Denmark

Day 13: Grenna to Varberg

| tom@Childsi

Julien didn’t have a very eventful day today as the ferry ride from Denmark to Sweden took around four hours he only ended cycling about 10 miles.

He set out from Grenna early this morning, arriving at the ferry port at 8.20. However he then discovered that the first ferry didn’t depart until 2.30.

So he made his way back to Grenna and had a big lunch before heading back to the port and taking the ferry ride across to Sweden.

Sitting out on the ferry Julien managed to get very burnt but at least he was able to rest up a bit having cycled around 1000 miles over the last twelve days!

After disembarking Julien cycled to the nearest campsite in Varberg. He chatted to some friendly locals who gave him some advice on his route through Sweden.

Thankfully the landscape should be a bit flatter for Julien now he has reached Sweden.

Although there are some hills coming up they are nowhere near the size of those he had to cycle over in Denmark.

Julien hopes to make it to Boras tomorrow or perhaps slightly further if the cycle paths are of a good standard.

Here is the day’s Google Map. Please also visit the Child’s i Foundation and sponsor Julien on his Just Giving page. Thank you!

Day 12: Vejle to Grenna

| tom@Childsi

Today has been Julien’s most tiring yet, he covered 90 miles most of which were over very large hills.

He set out from Vejle this morning and had a chilled ride to Horsens where he tried to find somewhere for lunch but kept ending up on an industrial estate!

So he delayed lunch for a while and continued on to Aarhus, one of the largest cities in Denmark.

Julien says that Aarhus was a really nice place to visit and he saw an interesting sculpture exhibit there.

He also found nice a café to eat in and met some lovely Danish people who were very interested in his trip (and who are hopefully reading this entry tonight!)

After lunch Julien took the coastal route and enjoyed the beautiful views along the Danish seaside. Unfortunately though the large hills kept coming especially around Kolindsund.

With all the ups and downs Julien was extremely worn out by the time he reached Grenna where he found a great campsite to stay in for his last night in Denmark.

After a good rest Julien will catch the ferry to Sweden tomorrow and continue on his way to Nordkapp.

Here is the Google Map for today and also a Google Map of the Journey so far.

Please also take the time to visit the Child’s i Foundation and Julien’s Just Giving page. Thanks!

Day 11: Flensburg to Vejle

| tom@Childsi

Julien set out towards Denmark early this morning and had to contend with awful weather all day.

To avoid the rain Julien stopped in at Flensburg and found some cover which he shared with many wet Germans!

After a while it became clear the rain was not going to stop, so Julien decided to carry on his way and the sun did make a brief apperance just before he crossed the border.

He found a beautiful scandinavian style beach just on the edge between Germany and Denmark but soon after he had to cycle across some serious hills and deal with the undulating Danish landscape.

There was some respite in towns like Aabenraa and Haderslev which are at sea level, but outside of these towns the hills rose up again and it was back to riding in a low gear!

As it continued to rain heavily Julien stopped in at cafe in Kolding and watched his bike get soaked outside!

Julien told the owners of the cafe that he was planning to cycle on to Juelsminde but he was told that the town was much futher away than his map indicated.

Instead he was advised to cycle to Vejle. Just before he reached the town Julien faced a massive drop and reached around 20mph in a thunderstorm – not very nice!

Once in Vejle Julien found a decent campsite to set up in for the night and is pleased with the progress he has made so far, estimating that he is currently a day or two ahead of schedule.

Here is Google map number eleven. Please also visit the Child’s i Foundation and Julien’s Just Giving site. Thanks very much!

One week and counting…

| Zapfly

Time is ticking away as the ensuing departure date is now less than a week away.  Even though I have been preparing for this trip for ages, I am stick racked with anticipation.  Concerns of the overall requirements of the ride interlaced with daily issues such as shopping, whilst not having my kit stolen or finding somewhere to camp.  All in all, there are many issues to contend with.

In the grander scheme of things, I hope that this ride is a success.  By this, not only do I mean achieving the loft target of cycling 2800 miles to a vary sparsely populated are of the world but I also mean raise finds for the charity I have dedicated this ride to, Child’s I Foundation.  So far, I have raised just under £350 on my Just Giving page, which is a good start.  I hope that as I continue, people read about the various adventures I am likely to have en route as my blog will be maintained by Tom from Child’s I, in my absence.  I would love to hit my target amount of £2,500, so please keep reading this blog and make a donation if possible.  All of the money is destined to help kids in Uganda.  I am paying for all of my own expenses on this trip!

I have been testing all of my kit prior to my departure and so far, so good.  I have to make sure I can maintain my MSR stove as I know occasionally they can gunk up.  The biggest challenge will be to decide how much stuff to take along with me.  In the first couple of weeks, the temperature will hopefully remain in the warm twenties.  However, the further I travel up the spin of Sweden, the cool the weather will become.  Indeed, the figures I have seen for night time temperatures for Nordkapp and the north coast of Norway, even in mid summer, are around 4 degrees Celsius.  The weather is also likely to me inclement but that should only add to the drama of the journey.

It would be great to hear from any one if they have experience of travelling in this part of the world as so little has been written about it.  That said, hopefully my blog will be a useful place for other people considering this journey as a portal of information in due course.

The Road Ahead

| Zapfly

Seven weeks today I shall be off on the first day of my ride to Nordkapp. To say that I am a little trepid at the thought of it, would be a huge understatement. In the interim, I have to gather together all the kit I will need for the trip. Going that much further north than last year, the temperatures might drop to near zero on the coolest nights north of the Arctic Circle. However, the average daytime temperature should be somewhere around 15 degrees Celsius.

My soul wish is that I do not experience the amount of rain encountered last time. I anticipate that I will be camping far more frequently due to the sparse population in many of the places I aim to cycle through. In fact, chances are that I will end up free camping most of the time. This means both good and bad things. On the plus side, there is nothing quite as liberating as finding an isolated spot and camping out for the night. If you like peace and quite, and I do, this is just the ticket. On the other hand, laundry, washing and conversation will all be far more complicate.

Part of the route I will be following will take me through Germany. Unless I take a rather lengthy detour on my way northwards towards Denmark, I will have to traverse Hamburg. Not that I dislike the city, cycling through large conurbations tends to make life all the more tricky with cars blazing past you and getting hopelessly lost.

It would necessitate the need to carry yet more kit that requires recharging. On that note, I had the first stab at a kit list yesterday. By Jove, I’ll be carrying a lot of gear. That’s the consequence of doing this solo I suppose.

A couple of people have indicated their interest in joining me on the ride. I’d love to have company. The more I think about it, life would be so much easier with another person present. For example, shopping; I will have to leave my bike, albeit chained up, along with all my panniers, which do not have locks, attached to the bike outside of the shop. In smaller towns and villages, this should not present too much of an issue. However, in a larger metropolis, I’m not sure it will be there when I emerge from buying groceries. Then there is all the end of day chores. Last year, Pete, Mary and I shared the cooking, laundry and tent pitching, which worked out really well. It won’t me a problem, probably something I get used to very quickly. Just that after several houses cycling; it would be nice to share the load.

All that aside, I am completely focused on the ride. I cannot wait to see the places that lie ahead of me. From all the cyclist’s blogs I have been reading, it should be a trip of a lifetime. So, now I must marshal my forces and complete preparations for the next Long Way Up ride.

My book, a presentation and Gok

| Zapfly

What a month it has been! So much has been happening since the end of February. My principle focus has been on completing my first book. I am so close now that I can smell the ink drying on the first draft. My book is all about my cycle ride last year from Lands End to John O’Groats. I will be utilising the Blurb platform to publish it. It is a mixture of journal and landscape photography. Watch this space.

Other news includes all the preparation for this year’s cycle adventure, London to Nordkapp. I aim to be off within the first half of June. I have decided to cycle along the North Sea Route for part of the way. This will take me through England, over the channel to Belgium, then on through The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and eventually, Norway.

En route to John O'Groats

I gave a presentation to the good people of the Child’s I Foundation last week as I shall be supporting their cause for this cycle adventure. I hope to have a few bloggers filling in for me whilst I am away. Relaying information from the various corners of northern Europe should be an interesting challenge but something to relish rather than fear!

I will start to post more information about the route in the next week, along with preparations and training. Ending on an exciting note, I did a shoot last week for the Gok Fashion Fix show website that will appear on the Channel 4 platform. Hyperlinks will be available from this Tuesday / Wednesday.