A Little Bit of Everything

Golssen to Swarzheide, Germany -- 45.7 mi, 11.8 mph, 1210 ft

Hello, everyone, it’s me Dex, and for some reason, Mom and Dad decided I should do the blog, so here goes nothing. This morning I woke up at 7:30, which was the first time that I've naturally awoken before 10:30!  I went downstairs, got dressed, and packed my panniers. Then went to the buffet in the restaurant building. There I found Cam, who had woken much earlier, and we chatted for a while until the others came to eat. At about 9:30, we were rested, well fed, and ready to ride. Thirty seconds later, we stopped to make some “minor adjustments” -- Kylie changed here shorts and we adjusted the bike computers and bags, At 9:45, we left for real!

Mr. Monster safe in the handle bar bag

Dad’s lovely bike app, Komoot, put on us on a well-paved bike path to start. For the first hour, we made good time and enjoyed the farm fields and cool temps. We went through a lot of cute little towns, but it was kind of eerie how quiet and deserted they were. Sometimes we went through whole towns without seeing a single person. Maybe everyone was at work. Our first troubles came when we entered the town of Luckau. The roads were brick and cobblestones, so they were super bumpy. I was envious of Cam’s front shock. The roads were also narrow and steep, so whenever a car came, Mom and I had to get off the bike and stood to the side. After ten minutes or so of running in circles in the town, we came to a crossroad. Dad led us down one road, then stopped and went down another. Then stopped again and turned back around and went down yet another. Then he went down yet another road and turned around...again! Mom, Cam, and I were having trouble following him, and after the third U-turn, we missed the road he and Kylie took completely! The three of us biked down a windy road for a few minutes thinking Dad was just around the next bend. Eventually, we realized he was not! Cam called Dad to find out where he was. Once we all got together again, it was smooth sailing along a small paved path for the next ten miles.

After twenty miles or so, the roads started to get hilly, and we started to get hungry. A 1km detour brought us to a small Nahkauf supermarket in Crintz, where we bought bread, ham, cheese, and drinks. Cam suggested we find a spot outside of town, so we pedaled a couple miles and found a shady spot near some trees and on the edge of a wheat field. We laid out our travel towels on the grass and dug into lunch. We were happy to be eating.  The basket on Cam's bike is huge, so we gave all our garbage to “trash Cam." 

After lunch, we were routed onto a lovely bike path through the trees that was hilly and shady, but it did not last long. A few miles down the trail, we were confronted with a very bumpy, dirt road. It was hard to ride and slow going, and I once again longed for Cam’s front shocks. Farther along the dirt road, Mom and I saw a deer. But the coolest thing we saw were a bunch of GIANT windmills absolutely towering over the forest. They were no less than 200 ft. tall with blades more than 100 ft long. It was really incredible.

After about five bumpy miles, we found pavement again and we were overjoyed. Once on the main road, it was fun to wave at a whole line of old-timey cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Next, we turned onto a little muddy hiking trail, which was completely surrounded by trees. What fun to be completely engulfed by the green of the forest. We exited the forest into a small town that was nearly as deserted as the first ones we'd ridden through. Then, at about 3:00, we crested a hill and saw our town for the night, Swarzheide. Swarzheide is an industrial town with a huge BASF chemical plant as you enter it, so it was definitely a bit of a let down from the beautiful forests and countryside we'd just seen. Finally, at around 3:15, we rolled up to the ACHAT hotel. 

Just like last night, we had lots of space. Our "room" was actually two rooms connected by a door. After showering and resting for a couple hours, we headed out to an Italian restaurant called Sorento. I think I can speak for everyone when I say it was delicious. I had four cheese penne and lemon sorbet with strawberries for dessert. Even though we all ordered meals and dessert, there was nothing left on the table when we were done. Cam taught us a fun new four-person card game called 500. It is kind of like Spades and Oh Heck. All in all, it was a pretty good day.