We woke up this morning, took a shower and went for our usual breakfast all alone in our cool little hotel bungalow. It was so nice to have a shower in a bathroom that wasn’t smaller than my left rear bike bag. Anyway the sun was already up and my muscles ached from the last push into town last night.

We followed our tracks into town and split up. Emma took the train and I went on my way to the border. The trail was long and tiresome and I told Emmanuelle I would meet her just 5 km out of the border of Poland. This turned out to be around 80 km away from where we stayed this morning. Luckily Emmanuelle wasn’t with me because there was a deadly mountain pass that stood in the way of the flatlands and after the mountains the wind pushed against the bike like a horse scratching his back on a fence. I stopped every 20 min just to catch my breath and rest a little. I had even poured out about a liter and a half of my water to lighten up the load.

I met Emmanuelle in a little town and we started out for the border of Poland. The crossing was easy and we weren’t delayed at all. For the next 60 km Emmanuelle led the trail with me, exhausted form the morning, trailing somewhere behind. The terrain was not rally flat but there were consistent climbs every km which tested our endurance but it was nice to be pedaling together.

The little station where I picked up Emmanuelle was quiet and calm but it seemed by the time we reached Klodzko the air had changed. The people grew more and more stressed on the roads and angrier in the towns. The actual town of Klodzko was a little rough. I have walked through many towns in my day: New York, Mexico City, L.A. Paris etc... But I have never seen a town as rough as this one. After being brushed by a car, pushed by a mob, yelled at by some angry man and watching a man try to lunge at Emmanuelle and her bike, we decided to go for a quiet dinner and relax a little.

The town is very old and beautiful, set into a little hillside with old cobble houses and wood dams separating the houses. Emmanuelle seems too tired to see the town so I guess we will turn in early tonight. First night in Poland.