April 15, 2015
Day 90 - Torun to Kwidzyn: Long day and not much to say
I'm glad I got to be the featured journal last week, because I have nothing new to say about Poland this week, and with some time still left in this country, I predict a few more days of exceedingly boring text. The pressure to be entertaining is now high, but I can resist it and be as dull as I please. Sometimes these things happen.
I might have made a mistake when I decided to spend so much time in Poland. The cities are beautiful, but the countryside in between is an ever-repeating backdrop of the same farmland, trees, and terrible roads. At least there are people in the villages in Poland, but we don't have a common language.
A couple notes on my route: After leaving Torun, there's a bike path for more than 30km, complete with covered picnic tables every 5km. And Grudziadz was unusually slow and difficult to traverse by bicycle--by Polish city standards, which are fairly high.
The plan for tonight was to camp, but I pressed on to Kwidzyn, trying to make as much distance as possible because I had decided to try to get to Malbork on the way to Gdansk. Camping in the forest 10km before town would have been much better, as the cheapest hotel was overpriced with lukewarm shower water, plus Kwidzyn is on top of a hill, which was a somewhat unpleasant surprise after 115km, much of that against the wind.
The highlight today: faced with a flight of stairs to reach the entrance to the hotel and not wanting to unload the bike on a busy street corner, I picked up my loaded bicycle and carried it smoothly up the stairs. Okay, I struggled it up the stairs, and nearly lost my balance halfway up, but the point is I am now strong enough to pick up and carry the bike as long as I use my body to support most of the weight. Small victories.
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Today's ride: 120 km (75 miles)
Total: 4,395 km (2,729 miles)
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