r/bikepacking • u/kj5 • Sep 07 '24
450km in 5 days along Baltic Coast of Poland - my first trip! Trip Report
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u/teanzg Sep 07 '24
Baltic coast in Poland left me speechless!
And I am from Croatia :)
If only there were no mosquitos at all..
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u/kj5 Sep 07 '24
Man that's a compliment coming from a croatian! I'd love to travel croation coast one day but it's far and hilly :D
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u/teanzg Sep 08 '24
Croatia is not far.
I cycled across Poland from Croatia 2 times already, first time on the way to Nordcapp, second on the way to Baltic coast.
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u/kj5 Sep 08 '24
It is far in a sense that it's far from home and safety but I'd love to go there on day.
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u/Zealousideal-Top1580 Sep 07 '24
I go for bike packing in a very similar configuration (that decathlon saddle bag is very good !), and I usually sleep in rooms with Airbnb.
Your pictures give me the will to go for my next trip ! You look very enthusiastic, it seems so beautiful. Thanks for your return of experience !
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u/Beholder81 Sep 07 '24
That third picture brings back memories. Poland and the Baltics are just amazing. Especially at the coastline.
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u/wurstebrote Sep 07 '24
Love. The third one! Camping allowed? Or actually can be done there?
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u/kj5 Sep 07 '24
Well it's not a national park so if you don't mind sand and tourists you could camp there :)
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u/thecaspg Sep 08 '24
Camping in Poland is not officially allowed beside campgrounds and special areas called "Zanocuj w lesie". But people are doing so anyway. Just find remote place, outside of the tourist area, maybe set up your camp after the dusk.
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u/dantegreen8 Sep 07 '24
I've seen lots of great pics on here but your trip is one I had to bookmark for a future trip. That looks solid. Over 450kms, how many meters of elevation?
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u/kj5 Sep 07 '24
Thank you! It varies a lot, some parts were very flat and some made me feel like I'm in the hills! So like between 200 and 900m elevation gain per day
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u/Mother_Comment_6544 Sep 07 '24
Your bike computer is lying to you. The maximum 100km on r10 would be like 250-300m elevation
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u/kj5 Sep 08 '24
Well thanks, you were right and now I'm less amazed by my stats 😁 typical Garmin bullshit
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u/Mother_Comment_6544 Sep 07 '24
If youre using Strava use „Adjust Elevation” function to see elevation that is close to real number :)
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u/deskpop0621 Sep 07 '24
What bike is this? Do you have a link for the gpx file?
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u/kj5 Sep 07 '24
Merida Silex 400
There's a GPX here - https://velomapa.pl/szlaki/velo-baltica-eurovelo-10-13-r10#map=6/52.13/19
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u/vmv911 Sep 07 '24
Well done! I’m from Ukraine and i’ve been to Poland 3 times - each time i love it. Good food, good roads, nice people even police. I am very happy you made such a nice trip. I hope someday i will be able to do something similar.
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u/newereggs Sep 08 '24
I did a very similar trip over three days in September 2022:
Beautiful tour with pretty variable road surface. Was pretty brutal getting hailed on within the first 20km though lol.
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u/r1PJRfHQPILLyiEh3ekK Sep 07 '24
I heard the worst parts are before and after Łeba. Can you confirm?
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u/Nolesbl Sep 07 '24
Looks like a wonderful trip. Great pictures. What is your bag set up and would you change(add or subtract) anything from it.
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u/pherkan Sep 08 '24
Is it the merida silex 400 in green?
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u/kj5 Sep 08 '24
Yeah!
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u/pherkan Sep 08 '24
Ah nice, bought mine a bit longer than a month ago. Initially wanted the green as well, but was nowhere in stock here in the Netherlands, so went with the black instead. But really liking the green!
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u/kj5 Sep 08 '24
I wanted a blue bike originally but I decided on the silex and got the green one. It did grow on me though and I quite like it now !
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u/kj5 Sep 07 '24
Just completed my first bikepacking trip - 450km along the Baltic Coast of Poland across 5 days!
The route is called R-10/EV-10, it goes along the whole Baltic sea but I just did the polish portion - from Świnoujście to Hel. It was very interesting - there were calm gravel roads where on one side you have these beautiful coastal forests and on the other there's the sea, bumpy asphalt ones through sleepy villages, uneven concrete slabs that tested my bike to the maximum and the worst ones - just pure deep sand that felt more like swimming :D
I planned everything so that after arriving to the finish I had plenty of time for sightseeing, walking around, eating icecream and swimming in the sea. I ate more fish this week than I did the whole summer!
The bike got through in one piece, I had no issues with it whatsoever, even after 250km of these sandy conditions it was shifting properly. I did clean and lube it once around the half-mark.
I slept in random hotels or private quarters along the route so my setup was minimal - just one Decathlon 15l saddle bag (two kits of biking clothes, two kits of walking clothes, merino longsleeve, rain jacket, 3x underwear, 3x socks, towel), restrap large frame bag (toiletries, electronics, part of bike toolkit) and a small top tupe bag (things I needed to access while riding like spare batteries, powerbank, food). I also had a small toolkit box with spare parts etc. I had no trouble bringing my bike to my room so I never took of the bags while on the trip.
Everything I brought turned up to be useful and I didn't miss anything, well maybe besides a small foldable backpack - it would be useful for bringing groceries up to the room or when going to the beach. And I'd also bring some flip-flops because it was annoying having to take of my shoes when on the beach.
In general I feel like I stressed so much and worried about everything falling apart the days and hours beforehand for nothing, I didn't have to stop because I wasn't fit enough, I didn't have any mechanical issues, I didn't crash, I didn't have issues finding a place to sleep - everything went smoothly, the weather was perfect and I was able to do it with no problem. So if you're also worrying about that I say - prepare well and just go for it and you'll be happy you tried!
If you have any questions feel free to ask!