Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Łódź Heights Ride
"Next time, I'm always taking a camera with me! I didn't expect such a good weather and colours!" -- my artist friend Pawel Jonca remarked as we were climbing a steep, overgrown and stoney rural path. I admit we both could do a way better with the visuals from that trip. Turned out, the route provided to us by my friend Alfer was actually a Cross Country (XC) one, and it was hard at times! Despite me simplifying the route, we had to climb a lot in often rough terrain, so the trip (on my Vado SL) left me spent!
The public transportation is nowadays excellent in Poland. We took an ŁKA train from Warsaw West to Łódź Fabryczna for PLN 36 (US$ 9, €8.20 or £7) including bike transport -- my senior ticket was extra 35% off
The trip took 1 h 8 min.
Łódź (literally "boat" for a city with no river, haha!) is now the fourth largest city of Poland (after Warsaw, Cracow and Wrocław). Created during the Industrial Revolution by Jewish, German and Polish entrepreneurs, was once called "the Manchester of Poland". Nowadays, it is a nice place to live with the most beautiful train station I could see in my country! It is also the home to Polish film-making.
We were mostly riding XC or gravel trails but even the asphalt roads could take us by surprise! I admit there were even some segments where I had to climb in the 3rd (or even 1st) gear and in TURBO!
The route was mostly keeping us from inhabited areas but we had to ride to Moscow anyway!
One of a very few photos from the actual ride.
There was a long segment of premium gravel with the descent almost all the time we loved!
Here it is!
Those many climbs and riding in rough terrain made me spent. I simplified the ride plan, and we took a long rest at the top of the climb in Kalonka.
I decided to shorten the ride but a visit in Vodka was a must! Here, at 13 Rye Vodka
Barley Vodka x Wheat Vodka
I made a serious navigational error on our return. We decided to ride to the train station the shortest possible way and using Pawel's Garmin. The outcome:
Anyway, going that way allowed us to see a gravel pit. Ah, so there's where we get gravel from!
We were lucky because we could immediately catch the return train!
My last 130 km was less taxing than that 60 km ride!
P.S. For @Chargeride, so he wouldn't need to guess how the name with as many as three Polish characters in 4 letters is pronounced Łódź is something between "oo-ts" and "oo-j" The easiest way to pronounce for a foreigner is "wodge".
"Next time, I'm always taking a camera with me! I didn't expect such a good weather and colours!" -- my artist friend Pawel Jonca remarked as we were climbing a steep, overgrown and stoney rural path. I admit we both could do a way better with the visuals from that trip. Turned out, the route provided to us by my friend Alfer was actually a Cross Country (XC) one, and it was hard at times! Despite me simplifying the route, we had to climb a lot in often rough terrain, so the trip (on my Vado SL) left me spent!
The public transportation is nowadays excellent in Poland. We took an ŁKA train from Warsaw West to Łódź Fabryczna for PLN 36 (US$ 9, €8.20 or £7) including bike transport -- my senior ticket was extra 35% off
The trip took 1 h 8 min. Łódź (literally "boat" for a city with no river, haha!) is now the fourth largest city of Poland (after Warsaw, Cracow and Wrocław). Created during the Industrial Revolution by Jewish, German and Polish entrepreneurs, was once called "the Manchester of Poland". Nowadays, it is a nice place to live with the most beautiful train station I could see in my country! It is also the home to Polish film-making.
We were mostly riding XC or gravel trails but even the asphalt roads could take us by surprise! I admit there were even some segments where I had to climb in the 3rd (or even 1st) gear and in TURBO!
The route was mostly keeping us from inhabited areas but we had to ride to Moscow anyway!
One of a very few photos from the actual ride.
There was a long segment of premium gravel with the descent almost all the time we loved!
Here it is!
Those many climbs and riding in rough terrain made me spent. I simplified the ride plan, and we took a long rest at the top of the climb in Kalonka.
I decided to shorten the ride but a visit in Vodka was a must!
Here, at 13 Rye Vodka Barley Vodka x Wheat Vodka
I made a serious navigational error on our return. We decided to ride to the train station the shortest possible way and using Pawel's Garmin. The outcome:
- A long and erratic trip over Łódź outskirts
- A suggestion to illegally cross the railroad main line (!!!) -- of course we didn't
- Difficult to read the course in full sunshine.
Anyway, going that way allowed us to see a gravel pit. Ah, so there's where we get gravel from!
We were lucky because we could immediately catch the return train!
My last 130 km was less taxing than that 60 km ride!
P.S. For @Chargeride, so he wouldn't need to guess how the name with as many as three Polish characters in 4 letters is pronounced
Łódź is something between "oo-ts" and "oo-j" The easiest way to pronounce for a foreigner is "wodge".
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