The day began abruptly. A woman’s distorted voice blurted out loudly throughout our cabin’s PA system, and not too politely informing us that we would be docking in an hour. Too bad most of the breakfast was gone when we went to the restaurant a few minutes later. The really brilliant part with the morning was that we could see some sun and blue sky - we were mentally prepared for a pouring rain.
Our bikes were still parked safely down on the lowest transport deck, and after a few goodbyes all of the teams (Täby, Stockholm, Jönköping/Gränna and Malmö) parted planning meet again only outside Paris next Friday. (Of course we got to see the Stockholm Team a couple of times along the way also this morning. They always manage to start before us, choose a very interesting route, and somehow end up behind us in the end.)
We had a nice start, with roughly 50 kilometers to go until our first break. The weather continued to be better than we had anticipated, and there were only some scattered showers together with a bit of headwind. During these first hours there were a few minor incidents, but nothing serious. The most amusing one were when we accidentally lost our captain, Robin and Alex. They were simply left behind, and no one seemed to know where. After the rest of us stopped for a 20-minute break they caught up with us again - but they didn’t seem to find any of this amusing at all.
The break - our first - was fabulous, and I really want to thank all of our service who are doing such a great job to keep us on the road. Even though I might not mention it in writing every day, I certainly still mean it :)
Afterwards, we had a pretty non-dramatic next 50 kilometers up until lunch (served in the middle of Nowhere, Northern Germany), and then set off for our last 40 kilometers before we could call it a day. The headwind grew stronger, and those last tens of k:s were probably the toughest one of our trip so far. But - we made it to Ludwigslust and our really nice hotel (Erbprinz) before it got too late.
We were able to kick back with some sauna before dinner, then a good debrief making mental notes about things to remember (keep your tire pressure up, don’t frighten everyone by yelling “HOLE” as soon as you see a small crack in the road, eat lots and make sure to get as much sleep as possible).
My GPS stopped at 142 kms today, and we’re supposed to go for 190 kms tomorrow. I’d better follow that advice and go get my beauty sleep.
1 comment:
Good going! Tyre pressure up is key. Sleep, eat and pedal. Today is day three which means this mantra can be helpful: Pain is jus the sensation of weakness leaving your body.
Rock on!
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