April 20, 2023
Building and testing the bikes
We last saw our touring bikes in February when we were packing to leave the Netherlands. Since then they have been transported by bakfiets, stored in a friend's shed for the winter, in a van, and on a plane. The boxes were looking a bit worse for wear, but luckily everything seems functional.
We started the day by heading out to find a decent coffee at cafe Antigua. We were the only ones there so early so the barista let Tobias help out with coffee making. We chatted about our upcoming ride and got some tips for places to visit once we get going. They were from Shkodër and missed the mountains and rivers from that area.
Back home we pulled the bikes out from the garage into the large garden the apartment shares with the owners. I specifically looked for a place with an outdoor area and this was perfect. All the practice stealing Pippa's bike in the Netherlands seems to have paid off because Tobias was much more confident on his balance bike than when we left. The bikes haven't suffered any obvious trauma from their journey so we have the next few days relatively free. The only thing is a pin that has moved in my brakes, but James has full sized pliers that he'll use to fix it tomorrow.
After Tobias' nap we took the bikes for a ride around the lake near our place. It started with a tantrum because Tobias was not keen to leave his bike behind, but he cheered up once he figured out he would get to ride on Mama's bike. The first part was technically on a separated bike lane, but it was full of ruts, pedestrians, and potholes so we weaved in and out of it. Once we reached the park though there was a great path with separation for cyclists, runners, and people taking a stroll.
Since our disaster German tour last autumn we promised ourselves we would take things a lot more chill next time, hence the Airbnb and lots of time to get sorted. This time we're pretty much sorted and I'm feeling ready to go.
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Today's ride: 8 km (5 miles)
Total: 257 km (160 miles)
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