A Visit to a Polish Bike Shop and on the Front Page of the Local
Breakfasts in Poland continue to be excellent. We like the approach in Poland where we are typically offered a hot breakfast made to order rather than a buffet. Mary Ellen had fried eggs with cheese on toast, Barry had scrambled eggs with 3 buns, we both had yogurt and this interesting creation on the bottom left: yogurt cheese and jelly - surprisingly tasty.
It was one of those funny days. We had a really good stay at Motel 118 and were ready to hit the road. However, Barry arose determined to sort out our Garmin problems once and for all. It was time well spent as he figured out why our Garmin was showing maps with key squares of the map missing. We now have a fully functioning Garmin. Yeah Barry!!
Then we thought we would take one last cruise through the centre of town and visit a bike store to have them check the tension of the spokes on the newly built front wheel and a tire on the trailer. We do like Zielona Gora.
However, we cycled in circles it seems, cursing Google Maps, searching for the missing bike shop, until we found an English speaking person who told us that it no longer existed. So the search began for another shop. The good news is that we found it and it was a great bike shop - Sogest, a Giant bike store. The spokes were fine, but our Schwalbe Tour Plus on the front (only 1 year old) had a slight bulge on the side wall and was going to blow (when we would least expect it!) - so we changed that tire. Yikes, we thought it was fine. Then we also had to replace a relatively new tire on our trailer. The gash and slash on one of the trailer tires concerned us as we know from past trips that it is very hard to find a replacement 16" tire of good quality. Our experience has been that outside of Germany, most 16" tires are for children's bikes and are poor quality Chinese made tires. Sogest only had such a tire, so we took it as a temporary replacement until we can find a 16" tire of better quality. We are very lucky that we went to the right shop who took the time to find these problems, as we most often are cycling in remote rural areas. It's always the sign of a good shop and mechanic when they look at the bike as a whole, not just the one thing you tell them about (in our case - look at the spokes). As the mechanic was finishing and checking the tire he noticed that the BB7 mechanical disc brake was not quite right. The caliper was loose where it attaches to the frame and the brakes needed some adjustment. It was a day of problem solving before we actually hit the road. We realized we would be riding in rush hour traffic on the road- but it was ok. We wouldn't choose to ride at this time of day usually, but we made excellent time. When we push hard and use the motor, we can maintain our speed much better than before the e-conversion.
While we were riding through the city a reporter for the local newspaper stopped us and asked if he could photograph us. Our Polish friend, Bogdan, emailed us the newspaper clipping.
This is the third time that this has happened to us. The first time was in Denmark on a small island when the press were covering the arrival of the Danish q
This life size statue depicts an artist of Zielona Gora. The lower figure is one of the many miniature statues throughout the centre of town - all celebrating the wine industry here. The one with the camera is outside the tourist office.
ueen and the reporter thought our arrival was something special. The second time was in the Netherlands when we were at a campground on the Waal River near Nijmegen.
The staff at Sogest were great to deal with. The young woman spoke excellent English and was most helpful. The man who took care of our bike also spoke some English and we thank him for his great service.
After the bumpy ride we took by the Odra River a few days ago, we are considering using secondary roads whenever we can. Having ridden with Bogdan on secondary roads on Sunday, we are feeling more confident about exploring these instead of the trail. As well, we think that after the recent rain that we might be ploughing through mud. Two of the employees at the bike store are giving Mary Ellen advice on the best way to get to Nowa Sol.
When finding routes, we like to tap the brains of tourist infos and bike shops. It's always good to find a bike mechanic who rides the area and knows which roads are safest.
At Sogest Bike Shop in Zielana Gora, we got excellent service and workmanship. After they mounted a new tire on the front we were all feeling pretty good until he noticed that the caliper for the BB7 was loose and needed much adjustment. We like a shop that shows initiative, notices problems and finds a solution.
