July 6, 2023
Day 3: Assens to Millinge Klint
The forecast promised better weather today and there was a bit of occasional sun to brighten up our cold and windy early morning. The kids didn’t seem to care too much about the weather anyway as they played around while we made and ate breakfast. They seemed to be getting along great and that was so nice.
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We cycled south out of Assens enjoying a bit of sun for a couple of kilometres until some darker clouds rolled in and it began to rain. By some extraordinary miracle we were at that very moment approaching a big bus shelter so we could all get under cover.
The enforced stop gave us a chance to set up a round of the Spotting Things Game. A popular pastime during our trip around the world, the game involves all writing down ten things that might be spotted during the day, putting them in a hat, then all drawing out ten at random to try and spot. First to spot all of their ten, or the closest at the end of the day, wins. Dea and I had played many times, spotting all manner of things over the years. Usually we wrote down things like satellite dish or trampoline or shovel or traffic cone. You know, things that you might expect to see along the roadside while cycle touring. We were a bit surprised this time by some of the things coming out of the hat. A wedding, a Dalmatian, a bus full of students, a hen party. It seemed like Marie had misinterpreted something, but luckily she had picked out most of her own suggestions, so it was going to be a tough day for her.
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It was a great idea to play this game, it brought a lot of enthusiasm to proceedings as everyone tried to spot their things. It pretty quickly appeared to be a two horse race between me and Lukas, mostly because of the difficulty level of the girls’ lists. I spotted a wheelbarrow and a football goal almost straight away, Lukas responded with a bird in a tree and a greenhouse, and the game was on. Meanwhile, the cycling was pretty scenic and nice, between rain showers.
It was also really hilly and I think we were all happy for the chance of another break when we reached our first scheduled rest stop at a beach. Luckily the forecast sunshine had replaced the rain now, but it was still very windy on the coast. Still we sat in the wind and ate our sandwiches and the kids played with rocks and had a great time. They were experiencing so many things. This was a fishing area, as the info boards in the building next to us testified, and I considered going for a swim, only to try and spot a living fish, but the waves were a bit big and I decided to sit and watch the road and hope for a passing red Tesla instead.
Now that the weather had improved there was some really lovely cycling to be had, with good company on quiet country roads. There seemed to be very little chance of a hen party out here on this random Thursday, but Lukas and I were getting ahead and into some friendly rivalry. “Didn’t you see the number 17 back there,” he asked, knowing I needed to spot that. “No,” I countered, “didn’t you spot that blue tractor?”
For our next break we detoured off the route into Haarby to find a nice playground for the kids. We also needed a supermarket and I volunteered to go into town to find one. I’m not stupid. In the car park there was a Tesla charging station. Unfortunately, both the Teslas there were white.
It was four by the time we left the playground and we still had 15 kilometres to go to our pre-booked shelters, so we couldn’t afford too many more delays. By now I had spotted 7 of my list and Lukas was just behind on 6. One of the things he still had to spot was a flat tyre, and as we slowly ascended yet another hill his front tyre suddenly let out a loud hiss. “Flat tyre!” he exclaimed, with considerably more joy than I imagine anyone has ever announced a flat tyre before. His joy was slightly tempered by the fact that he had no spare tubes with him and ours were a different size than his. Luckily the hole looked like it could be patched, but with time getting along and the kids patience being tested it was decided that Dea and I should press on with Kevin to the campsite to start making some dinner and hopefully the others would arrive soon after us.
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Dea and I were suddenly alone with Kevin in the trailer. He hadn’t slept much but he wasn’t falling asleep. We had to stop a couple of times as he was getting whiny, but he was okay once we moved him up to his seat. There had been no sign of the others catching us up though, and we only hoped they had managed to patch that tube. We hadn’t wanted to leave them, but it was better to go ahead and have dinner ready when they arrived. After navigating a gravel track to avoid a busy road we made it to the camping place and were surprised to see two bikes already waiting. Marie and Lukas had taken a faster route on the bigger road and beaten us.
Once again we had really nice covered cabins for the night, and this time also a big seating area with no wind, so we could really enjoy sitting and having our dinner. After dinner we went down to the sea and us adults all took a dip off a little jetty. The water was cold and oh so refreshing. It was the perfect way to round off another great day on the road.
But… sadly no fish.
Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 114 km (71 miles)
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