Leaving the Poland
Okay, have the new hard cases with fitting, the decision to go back has been made. It's time for set up navigation in my smartphone and catch the gas. Honestly, I don't want to spend next hours in cold after an hour in heated garage, but know I have to.
As the day slowly gone, the cold is more and more uncomfortable. Going on A4 highway again, but speed up 70 miles/hour means too strong freezing for my legs and hands. Starting be regretful about the decision. It's around 4.00 PM and I refuel my tank at the last gas station in Poland. The staff is really beautiful, but not friendly. I'm trying to say something in polish, but it does not help to get smile from her. I'm paying the fuel and don't buy anything else, wanna go so fast how I will can.
Meanwhile I'm closer and closer to the borderline, the dark is coming. If I known Polish are dangerous drivers before, know I'm pretty sure they're killers. I have no problem with drivers in France, Spain or in my lovely Italy, where I love fast, but safe, riding. Maybe the cold and tiredness affecting my judgement, but I'm looking for when I'll leave the country, cause I'm so scared, guess the driving culture is almost like in Russia.
The haze is coming. Have no choice, I need to go with open visor, cause I'm driving with glasses. Oh my God, why anybody did not create pin-lock for glasses yet? The road is little bit covered by snow. I have to drive through curves so slowly, finding the need graduate some flat track school in my future is must have.
Taking gas at the first gas station in the Czech Republic. It's small station in a curve, situated in hill, somewhere between the borderline and Liberec city. The staff is friendly woman, her husband is biker as well, she says. But not idiot, so he wouldn't ride at this time. I'm buying hot chocolate, but it does not help as before. I'm completely frozen. I have to stay for almost forty minutes, in contrast of my plan. I so want to give up the rest of the journey at this moment. Find some heated motel, park the bike and sleep. Starting to be tired more than would be likely for me. Full concentration for hours and hours in the cold takes too much energy. Eat some Snickers and hope it will help to alive next hour. My smartphone is gone. Since this time I have to go without navigation.
Getting on the bike. Humidity is changing to snowing. Snowing. Snowing! S**t, it's dark, haze and snowing. I can't see almost anything through my glasses. I'm passing navigational sign. The Liberec city is over 2 miles front of me.
The last chance to giving up
The Liberec city. I feel it's the best time for thinking about giving up again. The last chance to park my bike and sleep in comfortable bed. My back aches, hands, neck as well. Have feeling that my legs must be so frozen, that I have to have frostbite. As I were kidding for the whole journey about the madness, I'm pretty sure now, that go on is real madness without any humor. I'm counting with accident more and more. It's 8.00 PM, I'm twelve hours on the bike. With boots which have no insulation, or wind protection. It's snowing, dark and I guess the rest of the journey is about 150 miles long.
I have no idea what keeps me on the road. Snowing more and more. I'm trying to be faster than snowing, I have feeling that I got the snowing mostly behind me and it's better behind.
But my fastest speed can be around 60 miles/hour, no more.
The lost
I don't know where I am. An hour before I were going on freeway, but currently I have to pull over somewhere in woods, the road is too broken. Snow is everywhere around me. Trying to calculate the direction, I know that must go to South-east. I'm hopeless. It's around 9.30 PM and I need to switch to reserve. The road is so broken that the only possible speed is maximize around 10-15 miles/hour.
Finally, I can see some city! Dvur Kralove?! Damn, I had to turn to North somewhere! But, on the other hand, now I can go back to Horice on freeway and go more faster in direction to the planned road. Some positive feeling is coming. As if the journey should be shorten since now.
Hradec Kralove again
Thank to God! I'm drinking hot chocolate again. But only one and without wasting of time. It's 10.45 PM and snowstorm is outside. But the rest of this trip is on within arms reach, I'm saying to myself.
I'm identifying next stop, gas station in Litomysl, after 34 miles.
The snowstorm
If I though that the worst I have behind me, it wasn't right. The motorcycle is sliding. I can see only cone of my light, which is lighting on flying snow flakes in huge eddy around my bike, I'm trying to sit like on chopper, have my legs stretched out to the front, because my knees are stiff and ache. My mind is only focused on keeping the bike on the road. During the time I were change position of my legs from stretched out to the front to stretched out down, only inch up the road which is more and more covered by snow. Some truck passing me and the back wind from them is tossing with me. I'm saying to myself, that if I will alive this, I can say to myself that I'm rider. As it's snowing, the temperature is around 0 C/32 F. I can't believe how much 4 degrees more can help, but can. I'm so story my smartphone is gone, because I can shoot this amazing situation. It's completely different in contrast of snowing if I drive back from my office. I ave experience with snowstorm and roads covered by snow, but as I mentioned on beginning of the article before, it's something different to go hours and hours.
I did it!
Deadly tired, frozen, but happy I'm parking my motorcycle in garage. It's 2.45 AM. After almost 20 hours, 7 hours up the estimate, I'm at home. Can't wait tomorrow, I 'll need some ride.
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