Yebo Gogo!

The very last update

2009-08-22 03:47:32

Final posting with the goodies from the mobil phones, scenery from Viana do Castelo and the national park surroundings etc....

The trip is over. I am back home and have started at the university which means having time to publish the pics from my mobile phone (the ones you find on this page), write and upload last days travel blog etc.

My father send the following comment after having seen these pictures:

"Dear Morten. I have often thought of asking you why on earth you always look so utterly silly on pictures... But now I see where you have it from".

I think this one needs no further comments. :-)

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Evaluation
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The route (click for large version):

Stage one: Svendborg - Hamburg + Stuttgart - Lindau
Stage two: Lindau - Genova
Stage three: Viana do Castello - Santander

All in all the trip went amazingly well. Before departing I had planned pretty well the trip from London to Lisboa (that was to nver happen) but must admit that driving down through Europe without any defined route was really fun! For my next trip (if there will be such a thing) I will for sure read some headlines about places I am expecting to cross - but not overplan it. There has to be room for spontaneous 'turning left instead of rights' etc.

The equipment turned out really good. Here a thought or two that may come in handy for others who plan similar tours (you can see all the items on the equipment page).

Bicycle:
Choosing to go on the old MTB worked really well. It can take some beatings if it has to and you don't worry so much about getting it stolen.

Carrier and bags:
Topeaks click-on system is fantastic! Only thing to reconsider is the click-on carrier (which broke the bolt in Lisboa). It gave me a challenge in terms of packing (as I only had 8 kg. for tent, sleeping bag and clothes) and I would propably go for a fixed model next time. But the click-on bag was perfect and very easy to take of when you had to leave the bike.

GPS:
It took some time... No it took A LONG time before I realised how to make best use of it. In the beginning I used it for planning longer routes - but often it would give stupid suggestions, especially when in mountanish areas (where it wants you up and down mountains just to avoid large roads etc). Planned routes are great inside cities when you want to find the nearest camp site etc. and for using as overall map + driving on the compass, the GPS worked very well. And of course the fun of extracting data afterwards make it worth it (superb for nerds :)

Could be great to have a microcharger that could charge it while driving though, as the battery only last for a day.

Tent:
Not much to say other than this was the best investment I have made in a long time. After a bit of practising you can actually put up the tent in 2 minutes and it works in all weather conditions.

Here are links to other pages that have been updated (click the headlines):

1. The page about Viana do Castelo now has lots of pictures and some text

2. The page from the last day towards Santander and from there home now has lots of pictures + text from the overland trip North.

That's it folks! Untill next trip..... Enjoy life and never forget to Yebo-gogo... It is healthy! :-)

Final stage to Santander - and a long and complicated overland way home

2009-08-13 14:12:08

Last leg of the Spanish tour along the northern coast. Sleeping over at the local version of Fawlty Towers. Sailing to UK. Getting the adrenalin flowing in downtown London. And the long haul home...

Distance covered: 120 km
Distance total: 1820 km
Heightmeters covered today: 1414 mtr

The last day was a complete parade along one of the most beautiful stretches of the northern spanish coastline. A nice and quiet secondary road took me through soft hills scattered with charming villages and beautiful beaches - and the smile was on my face all day long.

I arrived in Santander early. Actually a full day early because I chose to not go up into Picos de Europa due to the horrible weather two days ago. Santander is actually a very nice city with lots of stuff to see and do... Actually so much that I managed to completely forget to take any pictures at all!

I went for a centrally located Fawlty Towers style (thinking about decoration mainly here) cheap hotel and got a hillarious experience to finish of my little spanish adventure: in the middle of an old large residential building, a tiny hotel was suqeezed in on two floors. The place was run by a small elderly and very nice mexican lady whos most modern help was an aging fax machine. No computer, no internet, no mail adress, only handwritten bills. I like this!

I got to my room which was app. 6 m2 big and must have been build/decorated by the most optimistic guy in the history. On these 6 m2 there was a bed, a small work table, a build-in close, a shower and a toilet!

This ment logistical issues such as a walk-through shower to get to the toilet (see pic) which you had to reverse into as there was no space for turning around in there! the be was another funny thing as it was surely made by a spanish and was no longer than 160 or 165 cm. which left me with part of my head and my feet outside.

But.... the owner + surroundings + location was excellent so I slept like a baby after having wandered the streets for a bit and eaten some dinner in a cafeteria (that had ASSAULT ARCHICHOKES as todays offer. As I was not sure how dangerous these buggers might be, I chose to go for a 'normal dish' instead..... (I later found out in the spanish translation that these were actually salted archicoke hearts. Yeepie for Google translator which seems to have won the hearts of every 2nd spanish restaurant).

Next day it was off with the ferry towards Portsmouth. A huge and very luxurious ferry and a very pleasant travel indeed (if one does not think too much about the damn sideways rolling that took place half the night when crossing the Biscaya).

Upon arrival in England I biked 400 mtr in the left side of the road (scary) to enter the city. Found the train station and bought tickets for Harwich from where I had booked the next ferry towards Holland. I had to change trains in London... Something I would soon find out would be a kinky affair.

Adrenalin kick in Londons rush-hour traffic
for some reason I still do not understand London does not have one central huge trainstation - but instead has four in each corner of the city. I arrived in the South-West corner and had to take the next train from the North-east corner. I had 50 min. to do this and on my ticket it said to 'take the underground'. No problem except that they do NOT ACCEPT BICYCLES IN THE UNDERGROUND!!!

I talked to a friendly guy at the station who gave me the advice to just jump the bike and cross the entire city in the rush-hour - because there was no other way I would be able to make it in time with other means of transport.....

It took me 35 minutes to fulfill this mission sprinting away in bus-lanes + middle of 4-lane roads while shouting back and forth with bike-messengers who helped me staying on track. For those 35 minutes my pulse was never below 850 and I still wake up bathed in swet screaming at taxis with drivers in the wrong side of the car.....

Next ferry was a cosy trucker-style ferry and when arriving in Hoek van Holland I decided to bike into Rotterdam. A beautiful (and incredibly FLAT) trip along the kanals. From Rotterdam I had a 10 hour traindrive up through Europe before arriving to my old homeland to pick up my car and drive the last 1500 km. home.

So that was it... The trip has ended. For now. It has been an amazing journey this one - and without too much planning too. I really enjoyed going down through Europe without any clue on what to expect - and also enjoyed the last leg that I had a pretty fair idea about from the original planning. I can highly recommend both scenarioes to anybody.

Yebo-gogo to all! :-)

Ribadesella to Santander

Two very different days along the northern coast of Spain

2009-08-02 19:45:26

Two days in a northern-spanish rollercoaster.... Two days with same distance and profile but yet they couldn't be more different! First the trip data for the bike-nerds (full graphics at the bottom of page).

Stage one:
Distance covered: 120 km
Distance total: 1580 km
Heightmeters covered today: 1415 mtr

Stage two:
Distance covered: 120 km
Distance total: 1700 km
Heightmeters covered today: 1577 mtr

Stage one: A Pedreira to Cudillero
After the long boring trip along the N-634 main road yesterday, I was hoping to catch some smaller, pictoresque roads along the coast today. Weather was beautiful and the sun shining from a blue sky. Even my legs seemed fine, so I headed off to the east.

It didn't take long before N-634 turned into the highway A-8 and I was left with the old road along the rugged coastline. It was absoutely amazing! Not a single stretch of straight-forward drivnig but kilometer after kilometer after kilometer of either climbing steep small hills (100-150 height mtr) or descending - and always turning, as the road followed the cliffs near the coast. So the average speed was not high and if this cnotinues all the way to Santander then I have to bike long days from now on. (I also had an experience with a detrou due to roadwork and that costed me a lot of time in these mountains - I dno't have too much time for that anymore).

What made it even better was to discover that this part of the coast is really untouched. No mass-tourism, no fancy hotels and beach camping, no nothing. Just long stretches of being completely alone in the forestry roads. Only company I got was from the occational pilgrimage people walking the other way - all greeting as I drove by.

I arrived atthe campingplace smiling after a long day in broad snushine and instantly washed my bicycle clothes, a T-shirt etc. Something I would later regret.....

Stage two: Cudillero to Ribadesella
I woke up when it started raining... I ran out to fetch the bicycle clothes that was hanging to dry but it was too late: it was soaked and getting it on would be a hassle.

The rain continued without mercy. I packed down my tent, headed for the cafe and waited. After an hour ir sort of stopped, I got into my wet suit (really not pleasant) and headed off.

A few km down the wet road I was slowly forgetting my wet clothes and beginning to be more optimistic. Then a BANG occured and my back tire was flat. Unpacking, fixing and no the saddle again and the optimism came back again.

A few km. down the road... The road was gone! There was no alternative so I was happy that I am not a geologist or ingenieur - and continued through it. Luckily it went fine and I was now unbeatable, humming away in the clouds.

Then the rain came back. Not dripping, not a quick shower but steadily rain for hours and hours, accompagnied by a cold wind. This had a funny effect on my biking: beforwe I used to enjoy the downhills more than the uphills but that shifted completely. Uphill sections ment staying warm - downhuill sections ment cold wind and no body activity and I froze so much I had to sing smoe good old danish folksongs on the way down to keep me warm. My sincere apologies to any humans or animals that may have suffered from this.

At the end of the day it cleared up and I arrived at Ribadesella soaked, coughing but happy as I can now see roadsigns for Santander! :-)

Stage one: A Pedreira to Cudillero

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Stage two: Cudillero to Ribadesella

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Tourist for a day in Santiago de Compostela - and another long haul to the north coast

2009-08-02 19:40:29

Distance today: 160 km
Distance total: 1460 km
Heightmeters covered today: 1551 mtr

Santiago de Compostela is not a city to just drive through or spend 10 minutes eating an ice-cream in. It is an amazing experience and deserves more than that.

...ok I admit that I was also utterly and completely smashed after the long ride yesterday so I had no problems convicing myself to spend the day as a foot-tourist in the city. I thuoght I could then catch a train for a bit to make up for todays loss.

I spend the morning and most of the afternoon just strolling around town. Enjoying the amazing monumental buildings that are sperad all over, seperated by small narrow and cosy streets and squares.

A really nice experience was to hangout at the central square and watch the pilgrimage travellers who arrived at their fnial destination after hundreds of kilometers of walking. There was smiling, dancing, singing, cheering, crying, welcome delegations etc etc. (Each year around 70.000 people walk on the pilgrimage routes and I saw tons of them both in santiago and on the trip North, even thuogh the high point of the season had just passed (the big party on the 25th. of July, celebrating the saints).

Second part of my plan did not work well as there were no trains out of Santiago de compostela for the rest of the day I could go to Vigo or Cornua but both were in the wrnog direction - and when I asked for the departures the next day and informed that I had a bicycle, the guy turned his eyes upwards and said 'but in Spain is VERY complicate with this Biciclettas'... so I gave up and tomorrow I'll head out of town to the North.

Not much to tell from the trip North as it was mainly biking away along the main road all the way and hence not so interesting. It started out in grey, misty weather (and even then I met tons of walking people going the other way, coming out from small paths and stuff).

I arrived to the coast some 160 km. later. Done.

(Want trip data? Scroll down)

Santiago de Compostela to A Pedreira

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Viana do Castelo to Santiago de Compostela

2009-07-28 23:18:03

This stage includes the record in terms of length - and the most painfull one in terms of missing skin in body parts I shall spare you for the details of.....

Distance today: 180 km
Distance in total: 1300 km
Total height meters today: 1885

Portugal was what one could expect: an orgie in fantastic food, cheap drinks, parties, heavy smoking - and lots of excuses for driving a car and not a bike. Result: I am more or less back to the starting point in terms of body weight and -shape.

After a week in Lisboa and 3-4 days in Viana do Castelo I was looking forward to get on the bike again (althought I have enjoyed every second of the stay, including the hospitality of Rodrigo and Petra to stay in their apartment + Rui and his family who has hosted me in their family house in Viana do Castelo. Thanks A LOT to all of you for that! :-)

Where was I... Ahh yes true: it was time to get back on the bike and head North, towards Spain. After many days of delightfull decay, my body had to go through the cold shower of being trapped in a Borat suit, working hard for the food and missing out on cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.

Full of hangovers and blowned-up selfesteem, I decided to go ambitious and skip a stay along the Spanish westcoast (also because that would imply a large detour from my route and out to the campingplaces) - so I headed straight for Santiago de Compostela, a true must-see on this trip.

As always it looked like piece of cake on the GPS (hell I have to realise I cannot trust a 2" monitor without altitude feeling) so I started out in the early morning, from Ruis family house a bit south of Viana do Castelo.

The first bit up to Rio Minho (that also makes up the border to Spain) went fine. Headwind to cool off the morning sun, nice temperature and not much traffic. After having crossed to Spain the route went further inland, the sun won over the wind and the terrain shifted from flat to more and more hilly. And I got more and more tired.

Not much else to tell as I arrived to the very centrally placed campingplace As Cancelas, put up the tent and slept like a baby untill 08.00 this morning when a bunch of superannoying teenage scouts decided to wake each other up with really bad pop music on a ghetto blaster.... Luckily some french family father blew up, went there and shouted things I shall not repeat here (as it would propably get the site banned) and I got 1 hour of sleep more.

Now I will head out and enjoy this much spoken of mysterious city before heading north-east. PS: July and August are high season months for pilgrimages so it is a good idea to book in advance if you come here!

Viana do Castelo to Santiago do Compostela

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Viana do Castelo - a northern dream

2009-07-28 23:03:52

Who put a superorganised and damn charming swiss village in the middle of portugal?

This posting will contain text and pics from Viana do Castelo which I found to be one fantastic city! - As I am totally wasted after todays trip (to Santiago de Compostela) I will elaborate on this story + add pictures a bit later.... For now it is just here in order to maintain cronology. ;-)

UPDATE:
Added some pics of the nice little in-between holiday I spend with Rui and his family up in Viana do Castelo. Not much to tell from here other than if you are considering touring Portugal and would like to see something completely nice and very different.... then Viana do Castelo is a must-see. I give it 6 stars for cosyness in the old well-taken care of ceity center, fantastic (and incredibly cheap) food and lovely people.

Cheapest bike fix EVER
One small story has to be told. The bikes was (again) in need of two spokes in the rear wheel so I took it to the local MTB specialist who knew his way around bikes for sure.

When we returned later that day I got a positive heart-attack: I had two spokes changed (which includes taking tire and tube off, changing spokes and adjusting the entire wheel before assembling it again) + a general 'taken care of' service (adjusting gears, breaks etc). Total price: 8,75 euros !!!!!! (That is the price of a pint of lager back home)

Over and out for now.....

2500 km later - and with a new title!

2009-07-18 14:53:29

Headlines: The african ferry, Spain by Train, Chased by dogs, arrived to "home", serious technical breakdown on the doorstep - and I got myself a new title!

Breaking news: Frode and Cecilie just had a son! Big CONGRATULATIONS to mum, dad, Alfred and the newcomer Edvard!

Dogville and time zone bummer
It was in the middle of the night in the sleepy countryside village of Elvas. Being chased by stray dogs + the guard dog at the train station outside town made me set new speed records on the MTB - and I was now hanging out in a hidden corner of the (not at all cosy) cargosection thinking about life, why the trainstation was so dark and closed - and what the hell I was doing here.....

I arrived to the spanish side of the border (Badajoz) yesterday after a marathon train experience. Since the only train from Madrid to Lisboa does NOT allow bicycles, I had to go here, to the city closest to the Portuguese border I could find - and hope to be able to continue my train trip on the other side of the border.

I biked some 30 km. to the city of Elvas that supposively had a train station with 2 (two!) daily departures west, which seemed like the ideal direction to go in. Elvas deserves more credits than my nightly experiences gives it. It is a beautiful classical "fortress city" situated on top of a small hill, the entire historic city centre surrounded by a citywall

But I arrived swetty and tired. Rui had helped me researching on train departures and it turned out there was one train departing at 04.53 the next morning so I went straight to the campsite. The smallest one I have stayed at so far (2 french couples and me was all the guests they had)but cosy and shaded.

I went to bed early but the town decided to party... So when the alarm clock rang at 03.45 my eyes were leveled with my knees and I took all my willpower to get me out of the tent. I got packed, left the campsite and headed towards the trainstation that is located some 3-4 km. outside of town, in an abandonded industrial neighborhood with shut down factories etc. Perfect surroundings for a spooky movie! On the way there I met some stray dogs who decided they were brave (or hungry?) enough to chase me so I got the adrenalin running and accelerated to the max. of my capability. Once I got to the rather spooky trainstation, I almost drove over a huge dog sleeping outside the waiting room. It was obviously its territory, not mine - so I ended up far out on the cargo-rail area before it decided I was no longer a danger. I could see the station AND the train from my hide-out and to my surprise it was all dark and empty.....

So I decided to head back to the campsite and figure out my next move. (Same story with stray dogs etc.). Save home at the gate I decided to call Rui and tell him that if it was a joke he pulled on me with the nightly train then it was a really good one and I would remember to try and pay him back - but he was surprised that I called him 1/2 hour before the train was suppose to leave? I looked at my clock, the time on my mobile and on the GPS and blushed instantly. Crossing the border also ment crossing a timezone - and I was way early for the train!

My third drive to/from the train station was a walk in the park. I arrived (as usual) in high speed, passed the ugly dog in 25th. gear, drove straight onto the platform and jumped into the train, causing and old trainworker to get his pulse up in the high 280'es.

I thought my troubles were over, but ahead of me lay a 5 1/2 hour(!) train drive to cover the 200 km. to Lisboa. Plenty of time to get really annoyed by the display inside the train that shows the curent speed (which never exceeded 50 km/h anyways).

But all this is happily forgotten now that I arrived to my second home: Lisboa! This city will always be in my heart and blood - andwalking up the street I used to life (and where my friend rodrigo is now living, in the same apartment) put a big smile back to my face. :-)

Sailing to Spain
After a relaxing day in Genova and suroundings (on a very cosy camping space on a small hille some 10 km south of the city) I boarded the ferry that should take me to Barcelona. And what a ferry.....

I guess (and this is purely guessing) this was originally a luxury cruisestyle ferry some 20-30 years ago, that should provide an option for wealthy italians to take their car with them on a vacation to Spain and vice versa. Since then things have gone in another direction and the ferry is now sailing in triangle: Genova, Barcelona, Tangier - and the luxury has been replaced by sleeping chairs, shared cabins and food coupons. Most passangers were people from the northernafrican countries working in Italy, going home for vacation or family visits - and carrying all sorts of stuff home with them.

I entered my shared cabin and met some really great people:
Domenica, an artist from Columbia living in Italy, now on the way to move to London
Toni, a bartender from Venezuela who lives in Italy
Miguel, a spanish student on his way back from Erasmus exchange to Italy
Ivonne, also spanish student on her way back from an Erasmus stay in Italy

Only Ivonne spoke a bit of english so this was a perfect chance for me to practise my (non/existing) spanish skills instead. I realised that it is actually possible to comminucate to some extend by "spanifying" portuguese words - and I also found that southamerican spanish was much easier to understand than spanish-spanish.

We were very lucky to be a wellworking "team" that met up in that cabin - so we ended up hanging out together all the next day in Barcelona also.

Spain by Train
From here on it was two full ays of dirving through Spain by regional trains (as I cannot enter the alta velocidade trains with the bike). In Madrid I realised that it is not possible to enter the train to Lisboa with a bicycle so I ended up on yet another train to Badajoz which is located fairly near the portuguese border - and from where it looked realistic to catch a train on the other side (and now we are back at the beginning of this story with the dogs and nightly experiences in Elvas).

Equipment failure
When arriving to Lisboas St. Apolonia train station, I went biking to my old flat to stay with Rodrigo and Petra. I met Rodrigo on a local cafe and we walked together the last 50 mtr. to home. Right outside the door (and I mean right outside!) the bike made a huge "CRACK" sound - and the carier + bag fell of. It was the thing that ataches it to the bike (below the saddle) that had broken right off.

Really weird experience.... Taking the bike on 1100 km tour and then it breaks down immediately upon arrival. I wil have it fixed and continue towards home.

My new title
When arriving here in Lisboa I got access to internet and there was news from the university. I have been accepted on my first priority (Social Science and Socialantropology) and will from August 11th. formally be a student! Yeepiee! :-)

What to expect next....
I will stay some days here in Lisboa before heading North on a route somewhat similar to the one I had planed to come down on. Will start updating again as I get onto the saddle in my Borat outfit. For now it is all about visiting friends and enjoying good food, beaches, sun, life! :-)

Yebo-gogo

The looong haul - Lago di Como to Genova

2009-07-13 10:32:57

Distance covered (Lago di Como - Vigevano): 150 km
Distance covered (Vigevano - Genova): 125 km

Distance covered in all, part one: 1080 km

The last two days have been long rides as I wanted to reach Genova. The first one from Lago di Como to Vigevano was a very long day that started out with some up and down (1100 height meters in total that day) and then got flatter and flatter towards the end: Vigevano.

Ride went really well down along the lake (beautiful beautiful landscape!), untill I blew another spoke (story of my life huh?) right outside Como. Went into town and got there just in time for siesta to begin: all bikeshops closed down from 12.00 to 15.00. After spending two hours drinking coffees and walking around in town, I ran out of patience and continued down south, thinking I would run into a bike shop somewhere... It didn't happen but I had a great, flat and HOT drive in temperatures around 30 and full sun. Was quite fun to just use the GPS for showing a direction + possible roads and then drive (without the navigation). It worked pretty well.

Right before Vigevano I really really had to take a leak. It was this swampy kind of area next to the river PO, the weather was warm and the area moisturous. This should have turned on a warning lamp in my head - but as I am not among the smartest, it didn't and I went into the bushes.... I think it took some 10 seconds (in the middle of peeing) that all the mosquitoes in the neighborhood had realised a giant box of meat was standing in the middle of their territory - and attacked me from all sides.

I could do nothing but to try to finish as fast as possible and focused 100% on that until a mopsquito decided to go for the bulls eye and landed on my.. you know... And here I made the biggest mistake of them all: I let my instincts take over and slapped the mosquito as hard as I could. Immense pain!!! And I even managed to piss on my shoe also.... All in all one of those moments in life where you are really happy that nobody else saw it (except from my fast escape out on the road while cursing heavily)

Hmm... What kind of a day has this been if there is nothing else to tell than latrinary stories... Italy has been nothing what I expected so far. Ok they do drive a bit faster here and there, they do use the horns now and then (but mainly to inform that they are now arriving with their 50 tons of cargo with 120 km/hour so do not turn left) - but they have been totally civilised drivers all the way.

Second day: not much to tel here either: another hot day and pretty flat untill I reached a hilly section some 50-60 km. from Genova. AHA! One thing I have noticed about Italy is the signs telling you the distance.... Or trying to.... Outsidde Novi Ligure I met a sign saying 55 km to Genova and I was happy - the end of the journey was near. After this several other signs followed on a 6 km long stretch, all saying 55 km. to Genova. OK maybe they simply produced too many of these I thought - but then a new sign came, now informing ne that there was 60 km. to Genova! And after a km. more it now said 52 km.

I don't know who was in charge of all these signs but they did provide a laugh now and then. A thank you to that drunk roadworker from me. ;)

I arrived to Genova which is the end of the first part of the trip. Will take a week or so before I startout on the next stage. Untill then I will recharge my batteries on a beach.

Ciao and happy vacation to all!

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Lago di Como - Vigevano

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Down down down (St. Moritz to Lago di Como)

2009-07-13 10:17:10

Distance covered today: 75 km
Distance covered in total: 805 km

I decided to not go on more mountain expeditions right now as my knees are somewhat sore after yesterdays uphill experience.

So I went up to the Maloja pass and looked down the stepp valley ahead, with lots of 'serpentinersving' (whatever that might be in english... Those tight mountain turns).

Going down the steepest section I was passed by two guys on roadbikes who drove like maniacs - and without helmets. I instantly knew I was approaching Macho-land.

As I approached Chiavenna on the italian side, I got some pretty funky gravelpath sections with a lot of up and down and the bike took some good beatings. This resulted in a broken spoke in the rear wheel (deja-vu).

As I approached Lago di Como, I started looking for a camping place and got the view of a lifetime that almost drove me out into the lake. I turned around a corner on this gravelpath right next to the lake and to my left is a campingsite. The first plot in this site apparently thought they were the 'hidden ones' and I got a view I would rather have been without... Imagine two very overweight people in shorts and bathing suits. He is down on all four and she has pulled his shorts down (it may sounds like the big S/M scene but it was not...) and she is using a water hose to wash his crack (guess for sand from the beach or whatever) - but it just looked like 2 hippos in a love act.

I quickly passed this spot (think you can still find acceleration lines in the gravel there) and took the next one instead for a good long night of sleep.

St. Moritz - Lago di Como

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Chur - St. Moritz via Albula pas

2009-07-10 10:28:05

Distance covered today: 80 km
Distance covered in total: 730 km
Height mtr. today: 2773 mtr.

Chur - St. Moritz via Albula pas

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Today was one of the hardest trips I have ever done on a bicycle - and for sure the hardest on a mountainbike! Went over 2 mountain passes from which the second was the highest with 2315 mtr. above sea level and did the equvalent heightmeters as two times the Sykkelenern race.

The day started out with a pretty steep 1000 mtr. climb up into the mountains. It went very well and I was feeling comfortable that this would be a 'picnic in the park'... At 1747 mtr. I reached the pass at Lenzerheide and this is where I should have started worrying.... When something is called a 'pass' it is beause it is the highest point = it will go down again on the other side - and it did.

I was getting more and more depressed as the elevation dropped to below 950 mtr. as I knew the second pass (Albula) would be 2315 mtr. Damn.

Btw: I experienced something funny about having a GPS. I thought it would be annoying to look at while going up as you can always see how much is left before the top - but in fact it works the opposite way (at least with my tisted brain): I truly enjoy watching it while climbing up - especially when it is very steep. Funny.

Back to the story... I stopped for a good lunch (the best so far - I had an amazing garlic-spinach-jives soup that I will for sure make in the future + a good big Pasta Pesto) in Bergün. After that (and the coffee and cigarette of course) I felt ready to climb up the last steep valley towards Albula.

The trip up was incredible.... I must admit I had the perfect conditions (sun, little wind, midsommer etc) but still - this is one of the most beautifull places I have ever seen! If anybody considers taking their partner for a romantic trip then go here! Take the train up (if you're too lazy to bike) - it does several circles on the way up - get off at a station and bike or walk down or around. It is fantastic! (And has very good conditions for both offroad MTB and trekking)

Only above 2100 mtr. did the trees disappear and it turned into the typical mountain moon-landscape (if it wasn't for the zillions of cows walking in/around the road, one could have thought one was on another planet).

I crossed the pass and went back down the other side. The plan was to reach St. Moritz but some 3-4 km. before I found a good cheap hotel in Celerina and stayed there. Hotel? Yeah I thought I had deserved it for a change + my bike clothes smelled so bad that you could hardly see me for the colonies of flies that stuck to me like eskimoes to a sixpack of Carlsberg.

(Update next morning)
OK my plan was to wake up and feel if I was ready for some touring around in the mountains, but I feel in my knees that I have givem them enough beating for now. So I will head towards Lago di Como today and from there on down in the direction of Milano/Genova.

Arrivederci!

Lindau - Chur (4 countries in one day)

2009-07-10 10:10:51

Distance covered today: 120 km.

Distance covered in total: 650 km.

Height meters covered today: 800 mtr.

Lindau - Chur

Distance covered today: 120 km.
Distance covered total: 650 km.

Lessons learned today:
1) When loosing a spoke in the rearwheel (as I did in Stuttgart) then doing nothing will not make it go away.... A few km after Lichtenstein I broke another and had to head back to get it fixed. Right outside the mechanic workshop the third one cracked and my wheel was looking like it had been hit by an earthquake. Luckily I got it fixed before the mountains...

2) If you have no idea what currency is being used in a new country you enter, then don't assume it 'propably has sort of the same rate' as your own currency.... This I learned after taking out 500 swiss franc which seemed like a reasonable amount - but turned out to be 2700 NOK

Today I went around the east side of Bodensee and from the southside it was one long haul up along the river Rhine.

Started out with headwind and rain (felt somehow like driving around in Denmark) and the slowly got better and better towards the end.

Started out in German, then entered Austria for a bit, continued into Switzerland and once I got a chance of it, I added a brandnew country to my 'been there' list: Lichtenstein. A tiny country that looks like it has all the wealth in the world (I have never seen so many fancy sportscar in one place before... After 10 minutesI started turning my head whenever I saw something normal :)

Arrived in Chur late afternoon and slept comfortably at a camping place with view to all the mountains I will get to know better tomorrow.....

PS: Before somebody starts commenting on the (lack of) speed: It does of course include all the breaks also ;)

Ostrach to Lindau and farewell to my father

2009-07-08 07:49:40

Distance covedered: 90 km
Total distance covered: 530 km

Fiurst of all: big CONGRATULATIONS to Nicolai and Stine who became parents of a beautiful princess yesterday! I look forward to see her on the way back. :-)

It was not easy to head off after a continental breakfast Bayern-style, but finally we managed to get onto the bikes.

We aimed for Bodensee and a random city: Friedrichshafen and then follow the lake down southeast towards Austria. Friedrichshafen turned out to be the city of count Zeppelin and hence housing a museum for airships (is that the correct name?) with a real-size section from the famous ship 'Hindenburg' that exploded on it's landing pole.

It was fascinating to see pieces from these ships as well as reading the story of them. As recent as in the late 1970'es the US navy had a huge program for investigating if it would be possible to have a fleet of these ships surveilling on the Sovjet Union! (For some reason an airship does not appear on a radar which gives a great advantage. On the other hand: if you are seen then you are the biggest and easiest target in the universe and even a deaddrunk romanina farmer could bring you down with his shotgun).

After a visit to the museum and a solid lunch in the local pasta place, we continued along the lake as the weather got worse and worse; from heavy clouds to wind and rain.

During the last days ma father has felt some pain in the knee at the end of the day - something that indicates too much use of it. On a small but steep ascend my fathes knee said 'enough' and we decided to walk into the town of Lindau to have a rest.

Lindau turned out to be a rich mans hangout place beautifully situated on a small island right of the coast. It has an old city center and is packed with Morgans, Porshces and Bentleys. On top of it there was a '2000 km. through Germany' car race for veteran cars passing through - pure heaven!

Ahead we can see the 'real mountains' of Switzerland rise like scyscrapers and my father decided that Lindau was a fine place to call it a day and book train tickets back home. During the last week he has done more than 600 km. on bicycle and far from all of it has been as flat as in Denmark. And although he is in good shape then he has no previous experience on longer-distance bicycling. So I am even more proud of him now than when we started out together. :-)

My father jumped on a train early in the evening and I found the local 'Jugendherberge' just before the thunderstorm and rain started. It has been pouring down all evening - perfect for updating the blog, checking mail and practising my german with the people around me.

Tomorrow I have to figure out what is the best route through Switzerland - and go for it. (And from here on I think height meters will be a permanent part of the daily updates hehe).

Cheerio!

Größere Kartenansicht

From Gönningen to Ostrach

2009-07-07 21:12:43

Distance covered today: 85 km
Distance covered so far: 445 km

We started the day by crawling back up the hill we tried to get over last night but hadd to pass on. It took us up some 300 heightmeters and aftet that followed a 'bumpy' section before a long light descend and up again to app. 650 mtr. above sea level.

A very beautiful day with plenty of sun, very nice bicycle roads (most of them seperated from the road so you really get to enjoy the landscape around you), good food, a bit harder to understand versions of german (guess this is only the beginning).

We aimed for a camping place 15 km. further down south but had to call it a day in Sigmaringen. There was no other place to stay than the local gasthouse (nice nice hotel) - now isn't that a pitty....... So instead of unpacking the tent, we had a nice warm shower, a good meal and went to bed in pure german luxury. (Including the possibility to fall asleep while looking up into the 'wood lookalike' plastic beams in the roof to make it look old).

Nevertheless we will have a good night sleep and tomorrow hopefully dip our toes in Bodensee - the great lake which Germany, Switzerland and Austria borders to.

Pictures, pictures, pictures.....

2009-07-07 20:06:27

Finally! I have now found some internet with possibility to connect through USB connection - so here are some pictures from the Trip so far......

The pictures are all from the first days (Denmark + Northern Germany) of bicycling.

NB: I am aware there are not many from the nature/surroundings - but as it is fairly flat and 'danish' I thought I would save this for later when it becomes more bumpy and mountain-ish.

Stuttgart! Heading South for the mountains

2009-07-06 15:54:04

Total distance biked today: 75 km.
Total distance in all: 362 km

Stuttgart - Gönningen

Other random info: Estimated amount of burned skin on my body: 66 % , Total amount of moskito-bites: 342534 , Lost keys so far: 2 (for the bike and the apartment. Yahoo).

Time for a new update. Unfortunately I have not managed to find an internetcafe with possibility of uploading pictures or route data from the GPS... But I am looking forward to taking revenge one of these days - and spam you all with silly pics.

We spend a long time this morning searching for my keys that I had cleverly placed in the pocket in my bicycle-shirt with a big hole. I got some rather strange looks as I wandered up and down the same streets numerous times with my nose 15 cm. above the ground.

Finally we gave up and headed out of town. In this case it means upwards - and we arrived out on a beautiful landscape far from what we left in northern Germany (where people say iut is so flat that on Sunday afternoon you can see who is visiting on Monday).

Here the landscape is wavy with nice rounded hills and very green-ish. Nice to finally see the elevation and grade rates changing from 0.00%.

We arrived in the Gönningen early evening and realised there was going to be a climb upwards from there in order to reach the planned camping place 15 km. ahead... But as my father had proven in way better shape than any of us expected, we chose to continue upwards on a rather steep hill. Some 300 heightmeters up we realised it was not going to end anytime soon so we headed back som 5 km. to a village, to search for a B & B.

We didn't find a thing.... The place looked like it was closing down due to lack of life and we were facing a night of wilderness camping - untill my father asked the local halfdrunk hobby-carmechanic who was fixing some offroad bikes outside his house. He looked at us for some time and then declared that we could sleep in their guestroom for the night. What hospitality! We had a good night of sleep, a look at his bicycle maps (they have amazing bike-routes down here, running through nationalparks far from trafficed roads etc.) and woke up to realise his wife had left us a good solid breakfast + freshly made coffee befoe she went to work.

Nice nice... Not much else to tell; tomorrow we'll try to reach the river of Donau.

PS: Thanks you all for the comments you post here + SMS'es you send us. It is really nice to receive - keep 'em coming! :)

Train anyone? (Resting day)

2009-07-05 12:40:19

Total distance biked today: 7 km.
Total distance in all: 287 km

So... turn on the GPS, search for nearby train stations, pick one and go. If you need a bigger picture of where you are/going then you check in on an internet cafe and do the Google maps thingie. While you`re at it check mail, talk to the family on Skype, pay your bills online.

Travelling has become so easy with the modern gadgets. I wish I had done this trip in 1989 so I had something to compare with...

Today we had only one plan: to get as far as possible by train. As everything was fully booked (the larger/faster trains that is) we had to rely on the good old regional trains.

We started out in Buchholz in the morning, changed 5-6 times and arrived in... Stuttgart at 0.00. Arrival time was carefully picked as this would be way too late to find a campingplace and hence leave us with only one option:

A nice bed, good pillow (germans are king of the world in that) and breakfast served between 7 and 10. Ahh!

If anybody considers going to Stuttgart then I can recommend the cosy familyhotel Pind which hasnm`t changed anything since the good old 50-es. Fantastic atmoshpere.

Small aha-experience from Stuttgart that reminded me of how convenient it can be to live in a big city: go out at 01.30, find a restaurant (there are plenty of these open) of your choise - and sit down and eat as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Prinsensgate: learn something!

Tomorrow (which is actually today as I couldn`t find any webcafe before) we head down south towards Lichtenstein and Switzerland. I guess my father will be joining for Basel before leaving me to climb the big ones myself.

By the way: finally (it took some change of landscape + dialect) I feel like I`m on the road.... And ahead lays many experiences I am sure.

Yebo-gogo to all!

(And next time I find a good webcafe I`ll upload a ton of pics etc.)

When logistics goes wrong

2009-07-05 12:28:12

Distance driven today: 70 km (Jevenstedt - Neumünster, Hamburg - Jesteburg)
Distance in all: 280 km

So... Today I learned a lesson! Especially on my german skills which have proved to be on a somewhat lower level than I thought.

Before departing from DK I booked train tickets from Hamburg to München. Somehow I managed to book without bicycles. Normally something one can charm ones way out of, but not in Germany. Evveryssing by sche rules pleeze... So we tried buying tickets but no can do, you have to book 24 hours in advance. Changing the tickets from today to tomorrow also wasn`t possible as this is the big vacation weekend and hence to tickets available.

Solution: head out of town again on the bikes, follow the train line, find a camping place and then tomorrow a trainstation somewhere...

About camping places in Germany... I don`t haver much experience in this field but already after having visited three of them, I now feel comfortable to make some generalisations (all written with a glimpse in the eye and not judging!)

1. Quit school and get a job at your local factory. Prefferably one that demands for you to lift heavy stuff (with your back of course) and drink some pints during the day.

2. If you are anywhere near your ideal weight, start eating like a madman. The ideal weight for a camper is somewhere between 120 150 kg. You also have to note how proud you are of your shape and how much it costed to build up such a fine belly (while pointing to the beertap).

3. To be a real camper you need to find a 30 y.o. campingwagon, take it for its last drive (to the camping place), park it, take the wheels off and start growing a garden around it. (Make sure to leave space outside for a small purple plastic table with chairs + a Claes Ohlson style 100 NOK grill). Your are now officially a `fastlieger`(meaning somebody who is inevitably stuck in this place)

I guess the camper uniform (jogging trousers pulled so far up that... Marco can elablorate here, 1989 style tennis shoes of a non-known eastern european brand and a dirty t-shirt) ) comes with paying the annual fee...

And finally the thing that really surprised me: you have to be incredibly friendly, interested in talking to people, helping out etc. Did I get a surprise there or what!

Tomorrow we`ll go for a train station and try to cruise our way down south towards... Confused? Then watch the next episode of SOAP.... Ahh damn I`m propably the only one who is old enough to remember that one.... Yarn.

Até ja as they say in Portugal

Flensburg - Jevenstedt

2009-07-05 11:55:49

Größere Kartenansicht

Distance today: 100 km
Distance in total: 210 km

This webcafe has no USB connection so no GPS data or pics. Also it full af f*cking drugusers outside hanging around the bikes so my focus is not totally on this. But as some time has passed-by since the last update, I better write some words before heading out into the Bayerischen (Bavarian?) nature...

Second day was pretty much a continuation of the previous: beautiful northerngerman flat-ish landscapes, lots of sun and tiny small roads to follow. The GPS has proven very good at finding the smallest weirdest roads through nationalparks and old danish influence (the Dannevirke wall etc).

First cityvisit was Schleswig, an old Hansestad with old brickbuildings, a nice big church etc.

Dad is still going strong and we just managed to cross the 100 km. mark again. I`m still wearing my national colours on the back and started wishing for clods and rain. Yeah right.

Not much learned today besides the fact that a whasp that gets trapped behind a pair of glasses gets really pissed-off.... And I should consider contactlenses to avoid future swollen eyes. :)

Over and out.

Santander or schleswig?

2009-07-02 13:24:04

Finally online and with an update!

An awful lot of things has happened since last time and I shall try to go through the main travelrelated stuff here.

So... I left to Denmark in time (the V40 proved it IS a sportswagon in disguise and let me cruice with 200+ on the swedish highways) Saturday morning. During this party I had my first ever experience with a true James Bond style bicycle. Imagine this:

03 in the morning, 5 people left at the party. Among these Michael and Lotte who drove the car to the party but both had wine beyond the limit of what can be justified if stopped by the Police. Luckily they brought 2 foldable bicycles they have on their boat. 1-2-3 and they are ready to go... oh no... flat tire! Hmm... what to do here... as they live close by, they decided on inflating the tire and see if it would last. And this is where James Bond enters: Michael detaches the saddlestick from the bicycle, turns it upside down and pulls out a small tube. This he inserts into the valve on the tire - and starts pumping with the saddle!!!! Wonder what would happen if he unmounted the handle-bar or something.....

OK now back to the thing that propably has the highest degree of interest amongst the visitors: how was England - how is Spain - and what the f*ck is Schleswig?

To make a long story short: I don't have to be in Lisboa on a specific day anymore, I also don't have to be back home on the specific day + I have a great and very spontaneous 63 y.o. father who is not afraid of some longdistance biking on his brandnew bike (even though his last bike session was back when Beatles were hot)

In the very last second I chose to re-route the entire trip, start-out by being some days on the road with my father and continuing after that. Yesterday we drove of from Svendborg in Denmark - and ended up a bit south of Flensburg in northern Germany. We made around 110 km in 31 degrees and bright snushine and I am incredibly proud of the old man who was so fresh this morning that I woke up by him taking down the tent around me at 05.45.

Stage one: Svendborg to Flensburg

Svendborg to Flensburg

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Yesterday was sunny all day and I burned myself to pieces in the Borat outfit because the sunlotion my father brought, expired in 2002.....

(OBS: The only reason for showing the scary picture of a sunburned old fat man, is that I promised myself to loose a 'tire' or two around the waist before returning home. Even if this means going all the way to Cape Town and back ;)

Today we continue some 80 km down south and tomorrow we should arrive in Hamburg - from where we have booked a train to the next (and far more exotic destination). After a day or two there he will head home and I will head up ni the mountains.... But more about this when I get there.

To those of you who might be slightly disappointed I can assure you: there will be postings from Spain and Portugal also later on this extended version of the trip.

Ciao!

All the stuff to bring...

2009-06-26 10:13:26

I have tried to limit the luggage in any way possible. But when it is laying there spread out over the dining table it seems like fitting it into the bag will be a hazzle.

But to my big surprise it actually went smooth! There is an awful lot of space in the Topeak bag. Voila: here is the full amount of stuff I'm gonna bring! (Click pics for larger version)

What's in there?

1 pair of shorts
1 pair of swimming shorts
2 T-shirts
1 long-sleeved bicycle shirt
1 set of 'loose legs' in case of cold weather
1 pair oh shoes
Socks and underwear

First aid kit
All the electronic devices (Camera, GPS, Phone + chargers and connectors for all)
Sleeping bag
Whatever that thing is called to sleep on (madrass-ish item)
Stuff for personal hygiene and/or vanity
Some tools and spareparts
My first and only camping book/guide ever
Loads of energy bars and gel packages

the weight
Total weight including the bag itself comes to 7.3 kg.
On top of the bag goes the tent (2 kg) and propably the water bottle will be full (750 gram) - so all in all I'm right on the edge of the max. load for the rack: 10 kg.

A bucket of cold water in my face...
Yesterday I went to pickup the bicycle (which has been rewardet with a cleaned and lubricated fork, adjusted gears and new sattle-stick). When I handed in the bike on Monday I also wanted to swap my bike rack for another model that would place the bags closer to the rear wheel. They ordered the new one, kept mine at the workshop - but the new one had not arrived yesterday!

So I had no choise but to get my rack back and use it for the trip. And this is when the cold water arrived: they couldn't find my rack! Seems that somebody may have sold or misplaced it.....

So if the new rack doesn't arrive today then Nicolai will once again come to my rescue and lend me his rack (Topeak racks are incredibly difficult to find in this country!). :-)

Today is my last day at work and after that a long drive (16 hours) to my fathers place to attend a family party before starting 'the real trip' on Tuesday. Guess next posting will be from Portsmouth Tuesday night, after finishing the first stage.

Ciao!