This is what it's all about! A cloudless sky, 31C, no rain predicted all day. Riding a motorbike in these conditions is pure joy. Jacket unzipped to scoop up the cooling air, this is perfect. Time, then, to go out hunting those exomnesial moments of past-life qualia congruence! And indeed, they came thick and fast! Below: round at Deke's place, Galatea, Ohio, 1952. All that's missing is the Schlitz neon.
I have written often about the need to live in comfort (as opposed to luxury) - here's a village just south of Chynów - Wygodne - which literally means 'comfortable'.
Below: the landscape at the crossroads. South for Trzcianka, west for Zbrosza, north for Leżne - and east for Koziegłowy (lit. 'Goatsheads'). Orchards in every direction.
Below: the reverse shot. Catching the vibe? I've Photoshopped a 1952 presidential election poster to make the scene complete.
I cross the Pilica at Warka, carry on briefly along the rather busy road towards Kozienice. Orchards are fewer south of the river - the Puszcza Kozienicka extends in a broad swathe towards Radom. Below: following the tracks - the Warsaw-Radom line between Grabów nad Pilicą and Strzyżyna. Does this road await asphalt, or will it be left like this to inevitably decay after a few seasons of rain, mud, snow, ice and thaw?
Below: "It don't matter which way I'm comin' from, it's which way I'm goin' to." A quote from the greatest-ever biker movie, Kathryn Bigelow's The Loveless (1982). There's no rush. I rarely exceed 60km/h; I slow down to 30km/h as I ride through villages - not as much for safety, but to give the villagers more time to admire my bike.
Having covered 132km, I burnt four litres of petroleum, turning them into CO2 and particulates - for which I apologise to the planet.
Below: Back home in Jakubowizna, time for an evening stroll - and on the DK50 in Grobice, just after sunset, I'm still catching the
klimat... "C'mon radio relay towers/Won't you lead me to my baby" - Bruce Springsteen,
Open All Night.
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