A Day Without An Adventure Is A Day Lost (Part 2, or 2021 edition)
Let the video tell the story first
(1 min 58 s).
We met with Joanna
Makenzen at a well-known parking lot of the Kampinos National Park (KPN) at 9:00 am. It was +8 C. As soon as we both rode out, I discovered I almost had no brakes! (Apparently worn brake pads). The first ride leg was upwind. Makenzen cheated me on the night before: "Oh, I'm riding my recumbent bike at a pensioner pace, some 15-20 km/h..." And she actually rode 22-24 km/h into the wind!
(I rode with 25/25% assistance on my Vado).
Riding with back & side wind, we rode to Zaborów where Marta
Katrina was awaiting us. (Katrina rides a recumbent bike exactly the same as Makenzen's, only her handlebars are different: resembling Jones H-bars). From the very start, Katrina (who has enormous charisma) asked me for the remaining range on my single battery. I was surprised how much of charge has left -- and agreed to a ride longer than planned. When we changed the ride direction and started riding with the tailwind, both girls sped up and reached 33 km/h. As I didn't want to increase my assistance, I worked out more to not be left behind
Meanwhile, the temperature reached as much as +19 C!!! Full sunshine! At the Roztoka parking lot, I removed some clothing. At Cybulice Duże, I only left my base layer! No goggles, no gloves!!!
After a stop at McDonald's in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, we rode with traffic towards Czosnów. And there, we had the first adventure. A police patrol demanded we all moved to the bike path. I vigorously refused: "Who, me? Officer, no way! I'm riding an electric
moped!" -- "We're gonna talk. Pull over, sir!"
I admit I was behaving horribly. I was shouting at both officers, I was actually offending them! It was all because I was perfectly legal. Now, I regret my actions, because the cops
had the right to do the vehicle check. I calmed down a little (it is not wise to offend a police officer on duty), presented my personal ID and driving license. One of the guys checked my registration and insurance in the database, then returned my documents.
-- "Sir. We understand you might have been upset but we're on duty and have the right to make a check on your vehicle. You have to be aware there are
perhaps as many as two S-Pedelecs registered in Poland. Yes, we wrongly assessed your moped, taking it for a regular bike. However, we have never seen an S-Pedelec before and wanted to check what it was like. Now, some more checks:"
-- "Does your headlight carry Certificate of Conformity?" -- he almost took me by surprise -- "Yes, officer. See from below, it is there" -- "Okay".
-- "Is your moped equipped with turn signals?" -- "The Bill of 2001..." -- "Okay, okay, you have the right to indicate your turns with arms, fine".
-- "Demonstrate your brake lights" -- "Here you are" -- "Excellent. Be informed, sir, that the STOP light at a moped is just optional".
-- "You need to be aware sir we know the law and are not idiots. We wish you a pleasant trip. Only I would like to discourage you from riding out on Highway 7" -- "From my side, officers, I want to apologise for my harsh words: I'm very sorry indeed. And... I'm not an idiot to ride out onto Highway 7 either"
Just after passing Czosnów, the crank in Makenzen's bike fell off. As a gentleman, I switched to 70% Turbo mode and zoomed for 13 km towards the parking lot to rescue Makenzen with my station-wagon. Meanwhile, Katrina pedalled hard towards home against growing headwind and into the rain...
What a beautiful day it was!
View attachment 82996
Ride map.
View attachment 82997
Ride metrics.
