Cycling from Poland to Africa: for the Cancer Fighters Foundation

The idea for the journey came to Julia before the summer break, when she was considering how to spend the holidays. She wanted to try cycle touring because, as she points out, she loves riding a bicycle. At first, she considered a route across Poland, from Zakopane to Gdańsk. However, the Extreme Summer Expeditions competition organised by the WUT Students’ Union (SSPW) encouraged her to take on a greater challenge. Instead of crossing Poland, she set off for Morocco.

Her chosen route led from Gdańsk through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain. After reaching the Atlantic coast, she took a ferry to Morocco. The entire journey took 43 days.

Julia’s route began in Gdańsk

During the journey, Julia slept in a tent and covered at least 100 kilometres each day. Her daily routine remained the same: she would wake at 6:00 a.m., eat breakfast, pack her belongings and tent onto the bicycle, and set off at 7:00 a.m. Along the way, she stopped to rest, shop, do laundry, charge her phone or simply admire the scenery she passed. At around 7:00 p.m., she would begin looking for a place to spend the night.

“The only thing I knew for certain each day was how far I wanted to ride. Everything else remained unknown. What landscapes and places would I pass along the way? Who would I meet? What would the weather be like? Where would I spend the night? It was an interesting change from the repetitive routine of everyday life, but it was also something I had to get used to,” she emphasises.

There were also difficulties along the route. Sometimes the challenge was finding a safe place to sleep; at other times, she had to decide which route to take to avoid areas at risk from wildfires because of temperatures reaching 40°C in France and Spain. She also encountered impassable paths, including mountain trails, and fenced-off private land.

One pleasant surprise for Julia was the well-developed cycling infrastructure she found in every country she visited. She also says that she was surprised by her own fitness and by how quickly the days of the expedition passed.

Julia Robak cycled nearly 4,000 kilometres for the Cancer Fighters Foundation

From the start of the journey, Julia’s expedition was accompanied by a fundraiser for the beneficiaries of the Cancer Fighters Foundation. Her original target was PLN 3,500, but by 27 August 2026 she had raised as much as PLN 12,100. "Every złoty raised over and above the number of kilometres she cycled will count as one kilometre for her next expedition. I am already thinking about where to go next and I have several ideas, because it certainly will not be a short trip, but a project lasting several months - and I already cannot wait,” the student concludes.

The Cancer Fighters Foundation fundraiser is open until the end of August. Donations can be made at www.siepomaga.pl.

The expedition ‘Cycling from Poland to Africa for the Cancer Fighters Foundation’ was Julia’s winning project in the Extreme Summer Expeditions competition organised by the WUT Students’ Union (SSPW). It was not her first time entering the competition: four years earlier, she had won third prize for her ‘Hitchhiking Across Europe’ journey. Travelling with her younger brother, she hitchhiked from Gdańsk to Athens, visiting 14 countries in 14 days.