Day 13 (Lucky!): Wyszków, Poland to Warsaw, Poland

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WARSAW!!! On lucky day number 13, the trip has reached its end! More than 1,100 km (almost 700 miles), 13 stages and a lot of rain later, I rode into Warsaw without having had one flat tire or other mechanical incident on the bike. For this, I credit my Armadillo tires and the good folks at the Bicycle Pro Shop on M Street, NW, in Washington, DC, for their skill in putting Love #3 together (though I have taken to calling it "Super Mario" these days, because that was the cryptic label on the bike box they prepared for me when I left).

I woke up as early as I could in Wyszków, thinking that, if there was no rain, I could make it to Warsaw very early in the day and still get some sight-seeing in. It was, of course, drizzling. So I wandered into "town" over the bridge (Bug River again) and didn't really linger to take in the sights. I came back to the Bias Hotel, packed up and hit the road for the remaining 33 miles to Warsaw. The rain slowed down some, thankfully, but the road was so wet and dirty that the volume of accumulated grime on the bike was unbelievable. Knowing I would face more rain, I had not cleaned it from yesterday's 25-mile ride in the rain, so this was day 2 of accumulation. The highlight of the travel was the 18 km of construction (which actually meant the road was very smooth where I was riding) and seeing the cutest bulldozer I have ever seen (see photo). The road was also generally good, so I powered through as quickly as I could and arrived in the Praga district of Warsaw around 11:30 am, still about a couple miles from old town, where I had an apartment reserved.

The grime on the bike was a sight to see. The orange ("you really" orange, according to Mr. Pegoretti) of the bike was completely covered in a gray/black sand that was caked on several millimeters thick. I pulled into an Internet cafe, since I was early for my 1 pm check-in time, and the first message I had was from Old Town Apartments telling me there had been a mistake -- they could only accommodate me in the apartment for 1 night. This "you have a reservation but you don't have a reservation" thing was getting old. I told them the term "confirmation" meant the room was confirmed and that I had searched in vain for any other lodging. They promised we'd find a solution when I came by their offices.

I headed across the bridge over the Wistula River into Old Town. I had been led to believe that Warsaw was barely worth the visit -- probably because Karakow is supposed to be so amazing. But I must say I find Warsaw to be beautiful and fascinating. The old town is elegant and well-preserved, the town has the stately, regal architecture of a capital city and the modern sections are in some ways reminiscent of New York and Buenos Aires. I have been pleasantly surprised...but more on that in tomorrow's post.

So the folks at Old Town Apartments found a solution -- they booked me in with their competitors for the last night. I thanked them -- they were very professional about it. They also laughed at the weather I had had these past 3 weeks, and they said that this was normal weather for November here, rather than September. Apparently this time of year is usually called "the golden autumn" in Poland, but there was nothing golden about it this year! Anyway, the two apartments were some two blocks from each other and both very nice, in the heart of the old town. All was well that ended well, so I moved into the apartment -- which was very nice and much more that I needed -- bought some paper towels and began the fun process of cleaning the bike from top to bottom. It took me an hour and a half and a full roll of paper towels (sorry environment!). Then, after some great Polish pierogi, I headed straight for the bike shop that had told me they could box the bike.

The route seemed clear enough on my map in the Rough Guide, but as I headed out the door...wait for it...it began to rain again. This wouldn't have been such a big deal except that the map in the Rough Guide was...well..impressionistic at best. I wandered around for about an hour in the rain trying to find this bike shop, each moment with less and less hope that I would get there before it closed. But I did eventually find it -- Speed Bike Shop. The guys were very nice and helpful and said they'd have it ready first thing in the morning for all of $11. Another guy in the shop, Cuba, who was picking up his mountain bike said that he had lived in Erie, PA for a year of high school. He spoke perfect, unaccented English, and he said he was going back to the US this fall to buy a BMW motorcycle (half the price that it is here, apparently) and ride it from the US to Tierra Del Fuego. Amazing.

Then I hightailed it -- still in this rain -- to a restaurant called "KOM" where my Williams contemporary, Alastair Moock, was playing a small show for Democrats Abroad. When I got to the intersection, I was never more than about 100 yards away from this place, but it took me another 30 minutes of walking around in the rain to find it. I was soaked again, but the welcome when I got in was warm and I met some great Democrats and some other folks who are associated with the American School of Warsaw, where Alastair is playing a concert on Wednesday night.

It was fantastic to see Alastair and listen to him play several very heartfelt tunes, many from his new album, Fortune Street. He rolled out a beautiful number about Woody Guthrie that had everyone moved, and all accompanied by some great Polish beer. After everyone left the small show (school night), Alastair and I sat back from some upscale Polish food and bison grass vodka, caught up a little (he now has 21-month-old twin girls!) and headed home. What a day!

More information on Alastair Moock and his music: http://www.moock.com/

Vitals on today's (last!) ride:
Distance: 33 miles (total: 689 miles, or about 1,100 kilometers)
Route: http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=21840
Soundtrack: Bob Dylan, Live at Universal Amphitheatre (mid 1970s)