Here we are in Gdansk and are having a day off buying snazzy biking clothes for Ted whilst Sarah sits patiently outside the changing rooms. This is a picture we took in Germany riding down this lovely road. if you zoom in by clicking on the picture you can see that the surface is cobbled and it went on for 20 km nice eh?
Ted was very reluctant to wear his tight fitting yellow plumage but the first day he did suddenly we were hailed by every passing racing cyclist - including 2 young girls. After that he decided to buy another cycling shirt and retire the walking shirt he had been using that inflated in the wind like a Michelin man. When he's feeling really brave he'll put on Daniel's even more colourful shirt on. It is now pretty hot and sunny but luckily we have been going along roads through forests so we are keeping reasonably cool and unburnt.
Gdansk is an amazing place. My expectation was that it would be a grim derelict shipbuilding town but the old town is a wonderful collection of 17thC and 18thC houses and warehouses and even older churches. It also has many nice places to eat gargantuan meals. Unlike most of the places we have stayed in so far cafes and restaurants stay open late into the evening. We were getting very disappointed to arrive in a town at about 18.00 to find it buzzing with activity - loads of shops and cafes open, people eating ices and having beers - only to find an hour later after we'd had our showers and settled into a hotel that everywhere had closed down.
To return to the question of roadkill that has been preoccupying me as I cycle along. It seems that Poland does have some wildlife - at least several dead pine martins, cats, dogs and hedgehogs. The problem is that I have to keep my eyes firmly on the road in front of me at all times, firstly to avoid running into the back of Ted - something I've done twice - with me ending up spread over the road (albeit at very low speed) - and also to avoid running into the cavernous Polish potholes or falling off the cliff of tarmac at the edge of the road.
We are riding about 85 to 95 km a day but we always set off to do about 80. I think my original distance calculations might have been a bit awry. So we find ourselves behind schedule on a location but ahead on distance run. We are now one third of the way to Saint Petersburg. I am probably carrying about 10kg of extra fat but Sarah has none so we need to stop every two hours or so to refuel. Along the Polish coast this was a bit tricky as it was a bit difficult to tell the difference between a bar and a cafe. They all had lots of umbrella but no signs. We finally discovered that pushchairs were a good sign that food and coffee were available. I never thought I would hear Sarah saying "Stop here this looks good there are lots of children"
You might want to know what our duties are;
Ted
Navigation
Communication
Accommodation
Washing clothes
Sarah
Roadkill analysis and commentary
Victualling (she is now fully familiar with the standard layout of Netto supermarkets
Forgiving Ted for not knowing where he is.
Spotting things like Internet cafes and potential hotels
Drying clothes
Medical matters which so far have mainly involved making sure Ted puts on his sunscreen.
Stop press our behinds are now in quite good condition!
