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Published: August 19th 2007
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The lake
Just before Pila, we find a lake - finally a shower! We make it through the night ok, if not quite rested. Our "hosts" had a party (Hans said he was close to complaining about the noise), and the dogs on the neighbouring farms gave an all-night concert. We use our burning alcohol to make some coffee and then hit the road.
At Trzcienka, we take a break in front of a Sklep, where two Polish men start their Sunday with beer and a cigarette. One of them speaks a little German. When we tell them of our plans, they tell us that we're crazy, especially Belarus is full of robbers and thieves, we will be left dead by the side of the road. Of course, one shouldn't believe what people say (especially at 10am over their first (?) beer), but I can feel that both Hans and I are thinking about what they said as we continue on towards Pi?a.
5 km before we reach the city, we come across a lake by the side of the road: finally a chance to wash and clean our clothes! When a train stops in the nearby station, the passengers experience the natural phenomenon "naked Hans". Once we reach Pila, refreshed from
Bike carriage
Now, try getting a 35kg touring bike up those steps! the dip in the lake, we head for the first Pizzeria and take a break.
In order to save a day, we decide to cut 100km out of our tour and take the train to Bydgoszcz. At the station, a woman with shaking hands tries to help us find the correct train. We head off to the ticket office, a few gestures and broken Polish words read from a dictionary later we hold tickets for us and the bikes in our hands. Off to the platform!
When we point at the bikes, the conductor points us to the far end of the train. When we reach the bike carriage, there is just one problem: 3 steps, each about 30cm high, lead up to the carriage. Lifting a 35kg touring bike up there is no easy feat, but we manage. Clanking and shaking, the train leaves Pila towards Bydgoszcz.
Once we arrive, we decide to simply continue on to Chelmno, where we will meet the R1 again. This turns out not to be quite as easy as we imagine: Bydgoszcz is a large town, and we have no map of the city. After touring around town for 2
A place in the woods
The end to a hard day of touring... hours, asking people left and right and getting responses we don't understand for the most part, we find the correct way out, when my rear tyre goes flat - perfect! Having bought puncture-proof tyres, this is the last thing I thought would happen on this tour, and it turns out that the hole is on the inside, caused by the rim, not something piercing the tyre. What is more, the spare tube I have on me doesn't fit the rear rim, so we have to mend the tube. On second attempt we manage, and only an hour later, we're back on our way out of Bydgoszcz. The way is signposted very poorly, we keep asking people for directions, but the Polish appear to be very helpful.
At half past eight, we're finally out of the city - three and a half hours after we arrived by train. Continuing on towards Chelmno, we soon decide to call it a day and pitch our tent in the woods, where the mosquitoes almost eat us alive. Thus, probably the most stressful touring day so far comes to an end.
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