Week 8 – (704km – 436 mile)

A mixed week of highs and lows, which has seen the end of the tailwinds and I’ve also been thinking of home a lot.

I seriously thought of flying home Warsaw or to keep a bit of dignity and pedal across Germany and Holland to catch a ferry bound for England. It wouldn’t be fair to Lee to quit now, so I battled with my mind and the winds hoping for a change of fortune come Warsaw.

We left behind Lithuania and entered Poland where we had views of some of the most beautiful countryside, which had a hint of Britishness about it’s beauty. We found a lakeside campsite, grabbed a couple of Tyskie beer’s each and rented a row boat. We spent a couple of hours swimming, drinking and generally relaxing and came away with a much needed morale boost.

30 degree heat and hills was the theme to Warsaw. We had two dog’s chase us up one of the hill’s. My immediate thought being to get in front of Lee, so he could take the bite that never came. Good fun.

Warsaw was a refreshing change from all the other Polish towns we had passed through and I booked a flight home from Istanbul for August 31st. No turning back now.

The road out of Warsaw was utter gridlock for about 10 miles, reason being an annual 250km pilgrimage consisting of up to 8000 walkers was taking place. Talk about timing. The same day saw my rear tyre split at the sidewall and I had no spare or way of fixing it.

This could of been bad. Before we even had time to consider our options, help arrived in the form of a Polish baker, who looked a little like Ned Flanders I might add. He has a friend who owns a bike shop and offers to drive me and my wheel there. I took about half an hour in total and on the drive back, he pulls into his driveway to fetch me 2 bottles of water and a huge bag of cakes.

He dropped me off back where he found me and after a chorus of thank yous from the both of us he left me to it. Just as I had got the wheel back on, he returns with another bag of cakes bigger than the first. Absolute legend.

People like him make a trip like this all the more worthwhile. It’s often the people you meet on the road you remember more than the places you go.

 

Week 7 – (727km – 450 mile)

Finally back on the bike, only this time with a bit of company. An early start was in order to test Lee fitness. I imagined it was going to be a slow and steady start to ease him in but we finished on a respectable 82 miles for the day (tailwind may have helped).

On a cloudless day we cruised on down to Helsinki passing numerous crystal clear lakes decorated with pine trees for good measure. A fantastic end to a fantastic part of the world. I hope to visit Scandinavia again in the future. Of course by bike.

A 2hr ferry ride across the Gulf of Finland dropped us off in the charming Estonian capital Tallin, which as well as having a beautiful Old Town also boasts some of the most beautiful girls in the world. Halfway across Estonia was the beach resort of Parnu, where we took an extended break to take a swim and watch the girls go by.

Two day’s after arriving in Estonia we were now in Latvia. A lush coastal road that would not have looked out of place in Scandinavia led us towards Riga. As we neared the capital, sadly the road worsened as did the views. So we rattled our way to a hostel for a well earned rest day.

Full of energy from a day of rest and good food, we managed to hit career highs of 103 miles for the day. This saw us make good progress across Lithuania. However with the sun nearly down we still hadn’t found a place to camp.

I spotted a coulple of farmers out in their field. They spoke no English, so after a few hand gestures and what not, they understood that we needed somewhere to sleep. They thankfully offered us their front lawn. Bliss.