Out of Sweden, across Denmark to Germany, then Netherlands

Day 12 Sun 22nd July18

Out of Sweden, across Denmark to Flensburg, Germany 400 miles

My plan was to make it down to Malmo and then ride across “the bridge” to Denmark (yes, that bridge for those who watch the TV program) and then round Copenhagen and across the rest of Denmark to Flensburg just across the Danish border in Germany. Long day, 400 miles of motorway but at least the beer would be cheaper when I got there 😁

By the time I got to Malmo and about to leave Sweden I realised I had ridden 1050 miles, nearly the whole length of the country, thanks to the Norwegian police. By now the forests and lakes have been left behind; it’s all motorway, lots of trucks, cars and urban sprawl for the rest of the way home now. Such a difference to the remote and beautiful country I had ridden through 😢

The toll for the bridge was 10 Euro for a bike (23 for a car) its a long bridge! This was followed by an even longer bridge to Odense, this cost 12 Euro. Soon I was on the motorway south to Flensburg, Germany, an old town with a nice harbour.

Very hot again and aching after 400 motorway miles, time for low priced beer 🍺😎 

Day 13 Monday 23rd July18

South to The Netherlands and Groningen 300 miles

I decided to aim for Groningen in the north of Netherlands. I had visited once before many years ago after a track day at Assen. That visit was all a bit of a haze as Matt and Colin who were with me might remember 🤪😎but it seemed like a nice place, so booked a hotel in the centre.

Boring, hot motorway miles. But driving in Germany on the Mway is rather different than the nanny state of Norway with its minimal speed limits. Here if your car can do 200 mph and you want to max out, you can 😆 Must bring the SLK55 over one day 🤪

After a couple of fuel stops and 15kms of filtering in roadwork jams , I saw my 1st windmill; welcome to Netherlands.

Groningen is a much larger town than I remember. Typically Dutch with canals, cafes and LOTS of bicycles 🚲 all seem to be ridden fast and crazy. Got to watch out for them as knocking one off is a hanging offence here 😱

This is a really nice town and the hotel Martini was a grand old place, although the room was rather small. I decided to stay 2 nights and have a much needed day off from riding. Time to chill out in a cafe by a canal and visit one of the museums; something cultural for a change 😎

Day 14 Tuesday 23rd July18Day 14 Tuesday 23rdJuly 18

A day off chilling in Groningen

Another sunny hot day 😎. After a nice breakfast I set off on foot to explore and decided to visit the Maritime Museum, not far from the hotel.

After an interesting visit it was a lite lunch at a canal side cafe, watching life go by; including the girls in bikinis paddling along; lovely 😊  

Sitting outside the hotel bar later watching the World on a bicycle go by when I heard the thumping noise of Harley Davidsons approaching; 2 of them stopped at the hotel. The guys had Hells Angels Norway jackets on. Turned out to be a couple of late middle aged dudes who got off 2 top of the range modern Harleys, big fairings with speakers, built in sat nav etc and panniers .. not Hells Angels material at all; must be getting soft in Norway, did make me laugh 🤣

Today I saw one cyclist crash into the back of a car that stopped suddenly and now have just seen my 1st crash between two cyclists. They ride fast and recklessly without helmets or other protection, can’t hear them coming when you’re crossing the road and cycle tracks; in fact it looks like total chaos! Two girls collided and one took a really nasty fall and had blood gushing from a head wound. Must say the ambulance was quick; on the scene in 5 mins 👍

Tomorrow it’s a short day’s ride to my last night of this trip in Amsterdam, and then on home keeping to my original schedule.