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Addiscombe in Poland

I am now coming to the end of my 3 week holiday in Poland staying with my family. I am lucky enough to have a friend here who purchased me a 30 year old (guessing the age) 56cm Benetto racing bike so I could carry on my training while in Poland.

For those of you who don't know me I am 6ft 5in tall and therefore the frame is a tad too small for me. I also had to get used to not having STI shifters and having to reach a long way down to change gear on the frame.

The first thing I did was to purchase a mountain bike seat post so that I could at least make use of my long legs, and put up the handlebars as far as they could go. I bought my clipless pedals with me and attached these and I was now ready to start my Polish experience.

I spent a couple of days out training with my friend who had also bought a bike. The first thing I noticed was that the road surfaces are to say the least rather more challenging than on the roads in England. A pot hole in Poland is more like a watering hole for a large hippo and there are a lot of them. My friend informed me that there was a group of cyclists that meet everyday at 4pm for a group ride so we decided we should go and try this out. The good thing in Poland is that the working day finishes at around 3pm so plenty of time for after work cycling before dinner. Much more civilised than the English working day.

My friend and I went and met up with the group, mainly 40 - 50 years old but a very friendly bunch and dedicated to their cycling. We went out for a 60km ride, my friend blew out on the first hill, lack of conditioning but I stayed with the group and we even included a small mountain climb in the route. Excellent fun and I was invited to join the group for training everyday while I was staying in Poland.

I took up this invite and have been averaging around 40km a day, although had a couple of days off with a slight head cold. Last weekend they invited me to come and have a road race. The veterans, or Masters as they like to call them, were racing for honours in a local village. They were also having a younger age class ride which I could take part in.

I turned up at the race with my Benetto which I now felt relatively comfortable on to be confronted with a group of riders on top of the range Trek, Cannondales etc all fitted with top of the range Mavic Kryriums, Cosmics etc. I still felt confident, in my new Addiscombe Kit I felt invincible, well maybe not, I was starting to think I was a little out of my depth. I got even more worried when my colleague told me that the number plates on a number of the cars were from towns over 400km away and the race was quite important.

After watching the Masters do their bit, which was pretty impressive, good speed and racing by over 65 year olds I was now in the mood to get my legs into gear.

The race consisted of a 6km lap which was to be done 10 times. No problem I thought. The race started on a hill, I managed to stay with the group and was feeling okay although was a little concerned at the pace of the first lap but just put this down to adrenaline of the front runners.

The second lap started and I was still with the Peleton I found myself following a wheel, which unfortunately slowed on the hill, before I knew it the Peleton were around 10 yards ahead of me and starting to pull away. I did my best to rally my strength to pull back up to the Peleton but me and the Benetto were destined to spend the rest of the race alone, I could not get back onto the group.

Although it was a bit disheartening to get dropped so soon I finished the race and each time I came past the crowd I got a hefty cheer from the crowd who had now been informed by the commentator that I was English and that this was my first race on open roads. When I finished the race I was congratulated by a number in the crowd for making the distance and having a good stab, I went away feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

I have only been cycling for around 8 months but I have to say that out of all the sports that I have tried, this seems to be the one that translates best to different countries and cultures and combines serious sport with friendly sociable people who are all passionate about encouraging others in the sport.

So all those of you who have trips planned to Eastern Europe, take your bike along, if you can dodge the pot holes and get used to breathing the fumes of Skodas and Trabants you will find that there is a thriving cycling culture which you will no doubt be welcomed into.

Cheers

Marek.....