Creative travel in Poland

Sampson caught this Halloweeny pic of a spider on her web under the lamplight that was enabling us to make dinner in the dark.  Days are shorter now.  We camped out at a hotel/campground in Augustow, Poland, as a planning point for what to do with a saddle-sore mom....me.

Train tracks again...notice me approaching the boarded up station (I bought a ticket on the train...which did arrive as posted.)  The plan for a mom that can't sit down is to send her ahead to wonderful Warm Showers host family in Bialystok, and allow the boys to ride on an enjoy the sunshine that has finally returned!!!

Just kilometers down the Green Velo route in Poland, the boys encounter water that has swamped the road.  Instead of having to turn back, a Polish man, with some English and the aid of a mobile phone connecting his English speaking friends to Rick, saves the day.  The boys catch a ride through the swamped road and end up with night to remember.  A wild jeep safari to a whooping crane migration rest spot.

Sharing food and libations in a warm home,

and jamming Red Hot  Chili Pepper tunes with a didgeridoo, a drum and Sampson's guitar.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....just a pic of roadside life in Poland this time of year.  I believe this man has a turnip harvest in his tractor-pulled trailer.

Jerzyk and I playing Qwirkle in Bialystok - he won.

And so...I wait to heal up and the boys journey forward.  I've been researching saddle sores all morning and I believe what happened was...we've been riding in wet conditions for weeks.  I've been using "Bag Balm" which is a skin conditioner and bike-chaffing deterrent, but in my case, may have sealed in a hair follicle that in the right conditions (when I'm warm at night) develops into an infection.  We rode a 120 km day and an egg-sized hard leathery lump appeared on my right sit-bone area of my bum.  SUPER painful.  I rode the next two days, in excruciating pain and then did the smart thing - got off my bike.  Now I'm in the recovery process and learning a lot about saddle sores. Though I always change out of my cycle gear right away after riding, I need to be diligent to wash up my saddle-area immediately after a ride so that the Bag Balm "sealer" doesn't seal in the wrong thing (nice little bacteria!)  Hopefully, the information I'm gathering on the internet allows me to keep future saddle sores at bay.  I await a call from my travel health insurance with an appointment time at a local General Practitioner doctor.  So far it's the fourth day off the bike and my plan to meet up with the boys in two days will see me ready to ride (hopefully!)  If not, I'll jump further down the road by train and meet up with them again.  It's hard to miss their adventures, but I'm thankful for kind hosts and the opportunity to take care of myself.