July 20, 2023
Day 17: Vordingborg to Næstved
We took our time packing things up and moving out of our cabin. This was partly because Kevin had woken up whining again and one of us needed to be with him constantly. He still wasn’t quite himself.
We finally left the campsite around 11 with Kevin soon asleep in the trailer. We followed a nice gravel road for a little bit before joining the main road north towards Næstved where we had arranged a host. The cycle route deviates from this road occasionally but we decided to just follow it as we couldn’t be sure Kevin would remain happy all the way. It mostly looked like this:
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There were more hills again now and the trailer felt very heavy. It was hard work but I tried to keep a decent pace up, telling myself this was good Ironman training. After 14 kilometres we reached Kong, which was the only good place for a break on the way, thankfully before the now-awake Kevin got upset. We took him out and had a long break at a playground.
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Kevin was being pretty fussy and had a couple of big tantrums. Apparently at this age he should be going through a developmental jump which would explain that, especially when added to his recent illness and all the experiences he’s been overdosing on recently. At times it felt like this was all too much for the little guy.
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We rode on with Kevin in the seat on Dea’s bike but it wasn’t long until he was whining and Dea stopped and suggested we put him back in the trailer behind my bike. Just before a big hill too, I might add.
The rest of the way to Næstved was a bit of a slog. None of us are really over our illness, my ribs still hurt, and it was worrying how Kevin was behaving. Our host lives to the north of Næstved so when we reached the south of the pretty big town we stopped at a playground. Now Kevin was really being difficult. He had a big tantrum, the sort of tantrum he never usually has, over a nectarine. Then it started to rain suddenly and we made a dash for a nearby supermarket. This seemed like a fail-safe way to keep Kevin entertained while keeping dry. Usually he loves sitting in the supermarket trolley. Not this time, instead he had a big tantrum when I tried to put him in one.
It stopped raining and we cycled the last six kilometres through town to our warmshowers host. Thankfully Kevin seemed okay in the trailer and we were able to cycle - maybe that was the best place for him where he could just relax and not be too stimulated. Still, when we arrived at our host Dea and I both said to each other that we needed to have a discussion about whether to continue with this trip.
Our host, Johs, was a nice guy but he was busy with a building project and left us to set up our tent in his garden and make dinner. Kevin then passed out pretty quickly in the tent, exhausted from all that is going on. Dea and I then had that discussion, and we were in agreement that it would be better for Kevin if we took him home. There is just a lot going on with him at the moment and it feels like it’s not the right time to be on the road. We are all still a bit sick, there is rain forecast over the weekend, and there doesn’t seem to be much gained by stubbornly trying to keep going.
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Tomorrow we will reach a town on the main railway line back to our home in Fredericia. We have already booked tickets. This is not necessarily the end of our trip, though. We would still like to attend the second family camp which is taking place at the end of July and we will leave our bikes packed in the hope that after a few days at home we are ready to take another train somewhere and cycle the last bit to the camp somehow. Whatever feels right. And for now, that’s taking our little boy home.
Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 386 km (240 miles)
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