Can’t Complain

Current Location:Winschoten, Holland

I’ll never complain about the wind again.  If I should I ask that you put five across the face, I’ll probably stare off into the distance and remember what cycling Denmark was like.  Let me do my best to explain why.

Up until this point I’ve winged about a little wind pushing me backwards.  I realize now that this was just a cooling breeze and nothing more.  I’ve now felt wind that would  make your hair curl, laddie.  In one particular section that day I could almost make out Loki rubbing his hands together and grinning maniacally as I turned a corner and a blast of wind almost took me to the ground. The wind started in the night when I heard it trying to take the tent off of the ground, I put in my earplugs and figured it would be over by morning.  It wasn’t.  The wind was blowing NE and I was heading SW, straight into the maw of the beast it seemed.  I really have never felt anything like this, it tore at every fiber of my being relentlessly.  It might let up for a second only to redouble its efforts to stop me, and accomplishing just that several times.  Up until now I’ve never had to walk the bike on flat ground, that too has changed.

I’ve now learned like surfers must respect the water, above all else I think cyclists must respect the wind.  I endured that day for the greater part of 10 hours against the wind clocking in only 90-100km for the day.  Not an inch was given that I didn’t have to fight for.  And that is why I’ll never complain about the wind again.

I did find Denmark to be shockingly expensive, a fact I bemoaned to mom and dad when they were here.  It was one of my main reasons to get out of the country quickly.   Also the fact that they haven’t switched over to the Euro is fairly irritating.   Other than that the coastal route was really interesting.  I think it was a rough existence for those that choose to live on that side of the country.

Riding back through Germany was nice again, after the headwinds in Denmark I managed to snag a few days of tailwinds which propelled me through Germany quite briskly, a nice change.  I followed the North Sea Cycle Route for a great portion of the ride, it’s nice to not have to look at the map and just focus on the cycling.

Back in Holland again means easy cycling, I have pretty much settled on heading back to the US by mid July and start the ride across.  I think I’ve accomplished most everything I wanted to here and the US will be challenge enough.  I think the only thing now is to stay focused on riding, it’s just a problem figuring out where I want to go, maybe I go back to Belgium for a wee while.

Where to Go

Current Location:Skagen, Denmark

The only word I have yet had to have translated in all the travels has been beer.  I guess we have the Germans to thank for that one.   Through all of Germany the siren call of the biergarten was strong, especially along the river sides.  Talking to other Germans cycling along they say they feel the same way.  Usually I can ride off one beer, but if I decide to stay for a second one then I had better be close to a campsite because I am not making it much further than that.

Meeting mom and dad in Copenhagen was really good, we did some touristy things like museuming.  And we ate, or at least I sure did.  The steak I had on the ship sure beats pasta any time.  It sure made it worth the 10 days ride up from Austria to meet them.  I also got to run into Ray and Sonya who pulled into the harbor the day after mom and dad.

Meeting people while travelling has really been the highlight to what I have been doing for the last couple years.  So meeting people in one country often means I get invitations to visit them if I make it to where they are.  This happened in Copenhagen where I met two girls travelling in Vietnam.  We all got rained in while in Mui Ne and got along quite well so they said when I got here I should stop by.  We had a great Danish dinner with some of their friends and laughed a lot.  Thanks to Hanne and Katrine for hosting.

One of the suggestions from Hanne and Katrine for what I should do in Denmark was to ride to the northern tip of Denmark and put my feet in both seas.  While in Copenhagen I was doubting this idea, mostly because all I ever saw in Denmark was cold grey days, fighting a headwind.  But on arriving here it turns out to be a brilliant day and a tailwind.  Unfortunately now I turn into the wind and finish out the day once again fighting a headwind.

I have started to think its time to start the ride across America.  I will head south for a while and make it back to Holland to see how I feel by then.  If I still feel the same way I should be back in America to start while the summer is strong.