Day 137: Kielce to Miechów

September 18, 2025

Day 137: Kielce to Miechów

Yesterday, I left Darek’s place soon after 10 AM and I didn’t arrive in Miechów until 5 PM. It was a long day of riding and I was met with the Four Horsemen of cycle touring: rain, trucks, hills, and headwinds.

The rain started about 5 miles into my ride. It poured hard so I sought shelter underneath a covered bus stop. Good thing I did because all the trucks that went by splashed large amounts of water on the roadside. I couldn’t imagine myself riding in this rain.

When the rain died down, I started my ride again. After about 10 more miles, I arrived at the small village of Tokarnia. Darek had suggested that I visit the old Polish houses in the Museum of the Kielce Countryside that’s in Tokarnia. But judging by the weather I decided not to. Instead, I went into a fine dining restaurant called Wilaneska, the only restaurant in town.

At first, I didn’t think the waitress was going to seat me because I was so wet from the rain when I arrived. I had a kotlet schabowy for lunch. It’s a pork chop that’s breaded and fried. Just as when I was about to leave, Lucas the bartender started chatting with me. After learning about my world bicycle tour, he offered to give me something if I tag the restaurant on Instagram. So I made my first sponsored post and received two local drinks. One is a carbonated mineral water and the other is a non-alcoholic beer. I also chatted with Lucas’ friend Damian, who had worked and traveled in the US before.

I waited until the rain had passed before continuing my ride from the restaurant. I rode for 35 more miles on the service road that’s parallel to the expressway E77. There were many hills but fewer cars and trucks. However, the wind picked up and I faced some headwinds. I noticed my mental energy was a bit low because I had a slow start due to the rain. Nonetheless, by 5 PM, I arrived at another fine dining restaurant just outside of Miechów called Karczma Siedlisko. I had a breaded chicken cutlet, along with fries and salads, for a total of close to US$20, which is on the more expensive side for a meal.

After dinner, I cycled for about 10 more minutes to Darek’s brother Wojciech’s place and arrived around sunset. I had ridden 51.9 miles for the day.

I met Wojciech, his wife Anna, their son Franek, and their dog Saigon. After taking a much needed shower, I had a second dinner with Wojciech and Anna that included salads, cheese, and bread. I was so full.

Wojciech works in IT as a database administrator and Anna has her own clothing store in Kraków. They were so nice to me and Wojciech even said that I can stay at his parent’s house outside of Kraków. Since I’ll be staying with a Warmshowers host, I declined the invitation.

This morning, I woke up around 7:45. After accompanying Anna to take Franek to preschool I bought some sausages and cakes upon Anna’s recommendations. When we came back we had breakfast.

It’s almost 10 AM and I’ll be leaving later than usual. Luckily, I only have about 35 miles to ride to my Warmshowers host’s place in Kraków.