June 4: Day 34, Itzehoe-Flensburg
Itzehoe isn’t a very big town, and it’s a bit quiet, and even the supermarkets shut on Sunday. The hotel didn’t offer breakfast and I was worried about a hungry start - but Google shows a few places were open for Sunday breakfast. Most opened at 9, one opened at 8 and it was only 3 minutes away! It’s as close as the breakfast buffet would have been. So I went there.
I go there a few minutes after 8 and there were a few other people there already - I was the youngest by about 20 years. They had two breakfast options, one with champagne; I went for the other. It started with a small fruit cup and then bread rolls with upmarket fillings - salmon, lettuce, salami, cheese and jam. I demolished everything in sight and when I asked if that was everything I got the bill, which may have been a miscommunication. I’d done pretty well by then though so it was OK. Also: despite being the classiest brunch spot in town, it was cheaper than any breakfast this week.
Today is slightly shorter than usual; Komoot says 6h45m. But the route looks like it's beside a busy roads again, which was a bit dull yesterday. On the map some Eurovelo routes are going the same direction so I figure I'll have a look when one crosses the road, and see if it looks OK.
The first part is indeed alongside a busy road, and it's just like yesterday. I look forward to the turnoff to the Eurovelo; but when I get there it's not an intersection, but an underpass! And there's no way for me to get down to it. Underpasses are more exciting than anything from yesterday, the Eurovelo definitely is the right choice.
I do join the Eurovelo in good time, it's basically a repurposed backroad. However, this backroad is something I haven't seen before: two tyre tracks that have been concreted, just like a driveway, except it's a kilometer long.
Definitely more variety than yesterday.
From left to right: breakfast. The kilometer-long driveway. Best streetname of the morning. No headwind!
The surfaces aren't always good though; there's some patches of sand. A few days ago I rolled into one at full speed, and it turned out to be so deep that the tyres floated. The front tyre started to drift to one side and since I'd lost all steering all I could do was unhook a foot in case it went over. It didn't come to that; the bike got back on terra firma in time and I was able to reel the balance back in. But I'm a bit wary of them now.
The halfway mark was Rendsburg and I planned to stop there for lunch. But about an hour out, I crossed paths with a French bikepacker. Travelling light, but with a tent, and the bike looked like it'd gone a long way. Where was he coming from? Portugal! Turns out he was following the European Divide as well. I told him about the savage downhill I'd hit near the start; he knew about them - apparently he knew the first day was to be ignored, but the route was more trustworthy after that. (Wish I'd known that...) He'd been following the Divide route closely until he got to France, but had got a bit more flexible since then. Unfortunately we parted ways at Rendsburg, I needed lunch and he did not.
With all the talking we'd ended up off my route (Komoot had been telling me it'd been adjusting it for the last half hour) and missed the bridge. I'm not sure if we were following his route, or some other cyclists ahead, but we had arrived at a lift to a tunnel running under the canal. The lift was big enough for five bikes (barely); the tunnel is impressive. After that we went our own way; mine led to lunch and a coffee bun with purple cream.
From left to right: the tunnel under the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal. Not kidding about the coffee bun with purple cream. Getting started after lunch.
After Rendsburg I changed the route to use the Eurovelo. It gave the full treatment: gravel roads, double tyre tracks, singletrack, and about an hour in a forest. And some climbs. The surface was good all the way though, there were no complications, and it led all the way to Flensburg.
So a lot more interesting than a cyclepath beside a busy road. I'll do this again.
From left to right: another tranquil tree-lined part of the route. Passed close to a few wind turbines. Me happily rolling along a quiet path. In a sandpit so large I took a photo to remember it. Taking the road into the wilds. Downhill through the forest at speed.
I'm planning to take tomorrow as a rest day, and had found a well-reviewed but cheap room on the edge of town. I'd booked it for one night, thinking that I would extend it to two if it looked OK. And it did! But when I tried to extend to two nights it turns out that the room was unavailable. And all other rooms in the guesthouse were also booked. So it goes from having just me on Sunday night to fully booked tomorrow! Pity; the place was nice...
So the rest day will be a little busier than usual. Hopefully I can get everything washed before I move hotels.
What I’m listening to: “Make this right” / The Toxic Avenger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CGMk_roNaE
There’s been a shortage of French techno, which is an oversight needing to be fixed…
Also: “My Only Chance”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brZs6-dn8BM
