Warning, this is a long post
On the Sunday I cycled 35km from Trelleborg to Malmö where I got on a train to Kastrup, Copenhagen's international airport. This was not to fly back home but because the airport is the first station on the Danish side, I left Sweden from the last station on that side, Hyllie. Having fought against the wind going up to Malmö (north west) I thought I'd be ok going south in Denmark but no, somehow I still had the wind against me. 110km from Kastrup I gave up and found a youth hostel in Vordingsborg on the south part of the Danish island Själland.
Monday morning was ok until I hit the road. The sun was out and it was actually warm, the first day of the trip when I started the ride with a short sleeved top. Unfortunately the wind was still against in a really bad way. 60km later I managed to get to Rödbyhavn where there is a ferry to Puttgarden, Germany. Unfortunately I was not feeling well at all at this point. Having had "medium" to "bad" tummy problems for ~10 days it all of a sudden accelerated a bit out of control with me vomiting while on the bike, not a good combination. The last 20km to the ferry took around two and a half hours with me spending more time lying down on the ground than on the bike. On the German side things continued on the slow side and it got a tiny bit dangerous. Luckily they have cycle paths everywhere but as these are full of other cyclists I managed to cycle into an older man while being busy feeling sick. In the end I got to Oldenburg in Holstein and found a hotel. The night between Monday and Tuesday was "interesting". Not only did I feel sick I could also start feeling aches and pains all over. It was as if my body told me, "Right, I've taken you through Sweden but this is the price you have to pay".
Tuesday started off bad, not much sleep, absolutely no energy left, neither physical or mental. I could possibly have stayed in Oldenburg a few days to recover but in the end I decided against it. There was nothing left in the tank and I very much doubt a couple of days would have helped. After having decided to abandon the project the next challenge was closer in time than I really wanted.............
Crossing Germany and Holland by train is easy, as long as you don't have a bike with you. If you have a bike you should not be completely exhausted and just do what the Germans tell you to do. Ein Herr Sven Schwartz of Deutsche Bahn came up with the following route, all on local trains
Oldenburg - Lübeck - Hamburg - Bremen - Osnabrück - Bad Benthem - Hengalo - Zutphen - Arnhem - Ede Wageningen - Amersfoort - Amsterdam
Eleven and a half hours, eleven changes, carrying a bike plus panniers on and off trains, in 30+ degrees, no AC, not feeling well. Needless to say, it was a bit of a challenge. Finally, on the train to Ede-Wageningen a friendly ticket inspector explained to me that it's possible to take a bike on Intercity trains in Holland, something Herr Sven Schwartz had claimed was impossible, hence the marathon route. I could have taken an IC train from Hengalo (first stop in Holland) and saved myself several hours travelling and agony. I guess you live and learn.
Having spent the night in Amsterdam the Wednesday was nothing compared to the day before. Train straight to Brussels Zuid/Midi and then on to the Eurostar for a mid afternoon arrival back in London. The hardest cycling of the whole trip was getting home from St Pancras. Not because it's a long way, ~1 mile, or because I was feeling extremely disappointed arriving back on the train, I really wasn't, but because it's uphill.... just slightly but enough for my legs to implode a couple of times on the way.
It feels great being back home. Of course I'm disappointed not managing to get all the way back to London but I did manage to get through Sweden which I feel rather happy with.
If I ever do something like this again I'll try to pace myself differently, avoid silly 240km days etc. This time it felt really good all the time in Sweden but I guess I was burning to much to fast and it caught up with me in the end, luckily after I'd left Sweden.
There is not much more to say. A few thank yous and good bye
The trip would not have been possible without the help of
- Ryan Pickard, Revolution Personal Training Studios. Ryan managed to lift my general fitness to a much higher level than I thought possible in a short time. A great trainer and a great guy.
- Emerson Fernandez, Complete Physio. I got problems with my knees a couple of months before the trip. Emerson identified and treated the problem in a most satisfying way. Being a believer in self help he also supplied me with excellent strengthening exercises, boring but crucial.
I can't say thank to people without mentioning my wife. She very kindly allowed me to disappear out on the road for which I'm very thankful, thank you Anne.
That's it, thank you all for reading and thank you even more for your contributions to Kamran's Ward at John Radcliffe childrens hospital in Oxford. If this is news for you, read this.
Good bye, Håkan
