Getting There

Poland – Arrival in Krakow (15 Sep 2018)

Weather: 9⁰C min – 20⁰C max, partly cloudy

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“I have found it to be true that the older I’ve become the better my life has become” ~ Rush Limbaugh

After 73 years on this planet I am realistic enough to accept the sad truth that there are probably not many more years of solo bicycle tours left. But I will let my body tell me when the time has come to pull the plug, so here I am in Krakow enjoying a couple of days of sightseeing before commencing my ride to Budapest on Tuesday, passing through four countries I have never set foot (or wheel) in before: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

The logistics of getting to the starting point with a bike is always the hardest part of a bicycle tour. Sourcing a cardboard bike box in London is not a problem, with bike shops only too keen to dispose of their used boxes at no charge. The difficulty is in lugging a 20 Kg box plus a 10 Kg cabin bag to the airport and getting it checked in without sending your back into spasm!

With the cabin bag slung around my neck and wheeling the large box using a small hand-truck, I reached the bus stop in Willesden Green just in time to catch the 52 bus to Victoria Station (my dear wife having kindly accompanied me so as to return home with the hand-truck). At 6:30 am on a Saturday morning there was plenty of room for the box to stand on its end in the wheelchair area of the bus. After about 40 minutes the bus pulled up right outside the entrance to the station, so I only had to carry/drag the box a couple of hundred metres to the Gatwick Express platform. Reaching Gatwick just after 8 am, I grabbed a trolley and had plenty of time to drop my box at Oversize Baggage before my easyJet flight departed for Krakow at 10:15 am.

After an uneventful 2 hr 30 min flight I reached Krakow, retrieved by box from the Oversize Baggage carousel, dragged it outside the airport, and unboxed my bike – relieved to find it had arrived without damage. About 30 minutes later I had assembled the bike, transferred the contents of the cabin bag to my two Ortlieb pannier bags, and was on my merry way, headed for my hotel in Krakow 15 Km away.

The ride from the airport was very pleasant, following a superb elevated cycle path most of the way. Now I am excited about spending two days exploring this beautiful city of Krakow.

My tour has begun!