Wanderung 30

Although we really liked the farm we were staying at, we decided to continue our tour by riding westward over to the North Sea coast of Jutland and see the historical old town of Ribe. Since the total distance across was 60 kilometers and we didn't feel up to that in one fell swoop, we divided it up into a two-day ride and booked a room at a countryside B&B in the middle of Jutland near the town of Rodding.

But before we left to continue our journey, with the blessing of our landlady we picked some more apples and dug up one more handful of new potatoes to take with for our next evening meal. We finally rolled off shortly after ten that morning, smack into a brisk headwind out of the West that was about 20+ mph. That headwind was so strong we had to use the highest levels of the motor assist and it was still a tough slog! We passed a very pretty church along the way, but the morning service was just ending and people were getting back into their cars and one large tour bus (why ??), so although we were curious about the interior we decided not to interrupt the worshippers and continued on our way.

Although really windy, the sun was shining in a deep blue sky studded with puffy white clouds, and we had no problems with rain, so we could see far across the scenic countryside and really enjoy the ride. We were mostly rolling along in farmland, with the occasional small town, and at one point we surprised a cow feeding her two newborn calves. She seemed startled to suddenly see us pop up on the road (the bicycles don't make any noise as they approach), and gave us a loud "moo" that seemed like a "stay away" message. So after briefly stopping to take a quick picture of the pair, we pedaled onwards.

Once again we had the weird experience with the Komoot route that it led us straight into a cul-de-sac that was clearly marked as a blind alley with no exit for car traffic, which gave me pause. Well, as it turned out, it was a blind alley for cars but not for bicycles! The car traffic had to stop at a parking area beside some kind of small business, but the Komoot route led us from the parking lot straight down a small driveway, then between a couple of huge concrete blocks that we could just squeeze our bicycles through, and then onto an adjacent driveway of the business on the next street over. And then miraculously we were back on the normal system of streets and official bicycle paths.  But who the heck programs all these odd bicycle-only passages into that Komoot data base? Amazing, really, and we never encountered a failure of the planned routes.

The middle section of our ride that day was through a forest preserve, and that was more difficult riding but also a lot of fun. The thick forest sheltered us from the wind, which was a relief, but the gravel and occasionally mud riding surface kept us on our toes. That was particularly true when our route narrowed from a kind of a fire lane, which was the width of a car, to a forest path so narrow that I was getting whipped in the face by the branches of bushes on both sides. Since that path was only 6 inches wide or so, we could not dodge around to avoid mud holes or sandy spots, but by riding very slowly and using the electric assist very carefully, we managed to get through it without getting stuck. I rather enjoyed our ride in the woods, in fact.

After a quick lunch in the next small town at one of the few grocery stores open on a Sunday, where we also picked up some cans of Pepsi made with real sugar, we continued westward and paused at another of the beautiful churches that dot the countryside of Denmark. Services were over for the day by that time and so we did not disturb anyone by walking around the graveyard surrounding the church and taking pictures. One thing that was unique to this church was a separate section that apparently preserved the gravestones of the people whose graves had been re-used in the official church graveyard. That struck me as a lot more respectful to the deceased than just throwing the old gravestones in a dumpster, as is typically done.

From there we had another hour or so of riding before we reached our B&B for the evening, by which time we were both pretty tired. That B&B was really out in the middle of the countryside in the fields and forests in the center of Jutland. We were surprised but pleased to find out that the owner's daughter was an artist whose very nice pictures hung in the living and bed rooms.

It was a beautiful, restful ending to the day. I put one of the bicycle batteries on to charge (after a long day's ride they can take up to three hours each to charge), and then laid down for a nap underneath the cheerful painting in the bedroom. The art appealed to me enough that I wanted to ask if he had any small, unframed pieces that we could conceivably roll up and pack with us on our bicycles. Unfortunately, the owner did not speak much English and my Danish is non-existent, so I never was able to put that question to him. Later on that evening, Monika used the potatoes she had dug up that morning with some Knorr soup packets I had purchased the day before to make a nice dinner, and I put the other battery on to charge. And so to bed.