Strangely enough I had this song of Bob Seger in my head all day. But I changed the text a little:
Against the wind
We were bikin’ against the wind
We were old and strong
We were bikin’ against the wind
“So how was your night?”, I hear you asking? I must admit it was remarkably good. Being tired after a day biking also helps, of course. The only thing we need to practice is not waking each other when one needs to go to the toilet.
I will paraphrase a short discussion at two o’clock the morning:
- Leen: ”Hey Jakkoo, psst”
- Jan (also called Jakkoo by Leen): ”?”
- Leen: ”Jakkoo, please wake up!”
- Jan: ”? ? ?”
- Jan: ”What, what?” (resurfacing from a deep sleep)
- Leen: ”I just want to wake you up, in case you might wake up because I am going to the loo.”
- Jan: wide awake now, thinking ”Why???”, Saying ”Ok”
Being wide awake now, I decided to take the opportunity for a preventative restroom visit, just in case the need arose shortly thereafter. After a slight struggle with my vest, I managed to go outside and provide some additional nutrients to the nearby grass.
After returning to the tent and the wrestle to get back in the silk liner and the sleeping bag, I was completely awake. It took me, and apparently Leen too, time to get back asleep. The night is full of specual and interesting noises, so it will probably take us some time to get used to that.
I was awake at seven, and Leen at seven thirty. So, time to get up, make breakfast, and pack our gear.
Easier said than done.
You must know that a tent gets wet on the inside from all the moisture that we exhale. At least the exterior tent canvas is driping wet, the interior tent is dry in this model. Thanks Nordisk! The vestibule, where we store our bags and all our stuff only has an exterior canvas, so whenever you are busy there and you touch it, drops if water fall down all over the place. It’s really an exercise in dexterity.
First, we emptied the tent and put all our gear on a nearby bench. We put the mattresses and sleeping bags back in their compression sacks. After that, we shook down the tent to get rid of most of the water so it could dry faster. Luckily, the sun was also helping us.
Meanwhile, it was also time to make breakfast. Since we had some leftover bread, eggs, and milk, we were going to make French Toast. It might not be the quickest or easiest breakfast, but we really loved the toast.
After breakfast, I still had to dry the tent and stuff it back into its tiny bag. Finally, we could fill our panniers again and hang them on our bikes. Okay, this is a long intro for my daily report, so you might guess that this packing/breakfast ceremony took a while.
Can you guess at what time we finally left?
- 9 o’clock
- 10 o’clock
- 11 o’clock
- 12 o’clock
Well, 12 o’clock would’ve been a disaster for the rest of the day, but it was almost 11 o’clock.
Not good, I hear you say gentle reader, because you effectively checked the weather forecast (I forgot) and saw that there will be a wind of 27 kilometers per hour from the north-northwest. Exactly the direction where we are heading for 62 solid kilometers.
The first 10 kilometers were alright, though, since the wind probably wasn’t fully awake yet. But once we hit the roads near the coast, we had to fight for every kilometer.
Starting late meant we were late on our lunch spot Hvide Sande: hangryness alarm!
Just behind the bridge to the left is the famous Hvide Sande Røgeri.
We finally got our sandwiches after a bit of a struggle with the Danes at the counter. It was 14:10 then. We still had to eat and bike 36 kilometers, but first, we really enjoyed our sandwiches.
On the road again, and the clock says 14:40. The wind is at full strength now, a headwind of 27 kilometers per hour with wind gusts of 37 kilometers. I had the feeling that there were only wind gusts.
The bike path near Hvide Sande runs alongside the main road. Usually there’s an alternative through the dunes, but that wasn’t an option today since it’s a gravel road.
To give you an idea i made a map:
The map also shows the big last hurdle we had to take on an already heavy day: 10 km of gravel with headwind. It was tough. At the end, we needed to take a break after every 3 kilometers, so we were so happy to arrive at the sweet home of Ruth and Lars, who stood ready to welcome us with the sound of victory bells. (So sad I could not record this, but we will never forget that moment).
They welcomed us warmly with an aperitif at their outdoor fireplace. A moment to share memories and stories!
For those interested in the quantitative aspects of our journey, we have covered 1,263 kilometers over 18 cycling days. We are currently on the 29th day of our journey.
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