Stay in the Forest: Coffee Tea Trip’s 2023 Swift Campout

Words and photos by Wojtek Waloch and Coffee Tea Trip

For some time, on the first weekend of summer, under the pretext of the annual Swift Campout, our large group of friends spends the night in a little patch of forest next to a lake to welcome the upcoming summer. That was precisely the case this year when we chose the charming and clean Głębokie Lake as our camping destination, which is located about 80 km from Zielona Góra.

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Our home for the night is located in the area covered by the “Stay in the Forest” program, thanks to which you can camp there legally. The route to the lake led us through charming, slightly sleepy villages, and the road was half low-traffic asphalt half and forest paths with bits and pieces of sand and cobblestones.

The weather was good, and everything was going in the right direction on the day of the trip, although what we saw at the assembly point surprised us a bit. A group had gathered consisting of old friends we hadn’t seen in ages and new ones we’d only exchanged messages with on Instagram. There were delegations from Warsaw, Szczecin, Poznań, Berlin, Gorzów, and other small and large cities. The variety of bikes was dizzying. Urban frames, gravel monsters, customs, and self-made bikes all lined up.

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After everyone had a chance to meet and we enjoyed some breakfast and coffee, we set off. We rode through the city as a peloton, like in the Netflix series about the Tour de France. Outside the city, the first daredevils who wanted to go much faster revealed themselves, and they also politely waited at designated points for breaks. And before long, some riders missed turns and ended up a little lost. Leaky tubes also plagued us, eventually bringing the group to a halt. Looking through the photos, you might get the impression that Kacper was a mechanic who patched and put in fresh tubes for anyone with a punctured tire. In reality, all the bad luck fell on him.

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In the village of Bieniów, we joined the part of the group that came by train, which added fresh energy to smooth over the sandpits and clay. After reaching the lake, everyone was only thinking about swimming and washing off the layers of dust and sweat. And that’s exactly what we did. Then came setting up camp, eating, chatting, and relaxing.

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After a proper rest, there was an explosion of emotions related to the rock, paper, scissors tournament: parrying, cheering, strategies, and attempts to distract opponents. Fortunately, Judge Fred kept order with his mosquito swatter. We would like to thank the teams DED DOVE, Ride And Get Lost, Baby Legs, Cafflano, Cheesy Supply, Lesovik, and BagGirls, because thanks to them, we had something to “fight for.” Then there was the ceremony, autographs of the winners, photos, and dancing. That’s how we ended the evening.

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The lazy, foggy morning pulled everyone out of bed very slowly. KYOTO Coffee Roasters provided an excellent cold brew with tonic and specially prepared packets of coffee beans to stimulate everyone to act and pack. After clearing the campsite, we all gathered for a group photo, except for the few early birds who had already flown home on their machines. The back of the pack was slightly more diffused. Some went to the nearest railway station and the rest to Nowogród Bobrzański, where they visited the nearby old dynamite factory and ate dumplings. After the meal, part of the team got back on the train to Zielona Góra, and the rest bravely pedaled until the very end. The adventure ended with a nice barbecue in Dawid’s “Too Good Wood” workshop.

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A big thank you to Krzysztof, who gave up his bike for a car to bring tournament prizes, water supplies, and relieve some of the heavy luggage. On the second day, he also took bags of garbage that we collected from ourselves and other previous visitors to the place. To all who came and supported, all the best and BIG THANK YOU. It was a great weekend. Until next year!

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