TIME to Be Alone
by Joaquin Gonzalez Barcelonna
I check my watch, and it shows the sun setting at 20:58, indicating that the longer days have begun. More sun, more light, more TIME to be on the bike.
With this in mind, I proposed to the people at TIME to take a small 200 km trip to take advantage of these long days in the northern hemisphere. The idea was to ride, whether in the mountains or on flat terrain, but always starting from my home. I got up, and the wind was blowing towards Wroclaw, a city about 204 km from where I live. Although the day was windy, it was very hot. The forecast on my phone showed 28°C (82.4°F), but the Hammerhead indicated around 30/32°C (86/89.6°F). With the wind at my back, it was both a blessing and a curse: the only cool moments were when, due to some curve, I encountered a bit of headwind, which made the trip more pleasant.
I live in a city called Katowice, in the province of Southern Silesia. The trip begins like all my bike rides in this region, with a climb. What always stands out in these cities, which were near Germany during World War II, is the large number of bunkers, some located in the forests and others right in the city.
Once away from the chaos of the city, things begin to look different, but the heat also increases. At TIMEs it feels like a desert, where shade becomes an oasis. Windmills in the distance and grass that seems dried by the sun.
At kilometer 40, I encountered the first forest, which gave me both joy and sadness. The joy was that the oppressive heat was alleviated by shade that accompanied me for more than 20 km, but the imperfect pavement brought its own challenges. Wanting to take a photo of this immense grove, I took out my camera, but a pothole caused it to fall in slow motion to the pavement, breaking the front part. Despite this, I got back on the bike and kept pedaling, which is what I came for.
The first stop was to eat at a gas station, approximately 65 km from the start. I wasn’t looking for anything gourmet, but it had to be vegetarian. Being a big fan of Neapolitan pizza, I couldn’t say no to dough with cheese and cherry tomatoes. But in Poland, they not only have pizza; they have something called zapiekanka, a kind of elongated pizza. It is spread with butter and baked with different toppings. It’s very popular here in Poland.
Entering the 100 km mark of this ride, I started to find more small towns, not so far apart. The heat? Terrible. The next stop would be approximately between 130/140 km, but I saw a gas station and stopped to refill with fresh water. Hard to find, so I had to buy ice and an ice cream because sugar is a good companion, they say.
Back on the road, I encountered some construction, but my ADHX equipped with Pirelli all-season 30 mm tires had no problems. In one of these towns, I crossed paths with a guy on an electric bike who passed me at about 37 km/h. I was riding at 32 km/h at the TIME, so I decided to catch up with him and ask, in my humble Polish, if he could record a video of me. I managed to catch up with him with 1 km to spare, and he understood my Polish very well. The video turned out great. SomeTIMEs, not being shy has its advantages, and it’s all for the content. Riding alone and having a non-static video is challenging.
Getting closer to the goal... the wall at kilometer 181. I remember it very clearly because it was hard not to talk to myself and say, "this is as far as I go." I stopped at another gas station and ate a hot dog with ketchup. Here, the hot dog is unusual: instead of an open bun, it’s a closed bun with a hole. Still, it was delicious and lifted me up like an espresso or one of those energy drinks.
I got up and finished the remaining 19 km. I was close to Wroclaw, but I decided to make it 200 km since going to Wroclaw would add 35 more km, which wasn’t feasible. So, I decided to do the last kilometers in a town called Olawa, which had a station where the train would take me back home.
Those last 19 km were through sunflower fields, forests, and the sunset casting my shadow across the meadows. Distracted by the houses with the Polish flag and lots of plants at the doors, the GPS marked 200 km. What joy and relief. I headed straight to the station, which was about 4 km from where I was.
I arrived at the station and finished this solitary 200 km ride in Poland. A total of 204 km, 464 meters of elevation, 7 liters of water, a zapiekanka, a hot dog, several snacks, and a broken camera. In conclusion, it’s wonderful to ride a bike for such a long TIME and see different scenes that are covered in snow in winter. The mind plays an important role when you are alone and not with a group. I was scared and anxious, but I realized that as the kilometers passed, I felt more determined to finish and that nothing bad would happen.
It’s TIME to start a new story soon.
