Around the Pond: 5000 km on the North Sea Cycle Route

In the morning as I strike my tent a tent pole breaks. I don't event think that I put too much strain on the pole. Luckily the break can be mended with a repair-sleeve (?), a short piece of metal tube that just fits over the pole. I only have one of those repair sleeves. I'll have to try and find a replacement pole in he near future, as I wouldn't be able to fix another break.

My repair of the guidance wheel with a rubber ring is a qualified success. The ugly sound is definitely gone. But the rubber is not oil resistant. The oil and mechanical wear of the chain starts to dissolve the rubber. After about 50km the ring is gone. I could live with replacing the rubber ring twice a day - after all there are a lot of rubber rings to be made from an inner tube. But I fear the dissolved rubber will accumulate in the chain and on the gears. I'll have an eye on that.

The weather is bad today. Shortly after my departure it begins to rain, and doesn't stop till the evening. For a while I ignore the rain, but eventually I get too wet and cold, and change into my rain gear.

From Hirtshals to Skagen it is only about 60km, so my plan was to make a short photo stop in Skagen, then continue south on the east coast of Jutland. The ferry to Sweden goes from Grenaa, about 230km south of Skagen. But with the bad weather I decide to stay the night in Skagen

Shortly after Hirtshals I meet a cyclist from Wesel in Germany. He made the 1600km from Wesel via the Netherlands to Skagen in just 14 days. We chat for a while, and have the other take a picture of ourselves. This is one of the very few with me in the picture.

I arrive in Skagen and pitch my tent in the rain. Finally the rain stops, from the camping site I ride up the last few kilometers to the northernmost tip of Jutland. Here the beach tapers out in a sandy hook. On the left side is the North Sea, on the right side the Baltic Sea. Waves are coming from the left and from the right and are meeting in the middle, creating a turbulent, foamy stretch of water just a few meters wide.


Day 17 - June 19th: Hirtshals to Skagen

Route

Hirtshals - Tversted - Skagen

Statistics

Distance: 64.15 km
Cycle time: 3:32 h
Average speed: 18.07 kmh
Total distance: 1246 km
© Thomas Stets ts.semper.d@googlemail.com
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