Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face.
~ Dave Barry
[dropcap] J [/ dropcap] ak is winter, it is cold and it is snowing. At least it should be like that. Due to the fact that I do not want to freeze on my bike again, and I do not have time for long distances, I am looking for some alternative. I am saved from oppression on Thursday evening by asking if we are going for a weekend in the Beskids. There can be only one answer: Wisła is one of my favorite cycling bases. This time, however, the bike stays at home. A year ago, also in January, we were there with a pass. Now, I'll check out a sport I never understood. I tested cross-country skiing once in my life. I remembered that, contrary to expectations, traveling on skis is not faster than in the shoes themselves. In fact, it's a lot slower, but it's certainly the fault of the routes in Kampinos. After well-groomed mountain routes, it must look different & #8230; Does not look.
900km by car to run 37km
We leave on Saturday before 7 am, we check in around noon. We go to the quarters, change and go straight to the route. We start with Kubalonki & #8211; one of the best known cross-country trails in Poland, with a FIS license. The cost of renting the equipment on site is 30 PLN / 3h (skis + boots + poles, everything decent). We decide to take for 2 days, so it costs PLN 60. I don't know, I don't understand, I'm not asking. The route is quite tangled but not long & #8211; after an hour we have everything deceived. For training: great. A lot of intervals, uphill runs, downhill rides etc. For us, ski and tourist beaters, there is no madness. One viewpoint, some crossroads that give us the feeling that you can get lost. We do 13 kilometers in over two hours and each of us has enough. As befits young, full of life young men, we go for a pizza and then sit in front of a large, flat TV, watching Rocky III, holding beer in one hand, and MilkyWay Magic Stars in the other. In this position, we wait from 18 to about 21, waiting for the first of us to propose to go to sleep.
Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country.
~ Steven Wright
On the second day we wake up a moment after 7 & #8211; early falling asleep has its advantages. We decide to attack the Czech Republic & #8211; there, as it has been shown many times, everything is almost the same, but better. We are not wrong. 20 kilometers by car (about 40 minutes drive, thanks to a very loose Czech approach to snow clearing) and we are in Mosty u Jablonkova & #8211; local ski resort. We park about a 15-minute walk from the beginning of the route, because like the real Janusz, we are afraid to pay PLN 5 parking fee again. We are standing so much in the city that the boys go to the police to ask how to get to the nearest cross-country trail & #8211; fortunately it's Sunday and the police in the Czech Republic probably don't work because the police station is closed. So we follow the signs found a moment later, depicting a man with cross-country skis. Unlike downhill skiing, the advantage is that the routes are free everywhere, the shoes are very comfortable and the equipment is light. I have the impression that I would move faster wearing skis under my arm. We set off worn rails deep into the forest. Then only uphill, downhill, viewpoints, forests, fields and all the best. We have developed the perfect downhill technique & #8211; spear down and at the first turn turn over so as not to hit the tree. Cross-country skiers do not twist, from what I saw on TV, even professional riders do the bends. As followers of cycling style, we prefer to break out than twist such a cramp. We refine the method many times & #8211; in fact, at every congress. Sometimes also in the driveway, and at the end, even standing still. I am a bit worried that skis do not disengage when tipping & #8211; with the eyes of the imagination I see Maciek with broken knees. It comes out a total of 24 kilometers and a little over 4 hours drive. Paweł assured in the morning that the route would be easy and pleasant. The essence of it was a driveway that took us 45 minutes, or about 4km with hills reaching> 25%. Luckily, I didn't bring any bars or drinks & #8211; I am not distracted by my thoughts about when to grab them. The last kilometers are heavy & #8211; the more tired a man is, the more he ski slides. The more the ski slides, the more a person does not move, and the more he does not move, the more he goes back instead of forward. In addition, we have forgotten that skis must be returned by 16.30 & #8211; we can't afford too long breaks. We suffer in silence, moving slowly but uniformly.
The nicest moment of the day, dinner, remains. Pizza, then ice cream, then ice cream again, then bars and ice cream. For my part, I can recommend the Colorata pizzeria in Wisła. It may not be a classic Italian cake, but it is big and fair. Other dishes also look good, although the building in which it is located suggests the opposite. The only problem is choosing the size & #8211; It takes us a good 10 minutes to develop an optimal order. We count the cost of a square meter of pizza in relation to the price (20-50cm in diameter available) and optimal for 2 large for 3 hungry. Post-workout counting is not easy.
Return even though it is the last weekend of Mazovian holidays without major problems. Cork, just like at the entrance, catches us only in the Vistula.
Two days is probably the perfect length for such a trip, if we like to spend intense and active time. Cheap gasoline (we are refueling in Tychy for 4.08), quite good road, decent accommodation prices (about 40 PLN / day) encourage more frequent visits. However, I have little hope that the next visit will be on two wheels.
* I write the text from the perspective of a person who has no idea about skiing and has tried it once in his life. All observations are subjective and statements may prove to be incorrect ;-)
Some photos (from which it appears that our main hobby is lying on the snow):
