Not everything is captioned, as it was more important to take photos instead of notes. You can always ask about a photo you see and I will try to answer.
As last year, I split the photos into two groups:
SPEZI 2009 Expo
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimm.pratt/SPEZI2009Expo#
SPEZI 2009 Cycle tour- Germersheim to Copenhagen
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimm.pratt/SPEZI2009CycleTourHome#
Enjoy!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
SPEZI 2009 - the journey home: Day 6 and 7
After a very early rise, I hustled out through Bremen in the early morning and Hamburg in late afternoon, enjoying some of the better cycle paths in this part of the country (the rest just plain suck, truely). The constant headwind really aggravated me, so I gave in and jumped on the train from Hamburg to the ferry in Puttgarden.
I arrived in Denmark just after 10pm. It had become cold and even more windy than the German side. This constant headwind dropped my average speed to around 15kmh, and started to make the legs ache. That, plus a lack of sleep, had me tough it out until the Vordingborg train station, about 60km from the ferry. I arrived about 3AM, cold and nearly falling asleep, waiting for the 5:08 MetroExpress (which wasn't very 'express-like') to Copenhagen. I stumbled on-board, secured the trike, and fell asleep. I awoke about 20 minutes before arriving in Copenhagen, disembarked, and sleepily pedaled home where a hot shower and warm bed awaited me.
Give me a day or two, and I'll post some pics/videos.
Total distance traveled: 702km out of the 1,200km I had planned to cycle. Were it not for the wind and some bad weather, I would have certainly cycled farther.
Tips for next year's SPEZI tour: cycle north-to-south; bring a little less baggage, but more cash; and pick smoother roads!
I arrived in Denmark just after 10pm. It had become cold and even more windy than the German side. This constant headwind dropped my average speed to around 15kmh, and started to make the legs ache. That, plus a lack of sleep, had me tough it out until the Vordingborg train station, about 60km from the ferry. I arrived about 3AM, cold and nearly falling asleep, waiting for the 5:08 MetroExpress (which wasn't very 'express-like') to Copenhagen. I stumbled on-board, secured the trike, and fell asleep. I awoke about 20 minutes before arriving in Copenhagen, disembarked, and sleepily pedaled home where a hot shower and warm bed awaited me.
Give me a day or two, and I'll post some pics/videos.
Total distance traveled: 702km out of the 1,200km I had planned to cycle. Were it not for the wind and some bad weather, I would have certainly cycled farther.
Tips for next year's SPEZI tour: cycle north-to-south; bring a little less baggage, but more cash; and pick smoother roads!
SPEZI 2009 - the journey home: Day 5
And Jimm rested on the 5th day, and proclaimed it good.
Visited several colleagues and friends, did a bit of washing, and went out to where my old Ultimate Frisbee team trains near the University of Oldenburg and found myself actually training and playing for a bit. It was good to get the legs muscles to do something other than spin in circles, although I will surely pay for it in the morning.
Oh, and I'm reminded of how bad Oldenburg cycle roads suck! Come on government! With nearly half the local population -from students to the elderly- cycling everywhere, you could at least get rid of the stupid cobblestone or brick cyclepaths! And, yes I know Oldenburg sits on marshland, but fixing the occasional pothole/sinkhole costs you far less that getting a handful of guys to sit around watching one other guy dig up bricks, repack the sand for 2 days, and put the bricks back.
The cars and trucks don't use cobblestone/brick roadways, and neither should cyclists. The local government should be taking a cue from the regions between the cities, where the cycle roads are quite good and are paved.
Visited several colleagues and friends, did a bit of washing, and went out to where my old Ultimate Frisbee team trains near the University of Oldenburg and found myself actually training and playing for a bit. It was good to get the legs muscles to do something other than spin in circles, although I will surely pay for it in the morning.
Oh, and I'm reminded of how bad Oldenburg cycle roads suck! Come on government! With nearly half the local population -from students to the elderly- cycling everywhere, you could at least get rid of the stupid cobblestone or brick cyclepaths! And, yes I know Oldenburg sits on marshland, but fixing the occasional pothole/sinkhole costs you far less that getting a handful of guys to sit around watching one other guy dig up bricks, repack the sand for 2 days, and put the bricks back.
The cars and trucks don't use cobblestone/brick roadways, and neither should cyclists. The local government should be taking a cue from the regions between the cities, where the cycle roads are quite good and are paved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)