steveindenmark
Legendary Member
Last Saturday promised to to a bright, Sunny day with no rain on the West Coast of Denmark. The weatherman predicted modererate winds from the East in the morning and moderate winds from the South in the afternoon.
I thought this would be a good time to test out my Pan Celtic Race set up with my new tyres fitted, I set off in the car to Denmarks oldest town, Ribe, for a 5am start on the popular Ribe / Tønder / Ribe gravel ride. The new tyres are Pirelli Cinturato Velo 32c with tubes. Totally unsuitable for the miles of gravel ahead. But trying to destroy them was part of the plan.
The dawn was just breaking as I unpacked the car and put the bike together, it was cold and I was keen to get pedalling. The car park was full of camper vans from as far as Norway. I flicked on the Wahoo Bolt and loaded the map and off I went. The the gravel ride starts outside the Cathederal School in Ribe. To get there I had not negotiate the small cobble roads leading to it. Once on the course proper, the roads continue to be cobbles until you have ridden around the cathederal and left the town. Ribe is a beautiful town. But even more so in the light of dawn.
Once out of Ribe it became obvious that the weatherman had got something wrong. Quite a stiff headwind was coming at me from Germany in the South. This was the way I was heading for the next 90km.
For the past few weeks I have been turning my Ride with GPS routes into old fashioned paper route cards so I can see at a glance what is coming up for the entire ride. I was really pleased how thi worked out.
I like to visit RAF memorial sites. There are many in Denmark as the RAF flew over Denmark on their missions to attack Germany. I had a couple marked on my route sheet and it was not long before I arrived at the first. They are always well looked after by the Danes.
Soon the gravel started. Deep gravel that stretched right across the tracks, but on occasion there was a little space on the left where it was just sand. That was the only respite I got. My initial reaction was that with these tyres this would be a short trip. A good job I had added half a dozen taxi numbers to my route card (Tip).
There was km after km of gravel and it was hard going. But the sun had come up over the horizon just as I reached an old border stake and when you are struggling through gravel, headwinds seem to be forgotten.
I had my breakfast in my bags and had already planned to stop at one of the many free shelters that are all over Denmark. This one is built on the edge of a lake frequented by all types of birds. It is literally a few paces off the North sea cycle route. It was a super place to get out of the headwind, have a rest and get something to eat. There was a constant stream of birds arrivong and leaving the lake and the water lapped under the shelter.
Back on the route it was a mixture of North Sea Cyle route, quiet roads and lots of gravel. It had warmed up a bit but still too cold to get rid of the arm and leg warmers.
An important part of route planning in Denmark are churches (Top Tip) Churches always have drinking water and almost halways have toilets, 24 hours a day. They are always very clean and often have heating and hot water. The church yards are always very well maintained and are a joy to sit in. We have nice churches in Southern Denmark. The bathroom of the church I used was heated and had hot water. The church was in the middle of nowhere. Who needs hotel rooms?
To be continued A Ride on Denmarks West Coast (Part 2)
I thought this would be a good time to test out my Pan Celtic Race set up with my new tyres fitted, I set off in the car to Denmarks oldest town, Ribe, for a 5am start on the popular Ribe / Tønder / Ribe gravel ride. The new tyres are Pirelli Cinturato Velo 32c with tubes. Totally unsuitable for the miles of gravel ahead. But trying to destroy them was part of the plan.
The dawn was just breaking as I unpacked the car and put the bike together, it was cold and I was keen to get pedalling. The car park was full of camper vans from as far as Norway. I flicked on the Wahoo Bolt and loaded the map and off I went. The the gravel ride starts outside the Cathederal School in Ribe. To get there I had not negotiate the small cobble roads leading to it. Once on the course proper, the roads continue to be cobbles until you have ridden around the cathederal and left the town. Ribe is a beautiful town. But even more so in the light of dawn.
Once out of Ribe it became obvious that the weatherman had got something wrong. Quite a stiff headwind was coming at me from Germany in the South. This was the way I was heading for the next 90km.
For the past few weeks I have been turning my Ride with GPS routes into old fashioned paper route cards so I can see at a glance what is coming up for the entire ride. I was really pleased how thi worked out.
I like to visit RAF memorial sites. There are many in Denmark as the RAF flew over Denmark on their missions to attack Germany. I had a couple marked on my route sheet and it was not long before I arrived at the first. They are always well looked after by the Danes.
Soon the gravel started. Deep gravel that stretched right across the tracks, but on occasion there was a little space on the left where it was just sand. That was the only respite I got. My initial reaction was that with these tyres this would be a short trip. A good job I had added half a dozen taxi numbers to my route card (Tip).
There was km after km of gravel and it was hard going. But the sun had come up over the horizon just as I reached an old border stake and when you are struggling through gravel, headwinds seem to be forgotten.
I had my breakfast in my bags and had already planned to stop at one of the many free shelters that are all over Denmark. This one is built on the edge of a lake frequented by all types of birds. It is literally a few paces off the North sea cycle route. It was a super place to get out of the headwind, have a rest and get something to eat. There was a constant stream of birds arrivong and leaving the lake and the water lapped under the shelter.
Back on the route it was a mixture of North Sea Cyle route, quiet roads and lots of gravel. It had warmed up a bit but still too cold to get rid of the arm and leg warmers.
An important part of route planning in Denmark are churches (Top Tip) Churches always have drinking water and almost halways have toilets, 24 hours a day. They are always very clean and often have heating and hot water. The church yards are always very well maintained and are a joy to sit in. We have nice churches in Southern Denmark. The bathroom of the church I used was heated and had hot water. The church was in the middle of nowhere. Who needs hotel rooms?
To be continued A Ride on Denmarks West Coast (Part 2)
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