Kościuszko and Me

It has come my attention that if you are receiving and reading the email version of the blog, that sometimes the email versions have missing paragraphs or you may have paragraphs that are written over each other. The blog was written to view in a browser, of course, and you can do this easily by clicking on the blog title inside the email. That will open the post in your default browser and you will not have those rendering problems. Viewing in the browser also lets you see the other pages on the site, like the Cycling Activities and Archives pages, in case you're interested in the actual routes and data of my rides, or if you're interested in (re)reading other posts, searching for information, etc. *** The weather today promised to be fine: not hot, but with a lot of sun. Kościuszko and I were looking forward to exploring some new roads further to the south and west. We mapped out a full 75k (47miles) that took us out and around the suburb town of Piaseczno. As a cyclist ...

Yesterday's ride was relatively easy. The plan was to head south as quickly as possible to the village of Słomczyn, turn around and come home. The purpose was twofold: (1) we would get to do a short hill climb (.25 miles, 6%) and (2) we would be able to study the scores of farms and fields along the way. In regards to goal (1), if you haven't looked at a satellite view of where Kościuszko and I are riding these days, take a look at this image to the left. Our route is marked in red and meanders from the northwest to the south. This area is part of the Vistula River alluvial flood plain and is ideally suited for agriculture (the Vistula is to the right of the route). The flood plain is at its narrowest (on this map) near the village of Słomczyn, where a sharp ridge running from SE to NW marks the edge of the plain. It was in this spot where we would find today's little hill to climb. Goal (2) is a bit more involved. If you also look at the image you'll see countles...

One of you politely wrote and asked why we haven't gone North, into the center of Warsaw itself. The answer is relatively simple: I'm not fond of the urban landscape. I'm aided in this general dislike by admonitions from locals and my own observations of traffic, pedestrian and commuter bike congestion, construction zones, not to mention city noise, pollution, and road debris--all of which raise the possibility of bodily harm--something we wish to avoid at all costs. Kościuszko himself may not care, but truth be told, he was built for speeding on open roads and for climbing, not for the tight quarters of city streets, dodging obstacles at every turn. In that sense we are made for one another! Still, for you Dear Readers, in the spirit of exploration I decided to undertake a "mission" north, into the  Warszawa Centrum . OK, not really. I'm going to skirt the real center and cruise along the river. I knew there were bike lanes and a bike path there and if I le...

Just how, pray tell, did we get to an old Hollywood movie poster as the lead in for this blog post? It really is an accident, of sorts, but stay with me. The day dawned sunny and cool. Kościuszko and I headed out for what was to be an exploratory urban ride north and west of Wilanów that was not meant to be the subject of a blog post. Of course, you never know what will happen on such a venture, but that's what makes this so fun. As fate would have it, the day would have other plans for us. I had one planned stop today, and that was at an upscale bicycle shop not far from Sadyba Mall called Veloart . Looking at their website I was pleased to see that they did custom fittings and built custom bikes, much like my much-revered Cascade Bicycle Studio in Seattle. They have everything I need to make my cycling life easy here in Poland. The employees were friendly and eager to help when I dropped in unexpectedly to have a bit of maintenance done on Kościuszko. The cobbles, dirt an...

I've had an interest in illusionists for many years. Their sleight of hand, ability to misdirect and understanding of human psychology captivates me. Their ability to challenge our sense perception and force us to ask “how do we know this?” is quite remarkable. Recently, on Netflix, a well-known British illusionist, Derren Brown, has debuted with two new shows: The Push and Miracle . I recommend both to show you the powerful kind of work that they can do. Brown's shows end up being very, very thought-provoking in a scary-sort-of-way. Illusionists, of course, have gone by different names over the centuries: psychics, mind-readers, spiritualists to name a few. I don't actually know if psychics (mind-readers, spiritualists, etc.) are illusionists or actually have some "sixth sense ability", but I do know that I've seen enough illusionists to convince me that what psychics claim to do, illusionist can do, too, without resorting to unknown, unseen forces. Watch...

It's been hot in Warsaw, the hottest on record as any can remember. I decided last night, then, that the earliest possible departure was required for Kościuszko and me. Alas, the ancient Slavic god of thunder and lightning--Perun--had other ideas for me and I awoke to a mighty display of his strength. Warsaw Lightning. Source . You do know Perun, don't you? He is the Slavic equivalent to Thor and Zeus. Perun predates Christendom, national boundaries, and the politics that have made people adversaries, and he disappeared when those things came about. The Polish language indirectly remembers him, however, in the word piorun , 'lightning'. Although few people anywhere talk about him anymore, I thought it important to mention Perun so as the old days are not completely forgotten. While I'm on the topic, I should mention that the Baltic folks in Lithuania and Latvia had a similarly-named god in bygone days: Perkūnas. Perkūnas survives in modern Lithuanian in th...

Warsaw is divided into 18 districts. We are living in Wilanów, which is a district in the south end of Warsaw, bordering on the left bank of the Vistula River (Wisła). From the map below you can see Wilanów in red and that the Vistula River bisects Warsaw flowing from southeast to northwest. It is from Wilanów that our first adventure begins. Districts of Warsaw, Wilanów in red. Source . By the time Kościuszko and I got organized and out the door it was already after 11:00 and the temperature was hovering near 32ºC (89ºF). It was very hot by my standards, but I was too excited to care. I met up with Stewart M., a former colleague, who is now working in Warsaw. Our initial plan was to explore the quieter country roads of southern Wilanów, but this plan only lasted all of 20 minutes before we refocused ourselves and decided to head for Gassy Ferry, a small ferry crossing some 4-5 km south of the Warsaw city limits. The initial road conditions were difficult. This was our (...