Day #4 – August 14,2013

By the way-as a birthday present I got a special camping lantern from my boys and this is a really good tool to manage everything, including blogging (find the glasses and the iPad ) in the tend – thanks guys!

image

The day starts very good, means perfect breakfast at the camp ground and a positive weather forecast, but…. I packet all my rain protection wear in the water resident bag (you know this yellow monster from my pictures) and after 2hours on the bike we had incredible cloudburst and got wet from head to the feed. But this was not the most worst situation … I took the wrong direction, went back 10km to the north and recognized this in a bakery where we enjoyed a coffee and dried our closes. My explanation : the compass had a malfunction due to the wet environment condition – maybe it’s only a excuse, because it was my own failure I think so.
Rest of the day was perfect – nice countrysides and the typical north environment, means huge farms and cows, sheeps, horses on big willows and so much space … unbelievable
Especially the “Lüneburger Heide” I like so much, because its so different compared to our territory where I live ( and lived)

image

image

image

After 92km today we arrived at a camp ground which is more or les a “all inclusive camping amusement park” – its not my favorite but they have a hot shower and a restaurant where you get spaghetti and weizen beer – finally a acceptable place.

image
I am using the trailer also for carrying empty beer bottles – allround tool

Tomorrows target is the region around Hannover – lets see if weather and personnel conditions will permit this , because my hamstring(Achillissehne) make some trouble ..
Cu \\Volker

 

 

Day #3 – August 13,2013

Nobody need this – wake up and leave the tend with heavy rain, means the first shower free of charge. Anyway, also this situation will not destroy motivation and fun. This lousy camp ground has also one big advantage – a small wooden hut  is available to prepare  a coffee and no rain spoil the good mood in the morning.

Kitchen – First class with charging station for batteries – important !!! Andy went finally to the bakery and served fresh coffee and delicious sandwiches with cheese and salami- very good idea !

image

Our bike tour today was interrupted by heavy rain and thunderstorms
and we lost some time. The formation of the sky with dark clouds, sun and buildings like the nuclear power plant brokdorf was really bizarre.

image

We arrived at 6:30 pm after 111 km at a brilliant camp ground in the middle of nowhere and during we prepared our tend a very polite Dutch guy offered us hotdogs which they had as a left over of the family dinner. Dutch guys are the greatest !!
The Internet here is very slow and it takes very long so publish some lines of text and pictures – I come back very soon with new experiences – please feel free to send your comment after you registered at the web site www.werner4all.de – leave a message – logged in (its good to know that somebody is close….)- you also can write in German – many thanks

Ferry to cross the Elbe River in Glückstadt

image

Day #2 -August 12, 2013

The morning started with a nice breakfast at 7am in order to get enough power for the day

imageToday we made 110 km from Schleswig to Brunsbüttel on the Elbe River. For me it was like Psycho III, means 70km on the Kiel canal ( canal which connects the North the Baltic Sea ) against the wind. Finally we arrived at 7pm on a very small camp ground direct on the Elbe River, not very comfortable but with a hot shower. And the view from the restaurant where you can see sheep and vessel together, that’s unique. Keep the fingers crossed that the weather becomes stable without rain – up to know it’ so so!

image

Day#1 -August 11,2013

today 5 hours by train with 18kg  stuff plus 5kg trailer direction North – it’s to much and generate stress when you have to change the train. But finally it’s done and I started the tour with a fish sandwich and a beer in the port of Flensburg. The weather became better and together with Andy I went by bike  the first 50km direction South to Schleswig and arrived on a camp ground at 8pm – perfect Timing.  15 minutes later the tend was prepared and in time a thunderstorm and heavy rain starts. After  a nice  diner at 9pm now I am enjoying the first night in may very small tend and writing mother first tour blog – but I have to finish because to many Mosquitos and flies are on my screen of the IPad – good night

Tour Preparation

IMG_2110

Rössle-Trail all-round Stuttgart

Together with my 2 colleagues Björn & Björn I tested my new trailer for the the first time in July 2013.

We took the Rössle-Trail all-round Stuttgart (app. 70 km and 1520 meters difference in altitude) during which I have learned that with the trailer on the stairs and off-road trails there are some limits, but finally we managed this together.I hope I´ll meet also so polite people during my tour who help me carry my “drive-train” on such critical terrain.

IMG_0097

Alsace/France

The second test I did and enjoyed with Anna-Maria in beautiful Alsace/France close to the German border. Fantastic forests, up and down hill sections and we met hundreds of  bikers along the route and at the beer gardens during our relaxing breaks.

Now I have a good feeling for my start in one week. The only thing which causes headache is the packing of my luggage, camping equipment, etc.-  I have to optimize it or/and reduce some stuff.

IMG_2156 IMG_2153

 

 

 

Tour-Map

This is the planned route :

http://www.naviki.org/de/naviki/karten/?tx_naviki_pi_routing_request[action]=show&tx_naviki_pi_routing_request[controller]=RoutingRequest&tx_naviki_pi_routing_request[dst][0]=flensburg&tx_naviki_pi_routing_request[dst][1]=f%C3%BCssen&tx_naviki_pi_routing_request[title]=flensburg%20-%20f%C3%BCssen&tx_naviki_pi_routing_request[option]=DAYLY#lat=50.06971099943831&lon=6.035829686523453&zoom=6