June 7: Day 37, Hedensted-Øster Hurup
Today is when the bill comes due for the booking mistake: the destination is 150km away. I got to sleep at a reasonable time, woke up with the alarm, got things ready and was a few minutes early to breakfast.
Unfortunately it was woefully small: just some bread, three cherry tomatoes, some blueberries and a bit of jam. And no coffee! I made some. I was halfway through when the host arrived with the actual breakfast tray, which was a lot more substantial - and it had coffee! Oops.
So I had a decent breakfast after all, and got on the road at 0910. Komoot gives an estimated time to the destination: it was 9 hours, ie an ETA about 1800. I check it regularly through the day: if it's getting earlier then I'm faster than Komoot's estimate; later means I'm slow.
Had an odd experience on the way out. There was a wind turbine spinning in what should be a tailwind - but when I stopped to take a picture I couldn't feel a breeze at all. Still a good omen! Today's the first day when the wind is not a northerly, the forecast predicted both east or west but either would be an improvement.
From left to right: Before 8, what I thought was breakfast. After 8, what breakfast actually was. Signs of tailwinds.
There were some Eurovelo routes nearby, but I was worried about how long 150km would take: Komoot thought 9 hours, but if there was a headwind, unexpected gravel roads, or a diversion it could add a bit of time. So I stuck to the plan.
After half an hour the route passed through Horsens, which is not a big town, but it sprawls. The route went through a lot of traffic lights, and I think I had to wait at all of them. The cyclepath was good and safe; at the lights the cyclists are in front and there's a smaller set of traffic lights for us. It goes green a second early, I think, so I got in the habit of standing in the pedals and getting across intersections before the cars... it's safer that way.
It's also more fun, and that's likely to be in short supply today given how little time I had for distractions. Stopping to take a photo can easily be a few minutes if there's a few redos or a change to a better position; do that too many times and it'll add up to an hour.
Quite a lot of the route was a cyclepath paired with a major road. That's has some advantages - never steep, no need for map checks, and the surface is good; which is just right for today.
But it is a bit dull. There were several times when I could see the road going all the way to the horizon, with a few hills along the way, and that does take all the mystery out of the next half hour.
From left to right: I have theories about this building, but I worry that they’ll be more exciting than the truth. Me getting philosophical about waiting at the lights in Horsens once again. The route takes an interesting turn - the left side is where it goes. I presume the cyclepaths were a late addition here. Just a random street in Aarhus.
Jos mentioned that the yachts of "The Ocean Race" (a round-the-world yacht race) would be an Aarhus, which I was passing through. Seems like a good opportunity, and only a small diversion, so I added it to the route in Komoot.
The way into Aarhus was quite nice. The city isn't anything special, lots of roads and buildings, but somehow the cycleroute was surrounded by trees. It then went down a street filled with cafes... By then it was after 12, so this was a good opportunity for lunch. There were so many cafes close together I didn't have to choose one before locking the bike, which is new!
The Ocean Race had taken over a section of the waterfront, and filled it with containers and temporary facilities. There was a security barrier but they didn't object when I rolled through to take a look around. Unfortunately I could only see one yacht, and there were fences preventing me from getting too close. So I gave up and headed onwards.
Next town was Randers, but the way there was a cyclepath beside a road: uninspiring but very direct. The next leg was to Hadsund, my intended destination; this was a bit more rural and scenic. There was a 700m segment on a main road with no cyclepath; I rode carefully on the gravel at the side. First time I've been on a road like this in weeks, I can't remember the last time it's happened.
The next segment was a bikes-only gravel road. No potholes, but a lot of small stones so I had to go fairly slowly and carefully. It rejoined a road and led out to the Mariager Fjord, which is quite a nice Fjord; Hadsund was visible in the distance over the water.
From left to right: road plus cyclepath. Nice building combination in Aarhus. Going down an unusually straight path; in hindsight maybe it was a rail trail. On the fjord, with the view of Hadsund. What has to be a rail trail.
By now it was a bit after 5 - Hadsund looked good, if only the booking hadn't gone wrong! Øster Hurup was an extra hour and there was an easterly headwind. I finished off the last banana, swapped in a new drink and headed off.
One nice surprise was that the route followed what seems to be a rail trail! There were no signs announcing it, but the gradual inclines and wide turns can only be for one reason... It goes inland though, so I won't see it again tomorrow.
The final segment was north, so the easterly was little more than a distraction. I arrived at 1830, given I took about an hour for lunch and sightseeing, it was slightly less than the 9 hour estimate.
The place I'm staying seems to be completely unattended: I was given a door code by email, there's no reception or any sign of staff. Breakfast won't be provided, but there's a supermarket across the road. Since I only have 4.5 hours to go tomorrow, I think I can sleep without setting an alarm, and raid the supermarket for fruit and yoghurt and breakfast pastries tomorrow. Hope that works. It'll be a good way to recover from today's ride anyway.
What I’m listening to: “Spock With A Beard” / Palmskin productions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRwcLq-PXhA
Suppose you’re trying to put a hyperactive 8 year old to bed. But instead of trying to calm them down, what happens if you feed you both a double-shot of espresso, put on some music, and dance ‘til you drop? This is your soundtrack.
The saxophonist with the leather lungs is Chris Bowden, incidentally.
