Days 1 and 2: Wrocław to Jordanów Śląski, then to Ząbkowice Śląskie

June 06, 2026

Days 1 and 2: Wrocław to Jordanów Śląski, then to Ząbkowice Śląskie

Two mornings ago, I woke up around 7:30. It was a bank holiday in Poland that day so the cafe that I wanted to have my breakfast didn’t’ open until 8 AM. I had a bagel with cream cheese and a cup of cappuccino for breakfast when the cafe opened. That would be the only source of energy for my ride in the morning.

When I came back to the hostel I got everything ready and started my bike tour around 8:45 AM. I didn’t even take the time to stretch out my legs since I was excited to get on the road.

I didn’t follow the EuroVelo route and went directly south of Wrocław using Google Maps to navigate. I would take a water break about every 5 miles and averaged about 10 miles per hour.

After I got out of the city, the landscape was more rural. I really enjoyed riding in the Polish countryside due to the scenery and fewer cars. However, Google Maps made me turn into a farmland and I had to ride on a dirt road. At one point, Google Maps wanted me to turn into a road that didn’t even exist. I had to detour to a busy road that was full of morning traffic.

By that time, my legs were tired and my butt started to sore. I decided to stop at the next town and see if I can get lunch. I arrived in Jordanów Śląski shortly before noon, having ridden about 26 miles without much of a rest.

The only store in town is a Żabka, the popular Polish convenience store. I ended up having all my meals there.

I tried to ask the locals for a place to camp, but none of them spoke English. I ended up finding a park on that’s a few minutes ride from the Żabka.

The park is very nice and I decided to camp there despite that there were so many people going to this park, probably because of the holiday.

Since the sun doesn’t set until 9 PM, I had 9 hours to kill. I spent most of that time at the pavilion inside the park until some kids showed up and wanted to play in there. I took the chance to ride my bike around the lake in the park. I spotted another spot on the opposite end of the lake that I could wild camp in case the police shows up and kicks me out of the pavilion. That was my backup plan.

I waited and waited. Finally, it was around 8:30 PM. I was just getting to set up my tent in the pavilion when a group of teenagers showed up. They sat in the pavilion chatting and doing their teenage things well after the sunset. I was getting impatient and knew that if I don’t set up my camp soon then it’ll be completely dark. So I decided to ride to my backup spot on the other end of the lake to set up my tent.

It was around 10 PM that I got into my tent and tried to sleep. The sound of the nearby traffic and the lake kept me awake. Adding the howling wind from time to time, I didn’t sleep well and kept thinking if I’ll get rained on in the morning.

The sunrise was around 4:45 AM. I got up at 5:15. Camping is just not my thing. I really dislike it. After packing up, I rode to the Żabka at 6 AM and had a sandwich. The forecast indicated rain at 9 AM. I decided to leave as soon as possible and get a hotel room this time.

I opted to use Organic Maps for navigation this time rather than Google Maps to see how they compare. Organic Maps didn’t lead me to any dirt roads or nonexistent roads, which was great. I decided I will use it over Google Maps.

I mainly cycled on the rural roads again. There were some gradual hills that I had to ride up, nothing I couldn’t handle. Again, I took water breaks every 5 miles to help with my pace.

In less than three hours and about 24 miles later, I had beaten the rain and arrived at Hotel Restauracja Dolnośląska in the town of Ząbkowice Śląskie, which is bigger than Jordanów Śląski with more services.

I checked into the hotel around 9 AM and the first thing I did was to take a much needed shower. The cleaning lady also did my laundry without charge, which I’m very grateful.

For the next several hours I just relaxed, waited for the rain to pass, listened to music, and planned my next few days. The terrain will get hilly when I cross to Czechia in two days. I will try to find hotels to stay since there are no hostels and Warmshowers hosts. Maybe I’ll wild camp if I absolutely have to.

After the rain subsided, I had the biggest doner kebab I’ve ever had at Faraon Kebab. It filled me up so much that I didn’t even eat dinner.

After walking around the main square, I came back to the hotel and took a three hour nap. Then around 8 PM, I went to bed again and slept until 5 AM.

Today, I will ride another 25 miles or so to a hotel in Otmuchów. I think a sub-30 mile day is just the right distance for now. I’ll increase my distance as my body gets stronger. But then again, there will be more elevations so I should just go with the flow.