Day 7- Nida (LT) to past Riga (LV)

Friday 01/06/2018
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Slept really well as the night was cooler than it has been of late. Got bitten by lots of mosquitos walking back from Nida last night so my legs, arms and neck are itchy and covered in lumps.

Had a very slow start this morning. Everything was fine but I just felt tired and fancied a lie-in. Went back up the Curonian spit and caught the ferry back across to Klaipeda. It was my favourite price (free) on the return leg.

After Klaipeda the road was dull. Miles and miles of empty plains and very few hills or other features. I actually found myself almost dozing-off a couple of times. Nothing of note really, but by 3pm I had crossed over another seamless border into Latvia. The roads, in the main, are noticeably worse than Latvia - all like B roads in the UK but with a bumpier road service. Got into Riga without issue, but got there just in time for the 5pm rush hour and I think that the entire city was busy evacuating to some lakeside retreats as the traffic was shocking. My filtering skills came in handy but I was sweating buckets. Drove around quite a bit, but again chose not to take photos and decided to take a gamble on finding a campsite North of the city in the Guijda National park rather than staying in the city.

I stopped and programmed some co-ordinates into the Sat-Nav and headed off. Pretty quickly it had me going down a rocky track. After 4 miles I bottled it and turned around. With bald tyres and a sportsbike, I would have come off eventually or got a puncture. I headed back to tarmac and stopped to re-programme the route to take me on the direct road to Sareema island in Estonia. I ended-up doing 20 miles on sand and rocky tracks trying to get to me chosen road. I thought that I'd never see tarmac again and it was getting late.... I searched for any campsites along my chosen route and the next one was 95 miles away and I was starting to regret my decision not to stay in Riga.

I rode on hoping that something would eventually turn-up. Sure enough, after a few miles on the tarmac I spotted a camping sign. I went for it, only to have to ride another 2 miles down another sandy track to the middle of bum-f@€k nowhere. I wish I still had my Tenere - it would have lapped this up! Finally got to the campsite which is actually kind of amazing (ignoring the mosquitos). After much misunderstanding I was finally allowed to set-up my tent - €6.

The campsite is situated right on the beach - it has a restaurant with stunning views. Enjoyed another neck-pork meal with some lovely dark ale. Perfect end to a very long day. I may have missed-out on the Riga night-life, but this is what it's all about. What's more I can now go direct to Sareema tomorrow and potentially save a day?

Mileage: 2190
Country count: 8 (GB, F, B, NL, D, PL, LT, LV)
Beers: 21
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 3/10
Mechanical issues: 0
Accidents: 0 (well 1 that didn't involve me)
Coldness: 0/10

Day 6 - Trakai (LT) to Nida (LT)

Thursday 31/05/2018
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Slept OK, but would have slept better given the chance of taking a dump in a normal toilet rather than crapping through a hole in a plank onto a steaming pile of someone else's shit. For €15 I would have at least expecting a circa 1920's flushing water closet....

Only realised this morning that the clocks are 2 hours ahead of BST as soon as you cross the Polish border. Packed my stuff and left the 'campsite' by 09:30. Got to Vilnius about 20 minutes later. Whilst not as hot as yesterday, I really didn't fancy stopping to look at a bunch of old churches. I may do it another time as a mini-break. Vilnius (Wilno) was a key Polish city for centuries, but with Stalin et all re-drawing the map again after the 2nd world war, the city was added to Lithuania's land. There was a whole ultra modern side to the city which I didn't expect but I didn't bother to stop and take pictures as I had a lot of ground to cover....

My next stop was at the Hill of Crosses. Took forever to get there. The roads are a bit bumpy but mostly empty yet nobody really speeds which is odd. I wasn't exactly going mad but I was one of the fastest things on the road. That said, lots of speed cameras and a couple of Police speed traps today so that probably explains it.

Jurgicai (I think) - Hill of Crosses. Very interesting. There are thousands upon thousands of crosses there. Apparently someone had a vision of the Virgin Mary so people started putting crosses up. The Communist government bulldozed them only for new ones to be erected. It's quite an impressive site and bow there are crosses from all over the world there. Anyone can put up their own cross as long as it's under 3m high. Pretty cool - faith and defiance.

I then had to head back down, South-West across the country to Klaipeda and then catch the ferry to the Curonian Spit and Nida which is near the border with the Kaliningrad bit of Russia. Rode right up to the border but quickly did a U-turn just before the border post and snuck a photo in from a distance. The Curonian spit is amazing. Very much like the one near Gdynia in Poland (called Hel). I had to catch a short €3.50 ferry from Klaipeda to the spit itself and then after a couple of miles I had to pay another €5 toll for the bike. The spit has some pretty little towns on it with Nida being the Southernmost. Unlike the Hel spit, you can't see the lagoon / sea at the same time - certainly not from the road.

There's a nice sea-breeze here. Set up the tent in a great campsite with 21st Century facilities and just a short walk from Nida and pretty much on the beach (and just €8). Lovely. Nida itself if a quiet holiday town. Lots of great views and restaurants over looking the lagoon / spit. Had my best ever Karkówka / neck pork steak with pepper sauce with some tastly local beer to wash it down with.

Tomorrow, Riga - but I'm debating going further as I've got time to make up. I should really change my route as it's probably not the most efficient..... Let's see how things go.

Mileage: 1883
Country count: 7 (GB, F, B, NL, D, PL, LT)
Beers: 19
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 3/10
Mechanical issues: 0
Accidents: 0 (well 1 that didn't involve me)
Coldness: 0/10

Day 5 - Srebrna (PL) to Trakai (LT)

Wednesday 30/05/2018
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Woke-up nice and early after a solid night of sleep. Enjoyed a nice breakfast and morning chat with my kind hosts before heading-off down the road towards Białystock.

The weather is soo hot, easily over 30C so you don't really want to stop anywhere for too long. My sat nav lead me towards the border with Bielo-Russia as apparently it was a short-cut.... no chance without a visa so I continued toward Augustów and crossed seamlessly into Lithuania. The country feels big and relatively empty. Progress was good, but it was boiling so when I got to Trakai I realised that this was the place for me so I pulled into a very rudimentary (17th Century facilities) campsite on the lake pretty much opposite the castle. Sweated buckets putting the tent up but had a quick wash (and washed my clothes) in the lake before going sight seeing.

The castle is truly stunning, like a smaller Malbork, but on an island so real fairytale stuff. Took far too many photos, but it was impossible not to. The weather was perfect - people boating, swimming, windsurfing, sunbathing, etc. A perfect afternoon.

Had a 'posh' meal in a restaurant overlooking the castle - the beer tasted so good! Glad I made the decision to stop here rather than sweat in Vilnius. I will pass through tomorrow but won't stop for long. I do wonder if I have time to do everything on my list and still enjoy it. May have to start making some tough calls soon, especially as I may need to find a faff day soon to seek out some new tyres.

Mileage: 1556
Country count: 7 (GB, F, B, NL, D, PL, LT)
Beers: 17
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 3/10
Mechanical issues: 0
Accidents: 0 (well 1 that didn't involve me)
Coldness: 0/10

Day 4 - Leśno (PL) to Srebrna (PL)

Tuesday 29/05/2018
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Slept like a log but woke-up dehydrated on what was to be the hottest day of the trip so far. I washed some of my clothes the previous day so delayed the inevitable stench for a day or so.....

Today's plan was to ride through Malbork to see the amazing castle (former HQ of the Teutonic Knights), then Grunwald (the scene of the largest medieval battle in history). Following that, on to my uncle's house in Ostrów Mazowiecka and finally the village where my father was born - Srebrna.

It all went to plan. The heat was relentless and my route took in stunning views and roads, but it was slow going. 7+ hours of riding.

Malbork was boiling so I just took a quick photo of the castle and road on. I stopped in Grunwald. Couldn't figure out the parking so ended-up riding along loads of footpaths, right up to the monuments. You can almost imagine the Polish-Lithuanian troops taking on the Tuetonic Knights in the surrounding fields. Ate a hotdog, drank a coke and rode-on to see my cousin Andrzej in Ostrów Mazowiecka.

My cousin Andrzej suggested that we go to the village of my dad's birth together so we popped-in to see his uncle. He was keen to help me uncover the mystery of where my father was born so we drove around the village, spoke to a few people and we only went and found the remains of my grandfather's farm! The  house was gone, just overgrown foundations remain (and vicious mosquitos) but all the fruit trees and rose bushes are still there. The barn is also standing, as is an outbuilding.

Amazing to be standing in my ancester's footsteps... I probably have the right to claim the land back, but a lot of the proof needed will have been lost in the war and au subsequent Communist corruption. All very moving and I was very grateful for people going out of their way to help me find some of my family history. Spoke to one old lady who was particularly helpful and told me a lot about how all the families were deported to Siberia by the Russians and how few returned. She told me that her mother knew my family well and was deported to Siberia with them.

I didn't want to intrude but my cousin's Uncle insisted that I stay the night, so here I am enjoying their hospitality and lovely home! Long, but rewarding day. I am moved by what I saw today and the kindness of strangers. It's not such a bad world....

Mileage: 1316
Country count: 6 (GB, F, B, NL, D, PL)
Beers: 14
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 4/10
Mechanical issues: 0
Accidents: 0 (well 1 that didn't involve me)
Coldness: 0/10

Day 3 - Leśno (PL) to Leśno (PL)

Monday 28/05/2018
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Got talked into staying for another day in Leśno - there was a lot of food left to finish after the party, so I felt obliged to help finish it! Met my brother in laws which was nice and we talked through a potential plan for a motorbike escape in 2019. Not sure if it'll happen, but it would sure be a fun trip!

Staying an extra day will probably upset my 'schedule' but I promised myself that I wouldn't stick rigidly to the 'plan' this year. Weather looks set to get even hotter with little chance of rain so I couldn't have really asked for more and will need to make the most of it.

Enough food and drink, tomorrow I need to hit the road....

Mileage: 1036
Country count: 6 (GB, F, B, NL, D, PL)
Beers: 14
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 0/10
Mechanical issues: 0
Accidents: 0 (well 1 that didn't involve me)
Coldness: 0/10

Day 2 - nr. Magdeburg (D) to Leśno (PL)

Sunday 27/05/2018
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Had a great nights sleep, dozing off to the bassy tones of an um pa pa band. The night was warm and it soon got hotter as the sun rose this morning. I set out nice and early to cover the 8+ hours and still make it to the party.

Hit another roadblock that took me through some minor roads, but otherwise it was a pretty pleasant ride. Managed to do the distance in 7 hours, despite fuel stops and a quick lunch so arrived just in time for dinner and photos. They had a massive thunder and hail storm here yesterday which explains what looks like snow in the roadside ditches despite it being 26C....

All good. A few drinks and a lot of food and I'm back to 100%. Do I stay here another day or do I ramble on? My wife was meant to fly in today but her flight was cancelled some issue with lightening damaged fuel equipment impacting all RyanAir flights.... Oh well, so much for the unreliable form of transport I have taken.....

Mileage: 1036
Country count: 6 (GB, F, B, NL, D, PL)
Beers: 6
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 4/10
Mechanical issues: 0
Accidents: 0 (well 1 that didn't involve me)
Coldness: 0/10