A tough day today, cycling along the exposed south coast of Lolloland. After a solid sleep, we filled up our bottles with water and prepared for the day ahead down at the harbour. It was breezy, but the sky looked promising.
After a few meanders around some inlets, we broke out onto the south coast - and into the headwind!
A strong wind was blowing in across the sea so there was no shelter whatsoever as we dropped a gear and muscled on. A decent swell was rolling in and crashing on the rocks, which every now and then would lift up a cloud of spray that splashed our legs. It was certainly not a swimming day.
A delicious elevensis of peanut butter on corn cakes was taken on a bench we found half way along the neverending path. The food was welcomed, but there was still no shelter from the wind.
After about 30km we arrived at the next harbour where we had hoped to spent the night. However on arrival, we found it was a big industrial port and not exactly the idyllic scene we had invisaged. One good thing about the wind was that I got to employ my ultra light pertex trousers. I bought these when I ran the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon back in something like 1998. They are a crazy colour and fit, but very light, and very windproof. They've been in my store cupboard ever since and apart from a few runs, I've barely used them. As Dad might say 'they'll come in handy one day' - and 19 years on, they sure have! I like to think of them as fashionable as well as functional, but the jury is still out on that one...
At the port of Rødbyhaven, there was no one around, so we got the therm-a-rest out, had a feed, then lay down and had a sleep in the lee of the wind outside the harbour masters office. We woke up an hour later feeling much better and quite refreshed. Our options were to camp amidst the industrial boat yard on a tiny patch of grass, get a hotel room on the marina (€80), or peddle on to the next campsite by the lake in Maribo, some 25km away. As we felt rested, we decided to push on and with the wind now more or less behind us, made fast progress northwards on an old railway line in virtually a straight line.
Once again, there seemed to be rain falling all around us, but somehow we were following a corridor of blue sky. On arrival at the campsite at around 17:30 and moments after getting the tent up, the heavens opened. We collapsed inside, pleased with both our efforts and our luck!
The campsite was quite expensive (£22) but had the luxury of unlimited hot water for showers and a camp kitchen where we could comfortably cook and eat while it rained outside. We were more than happy to pay and utilised all facilities!
Total Ride: 58km
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