From the depths of despair, the only way is up? (Olecko,PL)

 Fixing a puncture for the second time in a day, not amused.

On every trip, there comes a day when I regret the whole idea of travelling by bike. Usually, it has come after persistent bad weather, interminable uphills or some emotional upheaval that have taken the wind out of my sails. This time, it started innocently enough,when my departure from Kaunas amidst heavy traffic made me turn into a smaller road.

The shrapnels of metal I found buried in my tyres. Miraculously, only those in the front tyre had caused a puncture.

The road soon turned into a sandy track that got steadily softer,making the bike skid and slowing the speed to almost walking pace. Refusing to backtrack, next I arrived to the worst corrugated surface one can imagine. When I finally got back to tarmac,it was clear I would not make it past Marijampole,where I had to check into a motel.

In Suwalki after getting a new front tyre, ready to carry on again.

Today,getting to the Polish border only 35km away was a real battle, as I had several punctures and spent hours trying to patch them up,but the front tyre kept leaking. Arriving in Suwalki, i was fed up and tired, but bought a new tyre and headed out into a strong headwind that killed the rest of my spirit.

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