Autumn Tactics - Poland to Vilnus

This is one of those trips that started when a friend asked: “Would you like to join me for a Dance Festival?""

The days were already getting shorter and this year I did not have the chance yet to make the next stage of my Cycling Through Europe dream.

So…what if I do two things at once?

I can just get to Vilnus by bicycle from Poland.

Stages of the Trip

• Waw to Treblinka - Which I completed this summer

Exploring North East From Warsaw

Exploring Treblinka from Warsaw by Bicycle.

Poland-by-Bike 07-08-2024

And the fun starts now:

You need to go North East, to a region in Europe where there are many lakes.

They are well known in Poland and I was blind enough to believe that they would not be at the other side of the border.

Blind and lucky that they were.

As you will see.

• Treblinka (Małkinia Górna) to Suwałki
• Suwałki to Veisiejai
  • Wigierski Park Narodowy
  • Lakes in LT - My Favourite and a great surprise
• Veisiejai to Varena
• Varena to Trakai (Vilnus)

BikePacking in Podlasie

I said that there were lakes. But its not Mazury this time, but Podlasie Region in Poland.

it is the one that has border with Lithuania (and also Belarus).

And along the way, you can find such calm country side roads:

Polish country side contrasts with the main cities, particularly with Warsaw:

Still in Podlasie, I had a very interesting moment:

And found one of the most colorful places of the trip:

In the last town before the border, I made sure to take some smalec to have good calories for the next days.

And this is what there is at the border with Lithuania, the open road:

Exploring Veisiejų Region

Who could have Imagined that lakes dont care about borders.

Good news. The awsome landscapes you could see in Poland, continue in Lithuania.

I arrived to Veisiejai just in time to admire this sunset

That was one of the best moments of the trip.

I had to stay there and see all the magic happen.

Next day, I continue my ride towards Vilna:

And along the way, the rural areas are a somehow different than in Poland:

Arriving to Vilnus

After four days being lucky with the sun light, I made it to Vilnus.

This time, with another bike.

Discovering Vilnius by Bike

Discovering Vilnius with bycicle. The start of my summer journey through the Baltics.

Baltics-by-Bike 30-07-2023

These kind of buildings sounded familiar!

Yes, its Vilnus already. But I want to end it in the center.

I cant describe the feeling of accomplishment with words.

But I was some time contemplating this.

Enough bike pictures, here is a clean shot of Vilnus Center:

if you pay attention, in Vilna there is very interesting street art

There are cool designs patterns, also in the interiors:

More Shots during a rainny afternoon in Vilnius.

The Trakai Castle in Autumn

I mentioned that I made this trip for two reasons:

• Making one more stage to have all Europe joined by bike
• To go to a dance Festival

But actually there is a very important one.

I wanted to see the Trakai Castle, this time, during autumn.

Trakai Castle from Vilna by Bike

A journey to Trakai Castle - A Biking Adventure from Vilnius.

Baltics-by-Bike 29-07-2023

And this is how it went.

Despite sleeping just like 4hours, it was totally worth it.

See by yourself.

A boat just passed by.

And I could capture that moment. Only to see it banish shortly after.

I decided to continue walking and enjoying the last part of the way to Trakai.

Just enjoying the Lake Galve. Each second.

Last year I took a very similar shot:

And…I made it to the Trakai Castle.

It seams that outside the summer season, you can just enter without a long queue.

I just want to have a look to the inside of Trakai…

…and went back to enjoy how lucky I was to see such Autumn colors next to the Trakai Castle

Conclusions

1. Things cant be taken from you if you understand that you cant have them forever.

Does it really matter to let go something now, or in ten years?

Zoom out.

This time, I had the chance to practice what I read few days back!

2. It does not really matter how fast you are going, if you go in the wrong direction

The Mindset for Adventure

Looking Back to all the Learning and Stories.

This, cant be taken away:

3. Autumn seems to be a perfect balance between nice landscapes, not excesive summer heat, nor cold temperatures, yet.

Probably worth to give it a try one more time, when doing the Budapest to Athens side of Europe.

Cycling Through Europe - 2023 Update

Poland to Budapest completed. Baltics Completed.

Doing lately

I have learnt recently the meaning of bikeshedding.

And I cant be so blind not to realize that I fall into it many times.

Because of that, Im targeting to do just one personal task/project per day. And dont switch to others until its done.

Every night, I review from the endless list of “why not ideas”, whats gonna be the one to be executed tomorrow.

Just.One.Thing.

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How I prepared for this Autumn Trip

A BikePacking Trips is always a Challenge.

Specially when weather conditions might not be the best.

What do I bring for Bike Packing Trips?

My Checklist before going to any adventure. ''To do's and to bring's''.

Before going out, I made sure to have with me:

Tech

• 2 Chargers
  • 2 usbc-usbc cables
  • 1 usbc-usb cable
  • 1 usb-micro usb cable (kindle)
• 1 power bank
• 1 tablet, 1 phone, 1 headset, 1 Action Camera (testing!)

Weather Check

I made this notes before going to the trip and now im complementing with what actually happened.

• Temperatures from 0C in the night to 15C max
  • Lucky me I had no rain at all when cycling
• Wind speed from 5 to 20km/h
  • And this time it was head wind! an anomaly? typical direction changes per month?
  • Definitely something to have a look for future trips