Copenhagen to Rødvig

Today was the first day of touring. Originally, I was going to go to Stege, but I decided to do a shorter trip to Rødvig instead. My bike felt a little heavy, and the wind and rain weren't cooperating. I have to get on track with my nutrition and hydration while riding on the bike. I miss trolli gummis from the states. Haribo tastes like plastic and breaks your teeth. I just want payday bars, those fluorescent sour gummi worms, and maybe a taco every other day. Hopefully I'll find what I like soon.

Today, I'm thinking of doing the rest of Denmark and getting to Rostock, Germany on Monday, and to Berlin by Thursday.

I made the concerted effort to leave the bike path and pedal to Køge today, and I'm glad I did. 

The town was a gorgeous old fishing town with colorful building. I bought apples and pears that were the best I'd had in maybe years.

This blog is going to devolve into what I ate on bike tour. 

This was as close as I could find to gatorade.

Okay, I'm done...for today anyway.

Most all of my trek was separate from cars, which is incredible.

The Baltic Sea was at my left for most of the day, but not always this visible. The houses and villages were beautiful and old. I know how those thatched roofs smell now. They do have a smell.

I kept wanting to stop. I didn't find anywhere to charge up during the day, and I used my phone for gps. I'm not always successful in Denmark with arriving when a place is still aben (open) either. I had snacks basically all day.

My highlight was pedaling the 5 miles from camp to Højstrup. There's a bunch of sights including a Cold War resistance station called Stevnsfort. It's a museum now.

And this area was the closest to see Stevn Klint too.

It was a quieter day today. Chuckled to remember a New Zealand guy telling me I really didn't have an American accent yesterday. I said, "oh, really?" and he said, "yeah, you don't so "oh my god" and "like" all the time." Do you have an American accent?

I'm about to sleep in my telt (tent). God nat.

Copenhagen, Day 3

This was my last full day in Copenhagen, but my first whole day with my bicycle. I was able to really get around the city today and was able to give my calves a break from all the walking.

I revisited some places on the walking tour like Nyhavn and the stock exchange building. I was able to ride along the waterfront too.

I found this trampoline built into the harbor area too. Well, maybe I didn't give my calves a break.

Today, I was still preoccupied with trying to get an adaptor for my laptop cable. Most stores are only open from 10:00 to 6:00 and closed on Sundays. I bought an adaptor and then discovered after 6:00 that it didn't have the hole for the grounding prong. I'm not sure if I want to stick around until 10 tomorrow to be able to ask if they do have the adaptor. I'm typing this from my cell without a problem, I hope.

Four things that I wanted to do were a accomplished today. First, I actually ate the Danish dish smørrebrød that translate into butter bread.

I was only going to get the fish filet, but he recommended the other two. I don't know, maybe it could be better? There were some sauces on each, but it all seemed very bland. The guy only charged me 30 krones for this and bottled water, which was cheap. I pay 20 krones for a croissant from 7-11.

Things are pretty expensive here foodwise. There is nothing that is $2 exactly except I saw cheeseburgers at McDonald's for this amount (10 krones).

The highlight of today was seeing Cykelslangen, which is this new bike bridge that spans curvaceously over the  water. I rode it 3 times in the rain.

I also found the bike counter and was counted on H. C. Andersen Street. (I learned that he's referred to by his initials here that sound like ho-say. It's almost as if he sounds Spanish: José Andersen.)

Also, I called some campgrounds and successfully asked if they spoke English. I am trying my best to be polite and learn some basic phrases.

It was just so nice to ride today. The paths stretch for miles along busy roadways. I got happily l lost a few times.

A few of the best cycle moments from today:

The lady that matched this structure.

Danes congregated under a bridge chatting and waiting for a pause in the rain.

Determined, wet bike commuters forcing their way home.

And this couple who let me take their picture. She was from the U.K. and he was from Denmark, I believe. It was my goal to get at least one picture of an adult riding in a Christiana bike. 

Thumbs up back atcha, guy.

Also, Danes keep trying to trick me into eating black licorice. This was their latest attempt. Thanks but no thanks. Did I tell you how I almost ordered black licorice flavored ice cream, but I was saved by a sample. Thank goodness.

Day 2 in København

I'm going to try hard to write something everyday. It may be a little more difficult as I leave for Rødvig and Stege on Saturday. This was day 2 and I was less of a zombie while I was out and about. I think I'm just going to do some observations of what I've notice so far.

I can just sit and observe bicycles in motion constantly. It's amazing to see all the throngs of cyclists flowing through intersections--and the Danes are so used to it. It's clear that using their bike is a way from point A to point B. Many pedal fast and are clearly just trying to make it to their destination. Their bike choices explain this to to me. Most are riding commuters in muted colors like black or dark green with a back rack or a basket in the front. It's very much about utility. I see lots of bikes like these.



I am quietly charmed by their ways and their bicycles. I spotted this little commuter in training on my morning walk today. It makes sense to get your kids used to carrying their own stuff.



The day before I saw these ladies commuting home with their children in Christiana bikes.



I saw the mail man dressed in Danish flag colors outside the grocery store delivering mail by bicycle. (I told him I would like to take his picture, and he grinned that grin.)



Also, there was this dapper bicycling gent on Strøget today.



I could be an observer here for weeks. Maybe I've been looking at the wrong times, but I do miss some of the fun colors and styles of my bike friends at home. We just seem to have so much fun riding together, where it seems like a chore sometimes here. Cyclists get visibly frustrated if a pedestrian steps in the lane or if there's some other type of slowdown that could have been prevented in some way.

Today, the cykler shop finished putting my bike parts together into a bicycle, and it worked beautifully. Peter and his apprentice helped me out and answered questions from finding out my new Danish telephone number to explaining the unique locks I see everywhere in Copenhagen.



A great deal of the bicycles here are locked with these. They are attached to the frame at all times and are used to lock the wheel to the frame really quickly. Most people just do this to a freestanding bicycle without locking their bike down to a bike rack. I found out that this was a lock "approved" by insurance companies that residents use to insure their bicycles. If their bikes are stolen, they can get a new one if they have made the proper steps to protect it as prescribed by their insurance company. I guess a lot of bikes are stolen here. I'm not sure if it's any worse than Cleveland. Almost everyone has experienced theft at home.

I went on a walking tour of the city and started to learn more about Denmark and the history of all the kings with the names of either Frederick or Christian. Queen Margaret is "in power" now. I had a brief overview of Denmark and World War II and how they had a cooperation with Nazi Germany that after a few years turned into an occupation. I also learned that this city isn't as old as it appears because they have had many, many great fires that have devastated the city. Here is a view of the oldest street.



The highlight of the day was definitely getting to ride my bicycle at last with people in the city. It made me feel so special to have my own special bicycle light at intersections sometimes.



I'm looking forward to spending the day on my bicycle tomorrow and checking out some of the bicycle highways.



There are other things here I'd like to mention like black licorice flavored ice cream (they seem to love that flavor), how it's legal to drink beer on the street, and how friendly Danish people speak to me in Danish. I'm flattered that it's not obvious that I'm American. I think it's entertaining how the Danish dig at the Swedish and vice versa with Swedish jokes instead of blonde jokes. A lot of feelings would be hurt if blonde jokes were a thing here. Danes are nicer than that, well, except to Swedes, and if you get in their way when they're bicycling.

Getting to Copenhagen

Here I am in Copenhagen struggling with a European keyboard that doesn't let me left+shift but it does let me øøøøøh and åååååh very easily. I still need to find an adapter for my laptop tomorrow.

On Monday night in Cleveland, people really surprised me by showing up at Nano Brew. I expected to sit by myself mostly just reviewing some Danish phrases on my phone in between gaps. It was really nice to talk with people in my life that always seem to be on wheels. It was so nice to sit and talk about travel and international experiences. I really learned a lot about people that I see everyday, but rarely get a chance to have a nice discussion. It was a little hard to leave people.

As I was landing in Copenhagen with the sun rising about 6 hours before my circadian alarm sounds, I questioned what I was doing. Impulsivity isn't always a good character trait, and I had made some quick decisions in the last month about leaving my teaching job and then coming to Europe to do this bike tour.

Enough with the exposition. The Cleveland part of the trip went smoothly. Joy Machines boxed up my bike, and it was ready for me to pick up on the way to the airport. Easy. A cab picked me up at home and then we swung by the shop for the bike. Once I was at the airport, someone carried the bike box straight to the United Airlines counter. I had called Scandinavian Airlines about bringing a bicycle before the trip, and they told me that it would qualify as luggage and would not be an extra cost if it fit into their size requirements. At Cleveland Hopkins, the rep said that it was sporting equipment, not luggage, and that there was a $200 charge. I complained and paid it.

At the airport, my carry-on bag was one of my Ortlieb panniers. The other Ortlieb pannier was packed with bag thankfully. I really tested the TSA agents since my bag was partially filled with bike tools. They showed me the scan after they identified the CO2 cartridges for my tires that they made me discard. They pointed at shadows, and I had to dig it out of my bag and explain. This included my heavy duty lock and my solar panel. I got patted on the head because of a barrette too, almost just a sign of affection from TSA, maybe I'll do that again. I'm glad that they were understanding and didn't keep me for too long.



Well, I was happy to see my bike in its box in Copenhagen shortly after luggage from the flight had been put on the carousel. They held up their part of the deal by getting my bike there on time. Honestly, though, I think I would have the bike shipped directly to a local bike shop if I were to do this again. It was really cumbersome to shoulder my heavy Ortlieb bag, purse, and huge bike-in-a-box that obstructed my view when I found a very helpful luggage cart. I braced it through the airport, in the metro ticket line, on the metro, and then in the neighborhood. My cell had been shut off that morning, and I didn't have a good map. Don't be like me.

As I was schlepping, dragging, switching arms, I felt like my hip flexor was being pulled. It was 9:00 in the morning in Denmark, but 3:00 on my internal clock that was synced up with Cleveland. I got to a bike parking lot, and decided I'd try my luck at assembling the bike. I had no patience or focus, and it was broken down more than I anticipated. I asked a few people if they knew of a shop, but they didn't. I ripped the box open that was already coming apart because of a bad retaping job by TSA with their TSA tape. Parts of my bike had also broken through the cardboard--maybe this was also TSA too. I looked at the pieces, then decided to lock my bike pieces up to a tree so that I could wander and look for a shop. There's this myth that there's a bike shop every 200 meters in this town--so far I think it's true.

As I was slipping my panniers on my shoulder to find a shop, Danish Henry, who I had asked for directions to a bike shop before, said that he had a 5 minute appointment and then found out there was a bike shop about 2 blocks from where I had had my stuff strewn like a homeless person. He offered to bring my bike pieces over to the shop in his cargo bike. He was an awesome help when I felt like a was deteriorating into a mess. He fit my bike in his bike plus my panniers. The bike shop is going to assemble my bike by tomorrow afternoon. Good thing because all of this bicycle gazing is making me jones for a bike.

I decided to do a seasonal hold on my cell service to avoid major international charges and went the route of trying a European SIMS card combined with wifi. I bought a card that didn't fit, and then I bought another that did fit and gave me error messages in Danish when I tried to text. I'm still figuring this out. In the middle of messing with my phone, the bike shop called the hostel looking for me. I thought maybe they were missing a part. Instead, they informed me that the police had called the shop about a cardboard box that had been left in a bike parking lot. Ugh, I littered. Most likely they were causing to give a shop a heads-up about a possible bike theft, but Peter at the shop told them it was most likely mine because of the TSA tape on it. He offered to have his apprentice pick it up, but I walked back and picked it up and brought it to the shop for them to discard. So far, all that I have received is a private shaming as a dumb American. I hope that's all. It's really impressive that their politi is so proactive and on top of things in a timely manner.

The rest of the day has just been spent trying to stay awake to get adjusted to this time zone while doing errands like making sure I have access to money here. I had some trouble at the airport at the ATM and with my credit card, which was cleared later this afternoon. Talk about stressful. I walked around the Nørrebro neighborhood mostly--saw the grave of Hans Christian Andersen and never found the grave of Søren Kierkegaard. Tried to get adapters for my electronics and was only half successful.



It was really amazing just to watch Danish cyclists commuting around the city riding their practical bicycles. I'll have to write up my observations later, but this town seems like a very livable and beautiful albeit expensive city. Soda from 7-11 (the only recognizable chain I've seen here) is about 5 American dollars. I walked around taking photographs of bicycles parked and in motion. It's wonderful when you can spot an adult in the large bucket of a cargo bike, just hanging out, proof that the Danes actually have some fun on their overly practical rides.



Hopefully I'll see more sights tomorrow and will get to try out the bike lanes.

Cykling i København

When I reached Chicago, I sincerely felt like I could keep going. My trip by bicycle from Cleveland to Chicago felt too short. On that trip, I had met some people who had experience riding bikes in Europe. Maybe, maybe, maybe. I hadn't signed a contract at the school district where I teach. The thought crossed my mind that I could ride to Minneapolis, but I just felt ready for something different. I had this new confidence in my ability to camp and ride after doing this for three consecutive days in Ohio and Indiana.

I decided recently to do the Berlin-Copenhagen Bikeway from Copenhagen to Berlin, and will continue to bike south through Dresden and onto Prague with some guidance from EuroVelo routes. I may keep cycling even farther south to Trieste, Italy on the Adriatic. I'm excited to see the city that is ranks as the happiest city in the world and where 41% of its residents use bikes to commute to work or school. Coincidence?

I type these words, but I am really unaware of their full noisy, smelly, and visual senses from here in my living room in Cleveland. I'm going to see a fjord, the Berlin Wall, ruins from the Stone Age, and a lot of bikes.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get myself together with a small list: an RFID passport wallet, a bike bag for my bike, ultralight camping gear, cards for any new friends I meet along the way, figuring out how I can be reachable to family and friends back in Ohio, learning all about European SIM cards for my phone, and figuring out where I can stay in the early leg of my trip. I like to plan, but I realize how futile planning can be sometimes too.

Riding to Chicago from Cleveland, Day 5

I made it! I survived. Nothing bad happened at all. It was even a little boring through some stretches of the south side of Chicago, and perhaps I was just lucky. This day, I only had 28 miles to make it from Munster, Indiana to Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. I had fresh legs and had slept in a real bed for the first time in 5 days.

Yesterday, the folks in La Porte at Temple News Agency (coffee shop) didn't steer me wrong to suggest that I cut through Valparaiso on my way over to Munster. There was a bike route from Munster straight north to Chicago basically. In Munster, there was a bike path right outside of the Hampton Inn where I stayed. Near the beginning was this fountain: classy.




I had researched where some of the volatile areas of Chicago were and I think this route avoided this; though, some of the areas looked a little like Lorain Avenue on the west side of Cleveland. Everything was really quiet at 10:00 on a Tuesday morning. I saw signs for bikes everywhere, which was reassuring when I was in the road. I cut over to the lake fairly early. There is a small lake called Wolf Lake just south of Chicago that was the beginning of the bike trail that would turn into Lakefront Trail.

It was industrial and reminiscent of Cleveland. Chicago and Cleveland are definitely sister cities. They are made of the same stuff.

I felt like I wanted to stop and take photographs the whole way to Chicago. The 28 miles felt a lot longer than it should have. I also wasn't able to turn off Google Maps navigation even though I had made it to Lakefront Trail. Maybe I'm a little dense, but I kept getting a little confused where the trail would split in certain places. I eventually spotted the hazy Chicago skyline from the trail, even though I had been in Chicago for the last 5 or so miles. Inside and outside of Chicago at the same time.



I kept riding and eventually I reached the Chicago that I knew. I found my way to Millennium Park and walked by, but knew I had to come back to it later. My cell was dying again and I decided to tuck my solar panel away since I anticipated a short ride, but it was energy consumptive. Shamefully, I ended up at Panera while I charged my phone even though Chicago pizza was located across the street. I had to locate a nearby bike shop to help me with my pedals so that I could load my bike into a box before boarding Amtrak that evening. Last year with my trip back to Cleveland from Washington, D.C., I learned the routine after doing a mad dash from their Union Station to a bike shop that luckily was as close as a pimple. Always bring your own pedal wrench (BOPW). I didn't want to bring my own heavy wrench, so it was just in my plan to have the pedals loosened before heading to the station. I ate my salad slowly before heading back to Millennium Park for my obligatory bean portrait that would serve as photographic evidence that I had a loaded bike in Chicago with me.



I flagged down a woman who looked interesting who was also visiting Cloud Gate by herself on bike. She had this fluorescent green (maybe this is where I would use the word chartreuse) crocheted flower necklace and she just popped from the background. We ended up talking and riding bikes around Chicago, and she told me about her life international in Europe and her work with endometriosis awareness in the states. She also, I think, is partially responsible for planting the Europe bike touring seed within me or at least adding sunshine to foster its growth. It just so happened that we had similar backgrounds in the English language arts, though developed in different ways. What a beautiful person.



We ended up back at Panera, which she wasn't familiar with exactly so it was new to her. You don't recognize restaurant chains when you're visiting another country. I was just happy to be in the vicinity of the bike shop and Union Station. Everything was within a mile radius. Dan at Bike and Roll and Randolph helped me out with my bike, and we talked a little bit about bike touring and I got directions from the folks there. It was fun riding with bike commuters on my way to Union Station. If anything, I think it was easier to bike during rush hour than drive--it was a lot of fun, and Cleveland had prepared me for riding on busy streets. I took the Amtrak from Chicago at about 7:00 pm and arrived back in Cleveland around 5:00 am. I should have arrived at 2:00, but we left late and had some delays. I put my bike in a bike box and it arrived the following day. They forgot to load it onto the trains leaving for Cleveland that night. I was very thankful to get it back.