May 30, 2023 to June 1, 2023
Rodekro - Aars
Stage 23
Another EU member with its own currency *sigh* and an unwieldy exchange rate. At least my charging plugs still work!
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Starting my northward journey through Denmark, there were no significant changes to the cropping and farming activities, but there was a subtle change in the landscape - some small hills! Northern Germany was quite flat and sandy. Denmark has been formed by glacial forces and the moraine has formed small hills and the soil is both sandy and stoney.
The Trail is mostly following the Haervejen which runs the length of Denmark and pre-dates cars. This means that a lot of time is on roads, both sealed and unsealed, and does not take random excursions off on to short sections in woodland. (I didn't expect that I'd miss that, but it seems that I do!).
My first night in Denmark was at an old farmhouse where I impressed the host's teenage son by pointing out NZ, Portugal, and my path to Skagen on a big wall map.
It does look quite a long way when viewed on a map!
Jelling is a world heritage site for Viking burial mounds and culture. I thought the modern sculpture was quite a striking interpretation of the stone ship settings often found at burial sites.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
My next night was at a B+B right beside the trail near Them. Also in residence were two women who have been taking annual cycling holidays together for the past 10 years. They seem to have covered most of the trails in Denmark and they were informative housemates. Their next day's agenda included visiting a site where a spring came up in two places, and one flows east, and the other flows west.
After Viborg the trail is on old railway beds for the remaining 60km to Aars (pronounced Oars), and the long straights were sometimes exposed to the fresh Northly that had got up. The surface was quite fast rolling, even if the sand did start to make Wally's chain noisy.
The wetlands near Skals were a beautiful distraction, and they are the inland end of the Hjarbaek Fjord, which eventually opens into the North Sea.
Aars marked the end of Stage 23 at 269km and 1240m of climbing - all those small hills definitely added up as I clocked 281km and 1670m.
Next up, the final stage to Skagen, and the completion of my ride.
Today's ride: 281 km (175 miles)
Total: 4,889 km (3,036 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |