day 33 - Lodz to Skierniewice

Day 33
August 4th

This morning we had quite a few people joining us. Some were our local organizers, some were local cyclists that had heard about the project and had accompanied us in our events. One of them was Piotr, a cycling enthusiast who offered to lead the group for the day, through nice and peaceful roads, full of things to see, including a World War I memorial. It was one of the nicest riding days we've had!

We arrived in Skierniewice with some time to enjoy the sun in the town square. Then we went to our sleeping place, guided by two young locals, Adrian and Damien. We stayed at a special needs school, where we made use of the gigantic kitchen to prepare our campaign meal: pasta. What else?

facts of life: what goes down must come up

To think that a few days our effort was being downplayed and now everyone is paying attention...

The kind of response that we got here in Lodz was outstanding. With the help of hard-working and motivated people, we might have accomplished the kind of visibility we need to show decision makers that our concerns are shared by many active citizens, by young people willing to make a change.

We've had worse days, and we will probably have worse days ahead, but for now we have renewed energy to carry on. Hoping some more people will feel that energy too.

day 32 - Lodz

Day 32
August 3rd

After the demanding night out, we began to recharge our batteries having breakfast at LU Conference Center. Then we all got up on our bikes and went to the City Hall, for our scheduled events.

We were welcomed by Deputy Mayor Agnieszka Nowak, who gave a speech on the importance of Student Mobility and active citizenship, and also on the fundamental topic of urban mobility. Prof Wysokinska, Prof Wolf and Prof Ehmann addressed the riders, praising the initiative and voicing their support. There was also a presentation from the Fundacja Normalne Miasto, who have been lobbying the local authorities for better cycling conditions in the city.

Following the speeches, the Deputy Mayor signed the "Ride for your Rights!" Manifesto in a gesture that drew much attention from the media and showed the fundamental support of the City of Lodz for our cause.

After a nice buffet lunch, and before we began the city tour, Prof Wysokinska and Prof Wolf signed the Bike of Honour, confirming their commitment, both institutional and personal, to foster Student Mobility.

Our guide tour of the city took us down Piotrkowska, as we learned sme key facts of the history of Lodz, how the city was created as a commercial stronghold, the different cultures that came in contact throughout the centuries, and so much more that we can't tell you everything in one blog post...

In the evening, we were invited for dinner. Prof Wolf welcomed us to a great restaurant, located in a villa which used to be owned by rich merchants - as was most of the city, as we learned... We had a magnificent meal and thanked our hosts for everything that was prepared for us in this very important stop in our journey.

Quick drink, saying goodbye to friends and preparing for our next stage...

facts of life: sometimes things just work out properly

Great day today, on all levels.
My only complaint is that I have nothing to complain about.

rider profile: Tricky

Profile
Name: Patrick Bischoff
Age: 32
From Austria
Studies: Sports Science

day 31 - Piotrkow Trybunalski to Lodz

Day 31
August 2nd

Our last leg of the stage started out very promising. As we packed our luggage into Boris, two cyclists from the local cycling club Piotrkowska Grupa Rowerowa showed up, as they'd promised Patrick to join the group in the morning. Then, one by one, more people kept riding into the courtyard, some on their handmade fixed gear bikes! It was a great feeling to have 10 locals join the ride, even if they wouldn't ride all the way to Lodz.

About half way through, we switched from a cycling escort to an auto escort, with Boris following us on the road to the entrance of the city. Our local coordinator Pawel led us on the final stretch to the meeting point, where we would find our welcoming party.

We were greeted by Prof Wolf, pro-rector of the Technical University of Lodz and vice-president of EUF-CE, by Prof Ehmann, secretary-general of EUF-CE and by Gabriela Szkup, our organizer representing the University of Lodz, who gave us a full briefing on all the events put together for us. Along with them, we met the local ESN team and a few more cyclists who decided to join us for our visit. It was an impressive welcome!



check out the rest of the photos - promocjaul

We headed to the dormitories, cycling across the city center, followed by Boris and escorted by two police motorcycles. Making heads turn is what we do best.

Once we settled at the Lumumbi dormitories, we went for dinner at the UL Conference Center, where we met Prof Wysokinska, pro-rector of the University of Lodz, as well as our welcoming group. After the meal, we moved to the surroundings of Piotrkowska for the evening activities - which included celebrating a birthday.

Speaking of birthdays, today was a milestone for our project, as we completed one whole month on the road.

Stage G completed, eight more to go.

facts of life: the local characters

Piotrkow may not be such a big place, but it still has some things to offer to its visitors. Upon arriving ahead of the group, I took a walk around to find a place to have lunch. One particular pub drew my attention and I was properly fed there for a very reasonable price.

Hours later, when Patrick came to town, he chatted up some locals who recommended that same place to him. Not long after, the pizza searching group was also told to get the food from this place.

As we sat waiting for the pizzas, we could tell it was the busiest spot in town. But when the town's legendary male go-go dancer showed up on his Harley, with a little terrier in a rucksack strapped to his chest, we knew for sure this was the best place in town. All hail the local characters!

rider profile: Rosi

Profile
Name: Rositza Stoycheva
Age: 21
From Bulgaria
Studies: Psychology

day 30 - Czestochowa to Piotrkow Trybunalski

Day 30
August 1st

Our riding day took us through some smaller roads on the Polish country side. We deserved a break from all the crazy traffic, even though it is impossible to avoid heavy trucks completely. Riding smoothly through bumpy roads, we made our way up to Piotrkow Trybunalski.

Piotrkow is a small city, with a rather pleasant atmosphere. We stayed at a youth hostel, or rather at the youth hostel floor of an anachronic hotel, with grandmother style sofas and wobbly bunk beds. The staff were kind enough to give us a whole corridor to dry our tents. It seems that it rains everytime we have to camp, and it breaks our spirits to pack up wet tents for days, knowing that we have to use them again...

Tonight, Patrick joined the group. He was cycling like crazy from Vienna to catch up with us, had his share of adventures on the way and had already made contact with some local cyclists, trying to find some more people to ride with us. We all had a late pizza dinner and prepared for the final stretch, up to Lodz.

facts of life: the religious factor

The group of pilgrims we met today had an impressive organization. They had people to properly stop the traffic, a man with a loudspeaker, a tight schedule control, everything we need for our own group.

Being an atheist moving around between Fátima and Santiago de Compostela, two notorious Catholic sanctuaries, I can say I'm used to meeting pilgrims but completely unable to understand what moves them. But something does move them, and the level of sacrifice of some pilgrims is overwhelming.

Most of the time, I try to understand what separates me from others. When it comes to something so personal as religious faith, this task becomes much harder. What I do is simply respect people's right to their beliefs. Sadly, religious intolerance is still widespread, and since it is a matter of personal belief, it will always be one of the most demanding obstacles to overcome.

rider profile: Natalia

Profile
Name: Natalia Michalak
Age: 23
From Poland
Studies: European Studies and Management

day 29 - Katowice to Czestochowa

Day 29
July 31st

This morning we rode to the main square of Katowice (which was empty, now) for a meeting with the local authorities. Once again, the authorities didn't show up, with the notable exception of the Vice-Mayor of Katowice, who gave us a speech of encouragement, promised support for a future visit from us and signed our Manifesto.

We were escorted by the police and the traffic marshalls, in our first proper motorcade on this trip, and stopped at the exit of the city to get some food for the day. Matt's magic phone rang and 15 minutes later, a crew from the national TV came to interview the group.

The road exiting Katowice was quite busy, so we had Boris follow us until we could find a nicer path. We stopped for lunch and met a huge group of pilgrims. After all, we were headed for the most notorious Catholic sanctuary in Poland, on a Sunday.

Upon reaching Czestochowa, we met the media once again, gave an interview for the radio, then set up camp and went out for dinner - typical Polish döner kebab.

facts of life: about Auschwitz...

In times of crisis, one can find fertile grounds for the appearance of populists and self-proclaimed saviours.

They take people's fears and uncertainties and amplify them as much as possible, and the people feel even more helpless.

Then they present themselves as the only ones who can get rid of these uncertainties, and the people rally around them.

Then they hide the roots of all the problems and just arbitrarily blame a minority, and the people always love a scapegoat.

Then they dehumanize the minority, and the people completely dettach themselves from that minority.

Then they start abusing the minority, breaching their Human Rights, and the people turn a blind eye.

Then they take advantage of the general apathy and start breaching everyone's Human Rights, and the people actually give away their rights and freedom.

Then, when it is too late to go back, things get out of control.

From fear to hate, from hate to dettachment, from dettachment to apathy, from apathy to cynicism, from cynicism to pure madness.

Visiting the Museum at Auschwitz is highly recommendable, as it opens one's eyes to the horror that may come from things getting out of control. There are enough, in fact too many examples of History repeating itself while people look the other way.

It is everyone's responsibility to remember the lessons of the past and to stand firmly against all abuse, against all Human Rights violations, against racist rethoric and nationalist tendencies.

As Human beings, when difficult times come, being neutral is not an option.

day 28 - Auschwitz

Day 28
July 30th

Our stop in Katowice consisted almost entirely on a visit to the Auschwitz Museum. For some in the group, it was the first visit, for others, already the fourth. We had a very good guide, took some photos, and will give a dedicated post on the topic.

After seeing Auschwitz and Birkenau, we had lunch in Oswiecim and made our way back to Katowice, to get a bit of rest and catch up with some work. We witnessed Matt's thoroughness when it comes to event organization, as he ranted about the police's inability to flush out every single car from a huge square. If Matt needs the square empty, the square must be empty.

Tonight we were also joined by two new riders, Natalia and Rositza. It is very nice to have women in the group again, since we behave in a more civilized way. We welcomed them and we will take extra good care of them.

facts of life: polish roads should be world heritage sites

While the cyclists took off to Poland, my task was to stay behind and wait for Andi, who was coming back from his self-imposed video editing isolation. After I picked him up at the Ostrava train station, we fueled up and crossed the border around midnight.

Terrible roads, with pot holes the size of mammoth footprints, drunk kids running all over the road and numerous police controls. I smiled and thought to myself, "welcome back to Poland"...

rider profile: Greg

Profile
Name: Grzegorz Suder
Age: 27
From Poland
Studies: Economics

"I met crazy people on bikes full of energy and many ideas to change the world."

day 27 - Ostrava to Katowice

Day 27
July 29th

Another rainy day, another riding day. We left Ostrava and our refuge on the hilltop and headed up to Poland. The trio rode quite fast, as is becoming habit in the last week. The roads are in bad condition, the drivers are reckless, there are trucks loaded with coal passing by all day, but we move on.

From an industrial city in the Czech Republic, we moved to an industrial city in Poland. We came to Katowice and met our local organizer, Matt, who is the incarnation of organization, and also Greg, former Erasmus student in Portugal. We settled in at the Karol Adamiecki dormitories, got a great deal on pizzas for dinner and still had time to join a birthday party on the upper floor.

Tiago brought Andi back to the group and we began preparing our plan for tomorrow: a visit to the Auschwitz Museum. A decisive start for this stage of the ride.

PS: the photographers were on strike today...

Open Call for "Ride for your Rights!" 2012 Extended!

We're still looking for people to join the ‘Ride for your Rights 2012’ Organisation Committee (OC).

The deadlines for applications has been extended. You can apply until December 6th, 23h59 CET.

Read all about it below, and if you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line: contact@rideforyourrights.org