Long-distance cycling & camping on a Brompton. So happy!! Denmark!
It's thundering. I'm going to wait here see what happens I think it might come down torrential. Yes! I was on the way from England to Sweden, heading for Sweden because I was riding to my husband, who is Swedish. I had already ridden through the Netherlands and Germany, and now I was at the Danish border. I had never cycled in Denmark before. I aimed to ride up Jutland and then cross the islands of Funen and Zealand. I was super excited to be doing the whole trip because
the year before, I had planned to do it, but my cancer came back, and I had to wait a year whilst I was treated for that. But now I had ridden 700 km and I was about to cross into Denmark It's a bit wet. It keeps coming on and off. Bursts of rain. I wondered what it would actually be like at the border here. In fact it turned out to be just this sort of tent that the cars go
through and the bikes go around the side. And nothing happened at all. I think that's it! Denmark! Okay, I've got to find the camp site now. So this is this primitive one. So in Denmark they have a whole network of simple camp spots many of them in government-owned woodland Some with a water tap, many with no facilities at all I was really excited to try them out. The information on the Danish website was brilliant, but when I got close to my first primitive camp spot, this is what I found This seems so unlikely. I'm nearly there. And in a lorry park. Apparently it's down there. I was pretty anxious about this actually because it was
evening already. If I camp wild, I pick up water just before I look for a spot, but this place was supposed to have a water tap so I hadn't loaded myself up with 4 L of water, and I had to find the tap which was apparently somewhere in this wood The thing is, I'm looking for a tap. That's what I am looking for How am I going to find it? I mean a tap is a tap, isn't it But I realised I didn't really know what sort of thing I was looking for What are we doing? My phone's running out of battery as well Ah! Oh my god look! There's a tap! Oh my god. Yes! fantastic! This is brilliant Right okay let's choose a spot So nice! Not for you! out out out I chucked a load of bread bits in actually as well. The last slice that'd got all crumbly and no one was eating it. Moved on to the nice new loaf, bit naughty. Yep that's it So the question is, is there enough fuel, cos I'm running it really low. I want it
to burn exactly right so that there's no fuel left no mess and a perfect pancake. It won't work Well... Oh look at that! Brilliant! It doesn't get much better So, once had found the tap, this primitive camp spot had been a huge success That was a brilliant spot. I can't believe you can do this for nothing. Tonight I'm aiming
for a completely free camping spot, no water it's just a wood, where you're allowed to camp. So that's exciting So my plan was to ride up the Jutland coast through a couple of towns and camp hopefully with a view of the sea. This was my first proper day cycling in Denmark. Really interested to see what it's all like Oh gosh what's happening here Right so I'm going to stop in this next little village, which is the last village and work out how to get water That's the next thing. So to find water usually I look for people in their gardens, because often people have outside taps and don't mind at all letting me have water or I look for public toilets and things like that. but here I couldn't really see any people
Try this. I think everyone's inside having their dinner Right, that was brilliant. They were super nice, tried to give me bottled water just give me it. So nice. But I filled up my 4 litres so now it's that way Now I had to work out a good way to get into the wood. So we're here, and the camping spot is there so, go down and see if I can find it. I was hoping to get a spot
overlooking the sea. This was just a wood, and you could choose where you wanted to camp This is amazing Super! Yes! haha So I'm now in Kolding, here, and I'm heading that way, towards the island here, so there's going to be a bridge somewhere. It's probably over there isn't Goodbye Jutland! Hello Funen, or Fyn, I'm not exactly sure So I think it's actually pronounced Jylland and Fyn but I'm definitely struggling with the language And actually I've been struggling to find water which is kind of silly really, but I hadn't learned yet how to do things in Denmark Wow. I was flagging a bit just then. I couldn't find any water. I was looking for like parks and public toilets or suitable shops, or people in gardens, nothing nothing nothing um getting desperate You can tell you're desperate when you're looking at water hydrants wondering what you might be able to do with them. Anyway then I swung off the main road and there was a workshop place, and I saw there was a an old guy at the back, really nice old chap and he understood what I wanted despite me making a complete hash of asking in a mix of German and Swedish, and so I got water from him. Super nice. Anyway so that fixed that, and I felt much better, and I thought oh good coffee time
Coffee is so reviving isn't it. I just had coffee and a couple of biscuits, and I feel great again Er, spetskål? yes I have spetskål ja. En super mini... Yep hold on! Tack! Thanks! Hej då! Bye! Tack för det! Thanks for that! Look! I've tied it and then, I think that's perfect. That'll be lovely, so I'm going to have that with mushrooms tonight. Be lovely. I was aiming for another primitive campsite but this one was a bit different it looked gorgeous a little farm where you could camp Gosh so it's sort of the end of the day now, and I'm hoping I can stay at a little sort of farm place here I haven't contacted them because I felt like it might be just easier to rock up and for them to see me and then say oh okay you can stay. But I don't know that's a good idea or not
Wow, so nice. Hello! I am looking for Ingrid Henriksen. Yes, there! Thank you The people here were super kind and nice, and they had a little grassy bit at the back of the house where you could camp God it's gorgeous Right phewph I just had a shower, so nice! So tonight dinner is going to be this, and then I'm going to fry up onion and garlic and I've got these mushrooms and the pointed cabbage is that what you call them, spetskål. I don't know quite how I'm going to do it. I don't know. Maybe boil it a bit, and then fry it? Not quite sure, haven't really thought it through
So I arrived in Odense, which is the city where Hans Christian Andersen was born. He was the son of a shoemaker and lived kind of at the same time as Dickens. The day I was there it was graduation day for the school children, and they were all getting flowers and wearing special sort of sailor hats So it's spitting. Basically if I put this on it won't rain. Normally that's what happens But actually it carried on raining, so I rode across Funen in the rain, and it was lovely I don't mind really. Everything's working OK, I have put my shoes on, my waterproof overshoes my £3.50 Amazon buy, seven years ago, still going. But it was quite tricky finding somewhere to sit down and eat. I'm super hungry. It's quite difficult when it's raining cos
I need um, I need to be under cover, and I've just been going along, and there's no cover I want a proper little roof so I can sit comfortably, and just enjoy having a nice rest Well it's quite a cosy little spot actually haha And now I had realised in fact churches are a really good place to pick up drinking water So this was the last part of the island of Funen. Now I was going to reach the sea, and there's a bridge from Funen to Zealand, but I was going to have to catch a train, because that's the only way that bikes can cross Right, so I've bought a ticket And let's see Now I was on the island of Zealand and the sun came out so I dawdled for ages by a beach Wow, so nice Oh god how lovely I was aiming only for another primitive camp spot, with no drinking water. I was in a wooded area here, quite thinly populated. The challenge now is to find water, and I'm just really worried that this next place is going to be like a road crossing in a forest with nothing. Right so I grabbed a poor couple that were getting into their car actually, but I mean you know people might be indoors having dinner or just not there and it's always nerve-wracking about the water. So I just assaulted this couple. No not assaulted, grabbed this couple.. Anyway, brilliant!
So I've got 4 litres now. This is not a good way of carrying it actually. But anyway I'm just going to go to the next junction and then assess. Right. I think it's down here. And so I think, some nuts, cos it's like nearly half past 6 and I'm quite, I'm not actually not that tired, but just need to keep going with food, so I don't end up not enjoying it Oh my god this is fantastic Wow There's horses! My god it's quite scary actually. I was pretty scared actually but finally they moved away and I packed up and left And it had been another brilliant spot. Gosh well that was fantastic
Beautiful! I wanted one last peaceful coffee. I just thought I'd have a quiet sit, in this really nice bench And the hedger and ditcher is coming So I picked up water now for the last stretch to the east coast of Zealand And I arrived at the coast. Look at this! But now I was running out of time. To get from Denmark to Sweden I'd got to get to Copenhagen, and take a train over the long bridge across the sea. I wanted to catch the 19:07, which was the last train that goes straight to my husband's village but I still had 20 km left to do. I didn't think I would make it actually, but I realised I could get
onto the wheel of this poor guy and I bombed it with him into the centre of Copenhagen. I felt really bad that I actually didn't do a turn. I'd never have made the train without him Takes just one minute. Okay I'll do durum. Yeah, thanks. There we are! Thanks a lot, bye! I can't believe I managed that I'd had such a great time riding to my husband, doing a longer cycle tour again. Denmark had been
brilliant, especially the primitive camping network. Each country I'd been through had been just so different. And now a year and a bit behind schedule, I arrived in Sweden
2024-03-22 22:00
