That one time I rode across Europe on a bike

The first day of the journey was easy in some ways and difficult in others. The difficulties started right outside my house, as the tangle of elastic ropes my dad helped me tie down my baggage with lasted just until I had to cross the first curb. After some corrections, I managed to secure it well enough that I could continue east towards Sączów, to where I decided to make a detour because I knew it had a St James' Way marker and an information board dedicated to the historic trail, so it seemed appropriate. Later I would learn this was dumb and added an unnecessary 10km, as I had one right in town. On the way, I managed to lose two elastic ropes that got spun into my gears and a pair of sunglasses I must have dropped while bouncing around the forest. Still, after reaching Sączów I more or less steadily rode northwest through the Lake Chechło promenade and Tarnowskie Góry, where I took a break for some ice cream, then again into the woods, at some points getting bogged down in the sand and taking a few breaks to eat wild blackberries, getting back out onto the asphalt around Tworóg and Krupski Młyn. After another needless detour due to Komoot giving me the wrong directions and telling me to cross a rail line at a point where this was a) illegal b) physically impossible with how heavy all my stuff was I again went into the forest and by the time I got out, had crossed into Opole province, as the license plates on the cars parked in front of people's houses told me. It was pretty much smooth sailing until I hit the lakeside pretty much right before sunset, on the way conversing with another cyclist - an elderly guy who could not believe I was going to Spain alone as my first cycling trip of this caliber - then looked around for the reception; asking around the people who looked like they might be staff milling around a pleasure boat harbor, I managed to get a hold of the receptionist for the campground, who told me that as a 'tired wanderer' I could pay up the next day. I got a plot of land next to an outlet, into which I could plug my phone charger with no extra equipment (an assumption that would bite me in the ass later), set up my tent right as it began to rain, gave my family a status update on Whatsapp, showered and settled in for the night, reading a book on my Kindle before sleep. The easy part was that it was downhill all the way.