!
The south-eastern end of the airport runway must be devoid of any obstacles. Hence, an unobstructed view onto the Warsaw City skyline from Kinetic Street (the latter flanking the airport).
A real shock for me! Can you see the high-tower in the centre and the Palace of Culture and Science (far right)? It looks the building in the centre is higher than the Palace (the latter being the tallest building in Poland only recently). Yes! The high building is the Varso Tower (310 m or 1,017 ft), completed in September 2022! It is the highest building in Europe, and it is even higher than The Shard in London! Fancy that I learned about it only today!
As a nice surprise, my wandering led me to the nicest bike path of my nearer neighbourhood. Some cyclist named it "The Bike Path In The Memory Of The Stoney Road Race"
I can imagine how the road must have looked like before the bike path was constructed!
The interesting part of my 66.66 km leisure ride.
In the praise of Smart Control: I returned with 24% of the battery, and there was still battery juice for another 4 km to get down to 20%, as planned!
Even if I was really exhausted post my Saturday ride, I took the advice of a Forum member (to go for an active recovery ride) quite seriously for the Sunday late morning! As the day was cold, I took the precautions (goggles! balaclava! gloves!) and prepared for the outward leg of the trip upwind (the same steady easterly wind as helped me on my Saturday ride...) To make the trip light, I only took a single 532 Wh Vado battery and set the Smart Control for "70 km, 250 m elevation gain, 20% of the battery left at the end of the ride". Mission Control Smart Control decided to assist me with 40%, and I admire how precise that control was!
Chilled, I arrived in META Bar ("Finish Line") located at the southernmost tip of Warsaw (near to the Kabacki Forest and Specialized Warsaw). On warm days, the restaurant's garden is teeming with picnicking cyclists. On that cold day, all the guests chose staying inside the cosy interior of META heated by a firewood stove and propane burners. (You can safely leave your bike outside; it is a cycling friendly place with no single case of bicycle theft!) My real 31 km ride aim was to have Countryside Pizza with Winter Tea. I love the pizza at META, as it is made in a firewood stove! (If it is of interest, the meal cost the equivalent of US$14; nothing is cheap these days).
I must have burnt too many kcal on my recent rides because I still felt hungry. So I pedalled to SUCRE Cafe at KEN 49, Natolin, Ursynów, Warsaw. The cafe is located in the same apartment block as the flat I and my girlfriend @Brix stay at during Ewa's trips from London to Warsaw, so the place is close to my heart! I was so full I could not finish that big mug of Chocolate Mocha!
I chose a random interesting ride home, so my way led near to the Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW). Here, a grounded LOT aircraft.
The Ferrari dealership is there, too.
As the WAW airport is actually located inside the city, it is a heaven for plane-spotters. Just fancy I took that photo with an ordinary smartphone!
The south-eastern end of the airport runway must be devoid of any obstacles. Hence, an unobstructed view onto the Warsaw City skyline from Kinetic Street (the latter flanking the airport).
A real shock for me! Can you see the high-tower in the centre and the Palace of Culture and Science (far right)? It looks the building in the centre is higher than the Palace (the latter being the tallest building in Poland only recently). Yes! The high building is the Varso Tower (310 m or 1,017 ft), completed in September 2022! It is the highest building in Europe, and it is even higher than The Shard in London! Fancy that I learned about it only today!
As a nice surprise, my wandering led me to the nicest bike path of my nearer neighbourhood. Some cyclist named it "The Bike Path In The Memory Of The Stoney Road Race"
I can imagine how the road must have looked like before the bike path was constructed! The interesting part of my 66.66 km leisure ride.
In the praise of Smart Control: I returned with 24% of the battery, and there was still battery juice for another 4 km to get down to 20%, as planned!
Last edited:
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