Stenbjerg

My eggs didn’t break, I was afraid they might in the sand dunes and gravel riding. Today wasn’t the best day of riding. Only made 50kms or so. I had to drag and push my bike over sand dunes. And I started very late. In my defence, my initial plan was to stay another night and Bovbjerg. It’s a beautifully rugged place that demands a look around. But then I got restless, and thought might as well push a little further.

While in the Bovbjerg campsite, I spoke with an elderly lady. Probably my longest conversation in German till date, we spoke over coffee about life in Cologne and life in Hamburg. She asked me why I wasn’t using the perfectly good gas burner in the kitchen of the campsite. I told her I liked the atmosphere of cooking outside on my camping stove, but in reality I just don’t know how to handle a full-size gas burner. I haven’t used them since I moved to Germany.

I got a little too adventerous with route planning today, and planned a route through a beach. I had no idea riding on sand even with my fat tires would be so difficult, specially pushing my bike. The weather was good, and while I was struggling with the sand I met a Mother-Daughter duo from the Netherlands. They are going to Skagen, the North corner of Denmark. Our route was very similar, and included a ferry. While waiting for the ferry, I met Belgian Dieter, he specifically said his name is German but he is from Belgium. He has been on the road for a month at this point. After the ferry, we all parted ways.

I didn’t expect it to rain today. I was considering a nice wild-shelter spot today. Danish govt. have shelters all around the country, for camping. They don’t have any modern facilities but they are free, essentially a box for a tent and a table. When I realised the weather was getting worse, I started looking for a commercial campsite. I didn’t want to spend the night in a shelter on a rainy day. The rain started while I was on road; free bike cleaning.

I did find a fruit stall but everything was sold out.

When I arrived at the campsite, it was immediately clear it’s a rather run-down campsite. Very rustic, and very old. Very broken too, full of old unused camper vans and caravans. I realised right next door there is a much more modern and nicer campsite, but then I saw something that tugged my heartstrings.

It’s the common room of the campsite, wrapped in glass walls. It has a certain cosiness that is only manufactured with a life of stories and memorabilia, it reminded of my grandfather’s shack. I turned my bike around, and started looking for a spot to put my tent in. I had to be inside that common room. It’s also where I am right now writing this, while the grandfather clock is ticking away.

The rain made a difference to the riding today; it got very heavy at some point but I could still hear the sound of whirring from the tall wind generators. But funny enough, I was okay with the rain, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I put on my rain gear and just kept riding. I must have arrived into the journey...

Stenbjerg, Denmark

P.S. I did try to reach the wild-shelter just to see how it was but I couldn’t be bothered put in the effort to ride through grassy terrain.