The Brix' Birthday Tribute (An Imperial Century) Ride
or, How I Rode Just To Collect Trousers Lost & Found In A Płock Hotel
Willa Adriana -- a boutique hotel in Płock's Old Town -- operates with hardly any personnel. You do anything related to the reception activities on a terminal at the gate. The breakfast (excellent) is prepared by two ladies who come to work at 5:30 am. Rooms are cleaned either before a new quest arrives or on every third day (or, on a guest request), making the demand for maids low. The management even does not sit inside the hotel but they -- for instance -- monitor the parking lot by cameras to be able to ask for the parking fee. You could say: The covid rules used to reduce the operating cost of that hotel. On the other hand, the hotel is just excellent!
I was sure I left my elegant and expensive trousers in the wardrobe. However, the maid was on a well deserved leave, and nobody could tell me whether my pants actually were there! Pretty late (9:03 am) I started my "big" Vado ride from Błonie. I was fully prepared: taking all three batteries, a charger, and optimizing the route not to end up with a 200 km ride.
32nd kilometre. A fortified church in Brochów (erected 1561, upgraded 1655). The place where Frederic Chopin was baptised (this photo was taken on my return ride).
There in the morning, I got a phone call from the hotel my pants had been actually found and I could collect them!
A trestle bridge over River Bzura.
Intentionally, I took a pretty long ride along the Vistula. Approximately 25 km of the trail located just outside the Vistula anti-flood embankment consisted of excellent gravel, and it later continued with asphalt up to Płock suburbs!
FYI: The Vistula is mostly an unregulated river. The embankments are located far from the river, and the Vistula is allowed to flood within. The whole area I rode through was inhabited by Hollander communities (Dutch Mennonites and later Germans) since 16th c. until 1945.
A peek behind the embankment. The water visible is not the Vistula (which is far away) but a bay.
End of gravel. Only 23 km remaining to Willa Adriana!
I made it! My Vado in the Old Market Square of Płock; the townhall seen in the background.
I collected my trousers (the manager let me -- remotely -- enter the hotel). And I needed a huge lunch.
In the "Inn Under A Thatched Roof" (Karczma pod strzechą). Meatballs, potato, fried cabbage. Very Polish and as good as any Polish mother could make!
The weather: reasonable temperatures in the morning and evening, very warm during the midday and in the afternoon. No wind. It was nothing dramatic during the ride as the perceived wind was a good coolant but the lunch... I ate in the restaurant's veranda where -- despite lack of walls -- and the protection by the roof -- temperature reached 35 C! The heat started taking its toll on me.
Highway #62 is very nice. Perfect asphalt, not much traffic on Sunday. The road is flanked by the forest on both sides on most of it (giving shadow and smelling so nicely). Still... fancy yourself pedalling for 40 km on such a boring road! And my ass started hurting badly. At some point I lost any motivation to ride. Only excellent coffee I drank at a petrol station later could restore some of my spirits!
Closer and closer to the sunset. I arrived back in Błonie at the last of the daylight!
My longest e-bike ride ever. All my Vado batteries hold far less than the nominal 604 Wh. For instance, the black battery held 468 Wh, the blue one 533, and the grey one 521 Wh. As you can see on the map, I used all of them and was gradually increasing the assistance. I could make well more than 200 km using all the batteries for 35/35%. The issue being, my ass and legs would not stand such a long ride!
On July 3rd, 1919, my Dad was born. Exactly 60 years later, my girlfriend
@Brix was born. And I have dedicated my 7/3/2022 ride to her!
