24 February 2011

A last lap of Skarbimierz



It is my last scheduled day in Skarbimierz - time for a little jog round the block - it is 4.3km - mostly on taxi-ways and runways with a dangerous section on public road - when you see an oncoming car (lorries are well behaved) the technique is to gradually run further and further from the kerb. Sometimes the car will move to avoid you and at the same instant you nip back in close to the edge of the road - this means you have generated a buffer of 1.05 metres - as opposed to the 0.05 metres the driver will have normally left you - that is if they have seen you at all and care at all. It is best to try to make eye contact and to assess whether they are entirely engaged in their non-hands-free conversation, rooting around in the glove compartment, eating/drinking, barely awake or engaging private Kubica/F1 fantasy.




Out of the gate and turn left, eyes peeled - this is where a motorcyclist had his arm ripped off last summer


View across the potato field


Turn left at the end of the spud field and look back toward the factory


The runway is being slowly dug up - in places making "ponds" (like at Greenham Common) and in others to compensate for the loss of drainage as factories are constructed.

(Facebook users - there is a video here in the original blog)



It was very cold.  Here is what used to happen


Hill training - the berm does not stop them landing planes - small ones still use the remaining 1/3 runway - larger planes land on the taxiway - and crash.


Another km into the wind



When I worked at the Gum factory this was my 4.0km point


Ulica Smaków means "Street of Tastes"! - or possibly "Tasty Street". 
Ulica Parkowa is not understood by Google Translate


The chocolate factory


Stansilaw paces me for the last 1km - calling out "15 kilometers per hour"


About here I was hit by a colleague from the Gum Factory - tried to turn in front of me to save 5 seconds in getting into the car park.


4.3km in 19:15 - I have gone faster but it was cold!


This is Darek - or "Captain Slow" - smooth and safe - if you travel in or around Wroclaw only take a trip with one of Marcin Zimny's drivers


Changed and ready to leave for the last time

...into the sunset

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