Copenhagen to Roskilde

September 13, 2013

The weather is close to perfect - a sunny fall day, and no wind!

Before we could leave Copenhagen, we had to deal with the issue of purchasing our ferry tickets to Harwich England. We were becoming quite stressed about not being able to book our ferry online as the price has continued to climb as we have waited for their response. The online booking (which they require) has many glitches and we had been waiting unsuccessfully for email responses. First they wouldn't accept our bicycle and then they rejected our credit card. Inge, who runs the Hostel, volunteered to take on our problem. She phoned them (in Danish) and persevered until we had a booking - thanks Inge!

The Hostel at Ishoj is close to a wonderful beach and the Arken Art Gallery of Modern Art. We rode around and explored before heading out.

Following route 4/6 to Roskilde is a straight forward route. We got there in no time. However, we have been plagued with brake issues on the rear wheel for some time on the trip and have been concerned about heading to the hilly section of Jutland with dodgy brakes. We found a great bike shop in Roskilde and discovered that the calipers were not working at all - this explains the wear and tear on the brake pads and the horrible sound we could hear. Wish we could have discovered this 2 bikes shops sooner!

We had planned to visit the Viking Ship Museum today, but the time spent fixing the brakes took its place. We will stay at the Dan Hostel beside the museum and go tomorrow when it opens instead.

Compared to Copenhagen, the Hostel here is adequate but pales in comparison. The best thing is that it is in a great location looking onto Roskilde fjord, affordable and warm. There was no place to store our bike and we humoured the disorganized approach of the couple running the hostel. We resisted their efforts to put our bike into a storage shed that was crammed haphazardly to the ceiling with junk and later found a hallway which we discretely used.

Both Hostels are 5 stars and we can't figure out how this one retains its status.

Looking forward to tomorrow and the Museum. Roskilde, what a beautiful setting on the fjord.

We were fascinated by this Danish hand made Pederson tandem. The father explained that his daughter was autistic and loved to ride, but couldn't handle a bike herself. You've got to love the pedal adapters!

Touring in Europe and Scandinavia, a perk is seeing unique bikes - so well designed to handle different sizes and ages.

Roskilde Cyklecenter - a great bike shop with good staff providing knowledgable service.

It took two mechanics to figure this problem out.

We are very grateful for their professional diligence in figuring out the problem with our brakes. The man on the right is the owner/founder of the shop and the man on the left, fixed our bike.

We enjoy seeing these signs. In Denmark, every village/town has a sign like this.

Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 2,305 km (1,431 miles)

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