Category: europe

It’s the seventh day of rain now. It didn’t stop all night long and it’s still raining in the morning. My tent is soaked and muddy but at least I’m dry on the inside. I’m glad I’ve booked two nights in a hotel now. Seven days of rain and I think I deserve some dry.

I planned my route the night before, as usual. It would take me 138km to get to Hamburg via a national park.

I didn’t sleep too well because of the wind and rain but got up early and left for Hamburg. I was cycling on an angle at some points the wind was so strong.

Today’s route was made up of lots of different roads through lots of different towns. I like this because it breaks the ride up and little and makes it more interesting. You also don’t know how far you have left so when you do find out it’s a pleasant surprise, or not.

There were no rain clouds today, no breaks in the cloud, just one big mist full of rain. I could only see about 200m if that. The air was full of an intense drizzle, one of those your mum always says is “the stuff that wets you”. And wet me it certainly did.

Got a bit lost trying to find my way through the national park. Ended up cycling through a forest on a dirt track at one point, but in the end I made it out the other side and had a clear run to Hamburg.

The campsite I stayed at in Ribe had the nicest toilets ever for campsites. It was like being in a hotel. I was quite tempted to move my tent into one of the cubicles in there. Unfortunately I had to camp outside in a field. Not only that, there was a gale blowing that was worryingly strong. I pointed the backend of my tent into the wind, hoping to disperse the wind around the tent and allowing me to have the door open without being blown away. When I woke the next morning the guy camping behind me had disappeared, no sign of him or his tent. That’s how strong the wind was that night.

I left before the rain started but the wind was still seriously strong. Then when it did rain it was like being pelted with bullets because of the wind. A few went straight in my ear which was quite a shock.

The day pretty much continued like this. One minute I’d be blasting along the cycle paths next to the main road then all of a sudden I’d be down to a crawl, battling the wind and heavy rain.

My route today would take me to Friedrichstadt but I was tempted to go further like I had the day before. Although by the time I reached my destination I was feeling defeated by the days weather and put the tent up in the rain. I’m really getting fed up with the weather now. Tomorrow I want to spend a day looking around Hamburg so I’m going to book two nights in a hotel I think. If only to dry my shoes out!

Viborg is a pleasant city that boasts one of the largest granite cathedrals in Europe. The town also has some very odd public houses, one of which was like stepping back into 1930 and the clientele looked like they were from the same era.

I managed to wash my clothes and I fixed my tyre as best as I could. The inner tube had two punctures and one tear from that piece of glass which I fixed up good. I also stuck some gaffer tape on the inside wall to stop stones, etc getting in and patched the hole in the tyre with layers of rubber patches and glue. I think I did a pretty good job.

The weather has been pretty bad, it’s like April showers with a strong wind. I’m getting a little fed up of the bad weather. Especially in August!

I got charged an extra 3.5% at the campsite for using a foreign card. What I rip-off. I get charged a commission and fee on top of this from my bank. Apart from this the campsite was quite pleasant. Although the one guy kept ignoring me after our disagreement on the use of the washing machines. Incidentally, I was right.

The route I took today didn’t seem to take very long at all. It was mainly A roads with light traffic. It rained a few times, at times quite heavy but I had my waterproofs on standby. The wind had dided down slightly but kicked back up in the afternoon.

I reached the campsite early so decided to carry on the extra 20km to Ribe and stay here for the night. Tomorrow I will head across the border back into the Eurozone and a new country, Germany.

It rained most of the night once again and the morning was grey and dreary with yet more rain. My poor tent got packed up wet once again and off I headed south. I’d only been cycling less than thirty minutes and I got a puncture, a pretty impressive one at that. Some idiot must have thrown a bottle out of a car window and I had cycle over a particularly large chunk of glass on the cycle path. It had torn a 1cm thick gash into my tyre and inner tube which I struggled to fix so used my spare tube.

I carried on south, battling against the headwind but the rain had at least stopped. I’d swap the wind for the rain any day though.

I was heading towards Viborg. It’s a small city which I figured would have ample services for a rest day.

Passing by large lakes the wind was pushing me into the road. It really was the strongest wind I’ve experienced throughout the trip. This is my fourth day with a headwind and it seems to be getting stronger. It makes the ride more of a mental battle than physical, although physically it’s like climbing the Alps all over again.

I finally made it to Viborg where I’ll have my rest day. I’m going to try and fix the inner tube and bodge a fix for the tyre. I also need to wash some clothes so hopefully the weather will brighten up over the next few days.

The day started as it had carried on most of the night, with heavy rain. Luckily there was a break in the cloud so I quickly packed a sodden tent together. I get chatting to some guy who had used a push scooter to scoot round Holland and parts of Denmark. I’m not sure I understood his interpretation of a scooter but that sounds pretty impressive. Where would you put your stuff?

I left wearing full waterproofs. The E45 wasn’t a particularly pleasant road, but luckily there weren’t as many lorries as usual as it was the weekend. I also had a strong headwind which was making progress particularly slow. This of course meant the rain was horizontal and coming straight into my face.

It didn’t get much better as the day progressed. I only had about 70km to do in total to Goteborg but the headwind was making the ride excruciatingly slow. Not to mention the road works I hit meant I was zigzagging across carriageways, up and down ramps.

When I did finally reach Goteborg I went straight to the port to enquire about the ferry. There was one just boarding and if I paid a substantially large sum of money I could get on it. Apparently the only way to get a cheap ticket is to book weeks in advance. I’d figured that if I save 10 euro or so by catching the one the next day I’d still have to pay for camping, so I raced for the ferry and was the last person on as the doors closed behind me, almost like an Indiana jones moment. Unfortunately this meant I saw absolutely none of Goteborg. I’ll come back another day I’m sure.

Once we ported in Frederikshavn I decided I might as well cycle another 50km to the west coast to Loken. There looked to be plenty of campsites there and the sun was now shining, that wind was still strong though.

I made it to the campsite where I booked in. Turns out I really do need a Scandinavian camping card, especially in Denmark. So the lady put me on a transit pass. A transit pass spreads the cost of the camping card over four nights stay. After watching a lovely sunset I went to bed.

A friendly guy at the campsite called Tony gave me some of his barbecue as there was too much for his family to eat. I never pass up a free meal especially when I need to eat as much as possible. The campsite was nice, but I always begrudge having to put money in a slot to have a shower, surely this should be included in the price?

I woke to a beautiful sunny morning and blue sky. This lasted about an hour before it went black and started to rain. As I write this it is still raining. In terms of weather it’s been an absolutely horrible day. I’ve had a driving headwind and of course the rain. The ride today was long and the weather made it gruelling, but I put my head down and motored on to Trollhattan. I’m not sure how far I’ve ridden today but it felt like a long one.

Arriving in Trollhattan I made my way to the campsite. I was refused camping without having a Scandinavian Camping Card. Ok, I’ve been asked if I’ve had one all through Sweden and Finland but nobody’s ever denied me camping before. I argued with him for a bit but as I wasn’t getting anywhere I had to cycle another 8km south to another campsite. She said she wasn’t going to force anyone to buy a camping card so I’m staying here. In fact its better really as I’m right on the road I need tomorrow to go to Goteborg.

I can’t believe its Thursday already. I feel I’ve been cheated out of a day somewhere but can’t figure out where. I left the campsite feeling quite fresh but soon after I’d left my legs started to ache. They usually ache a little but not so soon in the day. I’d eaten my usual oats, yogurt and pastries for breakfast but my legs felt sluggish. I stopped early for a snack and a big handful of sweets which seemed to help.

Playing on my mind was something my GPS had pointed out the night before. According to my GPS there was no route by bicycle to Hova without going about 150 miles out of the way and in the wrong direction. This was disheartening to say the least, but Google told me different. So it was Google I trusted and hoped it was correct. Basically there is a road that runs from Stockholm to Goteborg called the E20. It’s mainly motorway and therefore cycling is not permitted. My GPS backed this up but Google said that parts of it weren’t classed as motorway,

I finally reached my entrance onto the E20 and sure enough Google was correct. This lifted my spirits immensely and made the remaining 40km seem like nothing. The traffic was heavy but I just plugged in my headphones and amused myself with some Bloodhound Gang all the way to Hova.

Tomorrow I want to ride to Trollhattan but I think it might be a little too far. Today the wind was mainly against me and if it’s the same tomorrow I’m going to struggle.

I’m glad to have had the time in Stockholm to get my kit washed and start a fresh for the ride through Sweden. The last few days feel a bit all over the place what with ferry crossings and short distance rides. The days didn’t seem to flow as well as they should.

I started the day early as usual. Although as Sweden is GMT+1 I get an extra hours lie in. I knew I had quite a long ride ahead, mainly due to having to get out of Stockholm but this didn’t seem to be as difficult as I’d expected. When I finally left the suburbs and hit the open countryside I still had 90km to go to Katrineholm.

The countryside was much like Finland – Gentle gradients, rolling hills of corn and thick forests of pine. The weather at the moment is really good. It’s hot and sunny but not the same kind of heat as the Mediterranean. Its more bearable, has coolness to it that means I don’t struggle and sweat.

The ride continued most of the way next to a high-speed rail line which I guess heads for Goteborg. I stopped for Swedish meatballs before continuing the remaining 36km to Katrineholm. On the outskirts of the city is a campsite next to a lake. Most of the campsites in Finland and Sweden seem to be on the edge of lakes simply because there are so many, and they make for a very picturesque camping spot.

I found myself a nice quite corridor on the ship and settled into my sleeping bag for the night. I didn’t sleep too badly, I think the rum helped.

Then next morning I arrived in Stockholm about 6am. I left the ship, cycled through the centre and made my way to the campsite. I’m not going to go sightseeing as I’ve been to Stockholm before.

At the campsite I did some washing, shopping and a bit of bike maintenance. I should be all set for the next few days through Sweden.

The campsite I stayed at as lovely and quiet which meant I slept well last night and felt very fresh this morning. I left nice and early, making a good start towards Turku.

I’d only just started and I got my third puncture of the trip. This time it was my front wheel. It didn’t take long before I was back on my way.

I joined the 10 towards Turku and plodded on for the remaining 40 or so km. It didn’t take long to reach Turku. I got shouted at by a van driver in Turku, I’m not sure what he said but I could tell it wasn’t friendly. He then threatened me with a golf club which I thought was a bit harsh if he just wanted me to use a cycle lane. Who knows?

I have a ticket now for Stockholm leaving tonight. Unfortunately the cabins were all full so I’m going to take my sleeping bag on and sleep on the floor. Not looking forward to it but a cabin was almost double the price and I wouldn’t be in Stockholm until Wednesday.