Day 11

August 11

I know why ancient people had wind gods. The peoples along the north sea and the rivers feeding it must have had several. The elbe must have a powerful god all it’s own.

I made a wrong turn today and had to power up a steep hill, while the wind was momentarily still. It was surprisibgly easy. This wind is like biking the alps. I don’t knpw how hard it is for nicole, but xena’s trailer has unfortunate sail-like properties. I spent almost all of today in first gear and my knees are tired regardless. I feel badly about about how kendra’s departure played out, but there’s no way her ankle would have survived today, alas.

We started around 11:30 in Bremervörde and rode about 29k to Hemmoor, where we detoured in a very roundabout manner looking for a pet store and lunch. We found a feed store which carried xena’s kind of dogfood, but closed on weekends.

In Hemmoor, we were re-united with the viking route, which we will follow more or less faithfully into Denmark. We followed it for around 23 more k, bringing the daily total to about 52. We reached Glückstadt around 8:30, after taking a ferry across the elbe. My kilometer totals don’t include accidental or intentional detours. Man, we rode for a long time and what felt like a longer distance as the temperature dropped, the wind blew and the sky grew menacing.

There was rain forecast and we felt a few drops and saw the steely gray color of the sky and so opted again for a hotel. This one without internet and correspondingly cheaper. Of course, it’s not actually raining. Meh.

It is cold though. The wheat is almost all harvested. We pass hay lofts full of bales and busy tractors. Roadside stands are selling apples and pumpkins. Dry leaves crunch beneath our wheels and today i saw ducks migrating. Wasn’t it summer just a few days ago?

We are really quite far north. I guess autumn comes early here. Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny, so we’ll see. The dark grey skies over the impossibly green wind-blown fields is worth worse weather, imo.