The day started great. I had breakfast and a long discussion with the B&B owner on Denmark, places to visit, and my plans this far.
It was on the chilly side much of the day but fine if I kept moving. The landscape became something wholly unique. Interspersed into the farm fields were a different sort of forest and plants I hadn’t seen.
Unfortunately sometime around noon I got a flat on my rear tire. The first of the trip. I stopped on a bench near a church and replaced it with a backup tube and then did a through check of the tire. Nothing.
And then another flat. I pulled over to patch it and just happened to stop in front of this fellows house who was doing yard work with his cute old dog. I found a price of glass or perhaps a rock. After starting to patch the tube due to an outside puncture to something that looked like glass we started to talk. Bent (I think) had traveled the US and knew Los Angeles well. He had grown up in that part of Denmark and told me how much he loved the area along with many quality of life things about it. His dog, while aggressive at first, plopped down in front of me as I changed the tire and we talked across a farm road. Funnily, when he saw me he thought I was just another German cycling tourist from Hamburg. When I told him I was American he said he had never heard of an American passing through that area and his family would be surprised later.
He offered me snacks and drinks but I declined and patched up. A bit later in the day and I would have taken him up on the offer.
I continued along. I stopped in Vejle to pickup two extra tubes as a just in case. A woman at the shop told me I picked the best bike shop in town. I left, as I suspect if I’d waited a couple more minutes I would have been at her dinner table.
I made slow progress. My stretch goal was Viborg but Silkeborg was more realistic with the time I was making.
I followed the Byrupbanestein through Vrads. I decided to continue on and not use the local shelter as that would only be 45 miles on the day. Also it was 4 PM and it’s light until about 11 PM.
The forest was astonishing. I would return to Vrads and Pålsgard Skov.
Catastrophe! Just six or so miles out si got a flat in my front tire. Something had pierced it it kinda looked like glass but again could have been a rock. Frustrated, I patched it.
I made it perhaps two miles when it failed with another sharp thing. I’d cleaned and checked the tire and recognized this as new. I went to a dark place. I was far from things, tired, hungry, and hadn’t figured out sleep with the night coming.
After gussying up the willpower I patched it. I had a downhill to where I was planning to camp. There was a bump in the front tire but I just rolled on. It held. A half a mile out my rear tire got a flat. I walked it the rest of the way.
I setup camp and collapsed. I’m typing this from my tent. Not sure of the plan for tomorrow. I’ll fix the rear and head to the bike shop in Silkeborg.
The forecast has it raining for the next week. Tomorrow as a rest day would be a good idea on my part.
