October 18 was the last day of several days of warm sunny weather in Bielsko-Biala.
It had been warm and sunny since Saturday. On Saturday, half a day it blew hard,
but it was enough to go into the forest in the valley – as I did on the wind-shielded slope of Szyndzielnia.
And I write about October 18, because it was a very cool afternoon.
And let me write something optimistic and let it hang here to remind me of that day.
And why was it cool?
I went for a bike ride. Without a precise plan that arose in the course.
That’s what I like about cycling. The kind of wandering that Nassim Taleb prefers. Just me on a bicycle.
This I’ll go there, this I’ll turn into this street, and noee I like it, I’ll convert. The bicycle allows you to do it
faster by saving time. But wandering on foot I also like.
However, mindful of the 20掳C and the possibility of returning quite late, I took 0.6 liters of water and a headband.
Without water it would have been more difficult, even for me. Why for me? Because I have learned to drink little
, especially while running.
The first hill – the clearing of D臋bowiec
I took the new bike path to Kolista Street and set my first destination – Debowiec.
At the intersection of Karbowa and Kolista I stopped for a while, because some dog was hanging around with a collar.
No human I saw, but the dog looked well-groomed and determined,
So maybe he was out of the property normally and exploring the immediate area.
But someday I would like to find the dog to someone.
Do you know how cool it would be to see the joy in both of them?
The Karbowa driveway with the obligatory hard slow down before the two steps on the bridge.
These thresholds are also on the bike path on Kolista – for a mountain biker with fat tires it’s no obstacle,
but a city or other bike can no longer manage it without braking.
I rode the new section of Armii Krajowej to the MZK Szyndzielnia stop and turned back to Debowiec.
Here I took a moment for a panorama of the city, took off my blouse and then in just a t-shirt and shorts
I rode along the styka in the direction of Wapienica.
Debowiec is the usual name for the Debowiec Glade with a food buffet, which used to be a hostel.
The actual summit is on the green trail about 20 minutes higher. It is not marked in the field,
but according to our paper maps it’s on a flattening of the green, which then leads left onto the path.
And going straight ahead after a steep climb you will reach Cyberniok and the viewpoint.
Of course, this is an estimated place,
and it would be worthwhile for the relevant services to put a plaque there with the name of the peak after taking accurate measurements.
On the subject of unmarked peaks, this is a do-over with 艢liwowica,
a proudly and self-proclaimed hill named by Friend Jack, during his August trip in his local mountains.
A word about the bike
My bike is a cross. The tires are 700x42c. These are not mountain wide tires 馃槈 .
So we are not fond of heavily rocky, gravelly and uneven trails.
Although we don’t spare ourselves, you’ll see later. But sometimes I get tired of slow careful driving.
Therefore, I rode down the connector to the intersection of Hunting Street and Skarpowa Street
and continued on the new bike path to the parking lot in Wapienica.
The parking lot was moderately busy, but it was early – 1:30 pm.
In a few hours, there would be barely a few spaces free in the parking lot.
It’s great that so many people can get out into the woods and mountains during the day
– a happy life for retirees, remote workers, unemployed and pensioners, etc.
The loop in Wapienica
Then I already had another goal of the trip – let’s do a loop in Wapienica.
The driveway on the side of the forester’s lodge, because it’s less steep, more asphalt
and then fewer rocks – which doesn’t mean none, just less.
The driveway on the other side is better for descending.
I’m slowly pushing my way up. Foot after foot, turn after turn.
Leaves abound, but they left a narrow trail in the middle of the road. I rode in the shade and it was crisp 馃檪 I rode to the highest point and sat down.
I rode out to the highest point and sat down for a while. Then I decided that I did not want to get tired on the descent and went down the same road as I came.
Besides, I wanted to take a photo at the bottom hoping for a lack of people on one interesting and charming section.
The highest point of the loop is noteworthy, because following the road that bounces up perpendicularly will lead to the popular yellow trail from Klimczok to B艂atnia. And B艂atnia is most beautiful in autumn, supposedly 馃槈
Hill numer three – under the Palenica peak
Descending, I made a plan to take the forest road to the viewpoint below Palenica.
Except for the initial section, where there are a lot of stones, including loose ones, the rest is fairly even. So, I slipped over the bridge and onto the road in question.
During the climb I remembered how a few years ago I ran up there like this hamster on a merry-go-round.
I did it 8-10 times. Uphill and the same amount downhill. Can you believe it 馃槈 .
I was so bored!
Ba, I used to have so much strength in my legs and head.
I don’t remember exactly how much, because during some confluence or run-up I lost count 馃榾
Now I wouldn’t even run up once, eh. A man in his youth could have a lot of strength and stubbornness.
Oh a lot. It’s worth using it wisely, so that you don’t feel that these were missed opportunities.
At the top I took photos. The vantage point was overgrown, though still up to waist height
and you could see the panorama of the city, Jaworze and the rest of the area.
I drove down to Jaworze and returned through the side streets to Wapienica.
On the way, a thought was already ripening in me – let’s pass the climb to Przegibek and Kozia G贸rka.
Przegibek was not much of a challenge in itself.
It was more the passing of time, more cars at that time (4-6pm) and the need to get there on the boring asphalt.
For that Goat Hill, called Stefanka, was closer, but it was more difficult.
Because I drive up the forest fire road to the blue trail to R贸wnia and then the blue trail to the top.
What did I choose? That is, the fourth hill
So Stefanka was more attractive and that’s where I went.
I welcomed the renovated section near Post Street near the Virtuosity restaurant.
It’s good to see the city developing and renovating.
The trip was tough. Practically uphill all the way to the Equinox. Plus steeper sections that squeeze the calves.
And sweat on the forehead. Towards the end, fatigue made its presence known and I rode from end to end of the road like a drunk.
The road runs next to the Twister enduro path – they were descending, I was tiring the mountain laboriously.
But I made it. The plain greeted me with a green woodpecker. I took a few photos and continued up the hill.
Riding cross on narrow wheels requires picking a good route and avoiding stones or sticks.
But even so, pebbles often rang against my spokes.But the driveway has the advantage of being slow. So you can choose the optimal route. Worse with the descent, but about that later.
At the top I took a few photos and I rested on a stump contemplating the views.
For the descent, however, I wore a headband and a blouse. Not that I developed any cosmic speeds.
No! I didn’t even develop such speeds for myself. It is known that there is no effort like going uphill.
I remembered that the descent would be weak. But not that it would be so. Unfortunately, narrow tires and a heavily rocky road downhill prevented a decent speed.
Fingers on the brake handles and slowly down. Only at the very end did it become dirt, without stones, but then there were more people and cyclists pulling uphill in their massive mud-shiny steeds.
Some took up the entire path and were surprised to see someone coming down the hill. I wonder if I was going down faster
they would have had time to make a room for me.
I reached the street and, disappointed and angry, I let myself go faster down. When I passed Czo艂gist贸w and Szeroka streets and found myself on Bystra I headed home. It was quite early because it was about 5 pm, but I wanted to make juice, exercise, etc.
But the hunger for backlight speed made its presence known and after a while I turned around and rode harder on the pedals to Bystra to the environmental education center.
Here I rested for a good few minutes, I let a few cyclists ride away a good chunk.
So that I had a free ride back. The return was fun, although there was a lack of power in the legs.
Also artificial obstacles forced to slow down like a stop sign 馃槈 or the threshold of the repaired asphalt.
What’s happy the knee did not protest. What’s happy a nice trip worked out for me.
Sitting at home already, late in the evening on the forum I came across photos of the climb to Skrzyczne.
And there are several technical forest roads, which can easily handle my car.
I just need to check out the area, but it should be fine.
And during this ride, as I like uphill, I thought about a cycling challenge for myself.
All the viable climbs in Bielsko-Bia艂a under the cross:
Debowiec glade
Wapienica mountain loop
Palenica driveway
Przegibek
Kozia G贸rkaPossibly still:
I may add an asphalt driveway to Magurka Wilkowicka (from Wilkowice)
and a drive up Portowa Street to Trzy Lipki.
I wonder if I will be able to go around everything in one day.
I’m also curious, because I don’t remember if I crossed to Szyndzielnia. I did it a minimum of once by mountain’s bike, but did I do it by my bike as well? Probably not, because I can’t locate images of the event in my head.
As an alternative to the above route with climbs, there is a bike trail around Bielsko-Biala as an option.
But it has hills spread over the entire route and no peaks like Kozia G贸rka or Magurka Wilkowicka.
If you can think of any solid climb viable for a cross – and that it would be manageable to descend afterwards 馃榾 – then share in the comments please.
