Location: Somewhere in Brandenburg
Km on the clock: 612 It's 30th June 2019 at 11 am. I just arrived at Flensburg Hafenspitze (tip of the harbor) after already cycling 20 kilometers from my mom's. The Hafenspitze was the official starting point of my traveling the world on a bicycle journey. It was a hot and sunny day with up to 35 degrees Celsius and the last chance to say goodbye to family and friends. As the bells of a nearby church were ringing at 12 o'clock it was time for some last hugs and kisses and time for me to leave. Now there was no return and the dream finally came true. Due to the heat I needed a first break after already one hour and 20 kilometers outside of Flensburg. I even felt that exhausted that I took a nap on a bench in front of the church in Satrup. :D
The next days I made it through the hilly eastern part of Schleswig-Holstein. Some hills were that steep that my maximum speed was in between 8-10 kilometers per hour and quite a pain in the arse. I realized that it would time some take to get used to a life on a bicycle. Going downhill on the other hand was fun. I reached speeds of up to almost 40 kilometers per hour and made me forget of the frustrations of going uphill immediately.
I spent the first few nights either on campsites or with family or friends. After staying in Hamburg at a friends place for two nights I headed east towards Berlin alongside the river Elbe. Originally I planned to cycle directly in direction Prague from here but I got invited to stay with another friend in Berlin for a few days. I didn't see her for a few years so it would be great opportunity to catch up after such a long time. From now on I camped in the wild every night. That was the adventure that I was looking for. Especially the first night somewhere in nowhere behind the embankment was a bit spooky. I woke up in the middle of the night hearing some grunting right next to my tent. The same creature also seemed to repel its horns on a tree next to me. I didn't know how to react. Should I make noises to chase it away? Or should I keep quiet and wait until it's gone? Since I was simply too tired to chase the beast away, I decided to stay quiet and tried to fall asleep again. That plan worked out pretty well. I guess dealing with the noises of the nights is something that I also have to get used to. :D
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I'm passing a group of people waiting for the next ferry at the terminal. They're looking questioningly at me, probably thinking: What is the guy with the bright orange jersey and the small backpack with a flexible tube attached to it doing here? And why the heck is he running around here?
I'm leaving Dagebuell Mole and feel highly motivated with music in my ears. I'm passing Dagebuell Kirche and I stick to my running strategy which means I'm walking for five minutes after running for 25 minutes. This strategy is working well for the first two hours and 20k until I arrive in the town of Leck. My legs and knees are doing very well but the weather conditions are turning into the hottest day of the year thus far. I definitely didn't take brutal heat into consideration when preparing for this run.
From now on it feels like I'm going through hell and I simply run as long as I can and then walk for a while or even take breaks. There's literally no shade on this stretch of the route. Only once in a while there's a tree. So, the sun is burning down on my head, which is draining and exhausting. I start asking myself Why the hell am I doing this? I don't really have an answer to that and just keep moving. At some point I realize that a car is slowing down next to me and the driver opens the window. I look straight into the smiling face of a friend saying Hey man, here you are! I've been watching out for you. How are you? Telling him how miserable I am at that point makes the both of us laugh and also lets me forget my struggles for a moment. However, it's great to see a familiar face somewhere in nowhere which gives me the motivation to make it to small town Schafflund and cross the 35k line.
I enter a supermarket get some ice cream and a coke. I feel like I need to cool down and also that my body demands sugar. After finishing the ice cream and the coke in the entrance area of the supermarket right under the aircon my mother and a friend show up. She asks How are you feeling? Although she can see on my face that I'm not in the best condition anymore. So we're sitting down a bakery and grab a cup of coffee. I feel great after that break and get ready for the final 20k in direction Flensburg. The lady behind the counter asks me What is your mission? Where are you going? So I tell her that I'm running from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea and now it's only 20 more kilometer. She starts laughing and shaking her head saying Only 20 more kilometers? That's nuts! I can't even run for 2 minutes. She wishes me good luck and I continue my way.
From now on I feel great and wonder what has been inside that coffee? My legs and knees feel good and even the exhaustion is gone. Luckily, this part of the route offers lots of shade which also helps a lot. Step by step I pass the villages Wallsbuell, Unaften and Handewitt. There, I make another ice cream and soda break at a gas station. I think I rarely enjoyed those things so much before in my life. And the thought that I now almost made it to Flensburg excites me a lot. So I get ready to run again, pass the Flensburg airport after some time and then finally make it into the final place of this run - Flensburg. I can't believe that I'm almost at the Baltic Sea side now and feel very excited. I know from now on it's only downhill but first I must make a quick visit at the Villekula project as promised which I dedicate this running project to.
I run downhill and at some point there's my friend Kevin already waiting for me on his bicycle to escort me for the last kilometer. I turn into the square at Flensburg Hafenspitze and voila I made it to the Baltic Sea. I accomplished to run 55+ kilometer and feel totally fine. I did not expect that at all and am very surprised with myself. I expected to be exhausted and under pain at that point but I'm not at all. I guess the hard training over the previous six month paid off. So I simply go home with a smile on my face!
Now the time has come! Tomorrow I’ll do my first ultra-run. I’ll attempt to run 55 kilometers (approximately 35 miles) from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. From shore to shore. This will be the biggest running challenge of my life thus far. It might be the biggest challenge to my body and mind.
The furthest distance I ever ran was 42 kilometers during the Minority Marathon in Flensburg, Germany in 2005. This marathon was definitely the most painful sports experience in my life because I was not well prepared. I started to train about three months earlier and the longest distance I ran during that time wasn’t even half a marathon. I believed that if I can make it to the half marathon mark of 21 kilometers the other half of the race will probably be mind over matter. Well, that day I found out that this thought was pretty naïve and only partly true. I mean, I finished the race because I forced myself but at the same time I realized that my “training” was just pathetic. I still remember the moment when I passed the 24k mark. My legs were already tired and I felt that I was only a few steps away from actual pain. I thought “Why can’t the numbers be switched? 42 kilometers instead of 24 kilometers! Then this idiotic idea to run a marathon would be finally over”. I didn’t have to wait long for the pain. It started just a few kilometers later at the 30k mark. Here I thought “Why the hell am I doing this? Just go home” but at the same time I thought “Okay…you made it this far…from here it’s only another 12k”. And this was the point where my initial thought was right, from here it was pure willingness to finish this race. I still don’t know how I did it but what I do remember was this amazing feeling when I crossed the finish line. In this moment, I didn’t know if I should laugh because I was extremely happy that I finished the race but at the same time I just wanted to cry due to pure pain in my legs. In the end, it was a mixture of both feelings and the next day I could barely walk. After making this painful experience I swore to myself that I’ll never do such a long run in my life again. And here I am now. Tomorrow I’m attempting to run the width of my home state Schleswig-Holstein. It’s probably the narrowest part of the state but still 55 kilometers which makes it 13k more than the marathon distance. I think this time I’m more prepared than 13 years ago. I started to run again about one year ago. Just in the past six months I ran more than 1,000 kilometers to increase my endurance. I also worked on my musculature and stability to avoid injuries throughout this challenge. This is something that I didn’t do at all in 2005. Nevertheless, I had to deal with some aches and pains during my training. Due to that, I even had to postpone this challenge. I wanted to do this run one week earlier but it was just impossible. My left knee had another agenda to this challenge than I did. I really hope that we’ll be on the same team tomorrow! This time I have a running strategy. My plan is to run for 25 minutes, then walk or rest for five minutes and then start over again. The idea of this strategy is to get along with my power as long as possible (ideally until the end), to avoid cramps or injuries but also to drink enough to stay hydrated. I also didn’t have a strategy 13 years ago. I simply started to run as fast as I could and I did quite well until the half marathon mark where I arrived approximately 1.75 hours. At that point I thought “Wow…Chris…you’re really good at this! You’ll finish this race in pretty good time if you just keep running like this”. Well, you already know how well that worked out. So let’s see how that strategy is gonna work out. Right now I wonder if I trained enough for this challenge or if it’s going to be another painful experience. I’m quite nervous to find out. And who knows…maybe it’s just a matter of my mind. If you also want to find out, here are the three ways how to do so: 1. Instagram - On here I’ll give regular updates throughout the run so simply connect with me or search for #NBSUltra. 2. Runtastic - This app will give you live information about my position. 3. On the road - Places I’ll come through are: Dagebüll Mole (Start), Dagebüll Kirche, Maasbüll, Risum, Leck, Sprakebüll, Bärenshöft, Schafflund, Wallsbüll, Unaften, Handewitt, Villekula Flensburg, Hafenspitze Flensburg (Finish). So just watch out for me! Last but not least, some people say that I’m crazy attempting to do such a long run. Maybe I am!? Who knows!? However, I believe that I can accomplish this challenge and also, I’m not only doing this for myself, I’m doing this for a charitable cause. With this run I’m trying to raise money for the Villekula project in Flensburg. Villekula is a gardening project which allows kids to learn about the whole process of how to garden, harvest and prepare healthy meals. Unfortunately, this project currently doesn't have any direct access to water which makes their work more than challenging. So if you also think that I’m crazy or you believe that I can accomplish this challenge, please make a small donation to them. All donations will be used to build a fountain on the Villekula land. Here you can find Villekulas’ bank information. Purpose (Verwendungszweck) for a donation should be "Brunnnen NBSUltra". Cheers!
Since I accomplished my bike trip through Germany (Expedition1000GER) – from Oberstdorf to Flensburg – people asked me the same two questions over and over again:
I actually never expected that the first question could come to someone’s mind so I never expected that I would be confronted with it because for me the answer is pretty obvious. Although I had to deal with shitty weather conditions for about half of the time I definitely would do it again. No doubts! Imagining that I wouldn’t have done it and didn’t make the experiences that I made throughout this journey doesn’t seem right to me. I don’t want to miss any of them. I was in rather mediocre shape before I went on this trip so I wanted to find out if I was capable of accomplishing a 1,000+ kilometer bike ride without any training beforehand. Well, now I know I am! I met some wonderful people during this journey which also means that strangers became friends. I also saw places of my home country that I never expected to see. I visited beautiful cities such as Augsburg, Nuremburg and Bamberg in southern Germany. I even spent some time in an emergency room in Hildesheim. This was definitely not a sight that I planned to visit but it made this trip for sure unforgettable for me. The most thrilling part was definitely to find a place to stay at the end of each day. I stood at hotels, guest houses, hostels, camp sites, crushed a couch but my personal favorite was to camp in the wild. It always gave me a feeling of freedom to know that I’m the only person out there. So once again, yes I would definitely do it again! That brings me to the second question which I had to think about for a while to figure out what I would do different next time. The first thing that came into my mind when I started to think about it was the following question: Would I take my old bike again and attach everything on it that I think I need throughout the trip or would I get an actual racing bike, optimize my gear to a minimum and try to cover the whole distance in the shortest amount of time possible? Honestly, both ideas seem charming to me because both combine my passions traveling and endurance sports. However, when it comes to such a challenge my current focus is more on the traveling part. The sports aspect is more a positive side effect. I'd prefer to stop whenever and wherever I want and spend some time doing whatever I like in that moment. This leads me directly to the first thing I definitely would do different next time. I would take more time. On this trip I limited myself to a time frame of two weeks. Hence, I had to cover 70+ kilometers on average per day. This approach gave me only very limited time to spend at places where I really would have liked to stay longer. Sometimes it even gave me the feeling that I had to rush when I actually wanted to explore new places and thus I couldn’t enjoy all aspects of them. Pedaling through the rain and sometimes even through thunderstorms brings me to the second thing I would do different next time. I would definitely add a solid rain poncho on my kit list which covers the whole body while cycling. Additionally I would take a pair of rain shoes to keep the feet dry at any time. It’s everything else but fun to keep moving with wet feet. I mean I took a rain jacket and even rain pants with me but the quality of them was definitely questionable. There is a saying that there is no bad weather, only bad gear. Now I agree with it 100 percent and the experiences I made with the weather on this trip clearly proved that it is quite naïve to believe that the weather would be great all the time only because the calendar states it’s summer. So here my personal advice in summary:
If you've any further questions or you need some kind of advice for your next trip or challenge, don't hesitate to contact me.
Km on the clock: 1000+
I took my time to get ready the next morning and left the hostel around 11:30. I received a text message from my friend Kevin asking where I was and what route I would take home. He promised me before I left on Expedition1000GER that he would meet me somewhere outside of Flensburg and ride the last few kilometers with me. I gave him my route information and left Schleswig. I took the same route as on a weekend bike trip that I did earlier this year. Everything was so familiar and there was no need for a map or to ask someone for directions. For the first time on this trip it was actually me giving directions to someone else. I met another cyclist studying his maps and wondering around while I took a break to kill some time. I planned to be back at the Hafenspitze in Flensburg (this is how Flensburg locals call the tip of the Flensburg Fjord) at 3 pm and didn't want to be there too early because a friend arranged a little welcoming event and even a journalist of the local newspaper was supposed to attend. The other cyclist seemed perfectly equipped, wearing a solid rain outfit while I was wearing once again my blue plastic bag poncho to stay dry. He was definitely amused by my outfit. We chatted for a bit. He left home two days ago and was on his way to Norway. It was a bit weird to think that his journey just beginning while mine was going to end that same day. Looking back, it didn't even feel like two weeks. It felt more that I left Oberstdorf just a couple of days ago. Approximately 15 kilometers outside of Flensburg I finally met Kevin with his brand new and ultra-light racing bike. It gave both of us a really good laugh to lift each other’s bikes to compare the weight. While I could lift his with only two fingers he had a hard time to lift my fully packed bike. After riding a few kilometers together Kevin had a puncture. At that point I was really grateful that I didn't have a single puncture throughout my entire trip. After changing the tube and using an elderly man’s air pump we made it into Flensburg. It was a great goosebumps moment to pass the sign stating: Flensburg. I made it! I cycled the entire length of Germany within two weeks and without any significant training. However, it was still not 3 pm so we decided get a coffee in the Flensburg city center to kill some time. I tried to recap the last two weeks but realized that I mentally didn't really arrive yet. It would for sure take a few days to process all impressions of this trip. Kevin and I turned into the square at the Hafenspitze. Family and a few friends were already waiting for my arrival and to welcome me back at home. Even the deputy city president came to say thank you for the fundraising campaign for Doctors without Borders and gave me Flensburg book. Once again, thanks for this wonderful gift! The journalist of the local newspaper asked me: What are you going to do next? Take a shower and relax on the couch, I answered. And that is what I did.
If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign for Doctors without Borders and make a small donation. Cheers!
Km on the clock: 990
Still tired - due to numerous mosquitos in my room - I went to Celle city center. First, I explored the historic part of that town. Afterwards I got breakfast at a café and listened to the music of a guy with his guitar at the next corner. The relaxed atmosphere got disturbed after some time. A guy came down the mall street. He wore headphones and pretended to be Germany's next superstar by singing German rap songs so loud that literally everyone in town could hear him. Although I am German it was really hard for me to understand his ‘singing’. Seriously, it was just gibberish but he was really feeling it. Not enough that he showed up once, he appeared another two times in a ten minutes routine. I guess he was walking the same lap over and over again to harass people with his 'talent'. On my way out of Celle I stopped at a flower shop to ask if they would refill my water bottles. The four ladies working there didn't only refill my bottles, they even offered me a bottle of lemonade which I gratefully accepted. While chatting and sharing our traveling and camping experiences they even apologized that they didn't have any food that they could offer me. This was definitely nothing that they had to apologize for. I only hoped to get some water but even got a lemonade out of it which was very unexpected. Some people are just awesome. At some point I asked them for the nicest trails to take and if there were hills on them. One of the ladies answered: Hills? There are no hills here! and gave me some suggestions which way to take best. That is what I wanted to hear. So I took the suggested trails and ended up on some pretty muddy and bumpy trails. Some parts were that muddy that it was simply impossible to cycle through them. So I was forced to push my bike. This is literally the last thing you want to do when you are on a cycling trip. At least the area was flat as the lady from the flower shop said. I stopped at a café in the city Soltau for ice cream and coffee. I texted my friend Torben from Hamburg that I would come through his town the next day and that we should meet. He called me back in just that moment when I hopped on my bike again to keep going. He asked me where I was in that right moment. At a gas station in the city center of Soltau I said. He answered: I know which gas station you mean. It's not far from my office. Wait there! I'm leaving my office right now and will be there in a few minutes. Literally just a few minutes later he and his girlfriend showed up. We decided to go to a restaurant in the city center to get dinner together. It was great to catch up and to reminisce about our mutual studies abroad in Ireland. After having a pizza and more ice cream I kept pedaling direction north. I checked in to a camp site for that night.
Once again it started to rain really bad right before I arrived Hamburg the next day. So my sexy plastic bag rain outfit was used again. I planned to crush the couch of an old military friend who lives in the northern part of Hamburg that night. Means, I had to go through entire Hamburg. I followed the signs for cycling paths to make my way to the northern end. Unfortunately they sometimes just ended somewhere in nowhere which made it difficult and also annoying to find to my friend’s house. Pedaling through the heavy rain didn't make the situation better at all. Also, there was one more thing that made the situation even worse. Some pedestrians didn't seem to care about me or any other cyclist. They had only eyes for their phones. Instead of watching out for cyclist when crossing the cycling lane they were only staring into their phones. Most of them were even yelling at me when I used the bell or shouted to warn them that I was coming. Very strange! I started to realize that cyclists apparently are at the end of the traffic hierarchy. It seems to be motorized vehicles first, then pedestrians, then probably everything else and then cyclists last.
I arrived wet but happy at my friend’s house and got exuberantly welcomed by his dog which couldn't stop to lick my legs. I had no idea that I was that delicious after sitting in the saddle for almost two weeks. Due to the shitty weather there was no reason to leave the house that night. So we stayed in, had a few beers and caught up and created ideas for our next trips and challenges. I didn't have a single drink on this trip and I also didn't drink for a while before I started it. So I was really feeling the beers when I went to bed late at night. I left Hamburg the next afternoon and got to experience some of the worst cycling lanes that I have ever used in my life. Some of them were in really bad conditions. They were either broken through tree roots or more like cross bike tracks. This was something I didn't expect of Hamburg at all. Thus far I experienced this city always as a very cyclist friendly place. Cycling through Hamburg this day and the day before gave me another perspective on this place. It seems like that only the cycling lanes in city center and the popular areas of Hamburg are in good conditions but the more you leave those areas behind the worse it gets. The first thought I had when I left Hamburg and entered my home state Schleswig-Holstein was: I am almost home. Only two more days. I think there is no greater motivation than knowing that you'll be home soon. At that point all the frustrations and thoughts about giving up were blown away. I pedaled through the country side and numerous villages and of course it started to rain again after some time. What else!? I thought: It is actually unbelievable how much it can rain during midsummer. Can you even call it summer? Are these the effects of climate change? I really have no answer to these questions. I negotiated a good price at a guest house in the city Bad Bramstedt where I stayed that night. I met with my younger brother Thomas in the city Neumünster the next day. As soon as I arrived it started shivering again. So we spend some time in a café and got coffee and cake. Luckily it stopped raining after some time so I got back on my bike continued my way. Thomas escorted me for a few kilometers on his new bicycle but turned at some point to go home again. I thought: Tomorrow I'll also be home. Finally! The closer I got to Flensburg the more signs I saw saying: Flensburg XX kilometers. Every single sign made me feel really excited. The last night of this trip I stayed at a hostel in the city Schleswig which is only 40 kilometers away from my final destination - Flensburg. Now it would take only another 2-3 hours until I would be back at home.
If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign for Doctors without Borders and make a small donation. Cheers!
Km on the clock: 750
It was still raining the next morning but the weather forecast predicted sunshine for that day. The guest house manager said to me: Just wait for a bit. The sun will come out soon for sure. So I took my time at the breakfast buffet. It was around 11 am when the rain stopped so I put the panniers on my bike and started cycling in direction north. The terrain was pretty hilly. Every hill was another challenge. Cycling during sunshine was a great feeling after pedaling through permanent rain and surviving Doomsday the previous days. I arrived the city Eschwege in the early afternoon and was wondering that so many people were dressed like hippies or were wearing rubber boots. My first instinct was that it might be a thing or temporary fashion in this town. The closer I came to the city center the more I heard loud music and started to realize that it is not a thing. The Open Flair Festival was taking place that weekend. So I pushed my bike through a crowd of drunk people wobbling over the streets. I grabbed a drink and enjoyed the festival atmosphere for a while. I followed the trail alongside the river Werra when I left Eschwege. The river is surrounded by hills and woods. The castle ruin Hanstein on top of one of these hills make the whole valley flair perfect. The partly muddy trail was lined with blackberry bushes which literally forced me to nibble from them. I can highly recommend to cycle the Werratal-Cycling trail. That night I finally got to use my tent again. I set up my night camp behind a corn field right at the river Leine just a few kilometers outside of the city Göttingen. I realized that I cycled about 90 kilometers that day which was my personal best and then got some good sleep. While packing my stuff the next morning a farmer with his tractor appeared to cut the lawn around the corn field. I was a bit afraid that he would chase me away but instead was only waving at me to say hello. I was not sure if wild camping is also not allowed in Lower Saxony like in Bavaria. Relieved not to get in any trouble I headed into Göttingen. I spent some time in Göttingen got a coffee and later a Döner kebab for lunch. I think I have never seen a city with so many kebab places before. I passed a spot where literally five kebab restaurants were right next to each other. All their advertising were saying that they have the best kebab in town. I decided for the restaurant which offered the most space to park my bicycle. I cannot tell if this place served the best kebab in town but I was satisfied with the result. It was the first time that I had a mental down. I was actually surprised, the last day just went great for me and ended with a personal best. It was really hard to keep moving if your mind is not in the right place. I caught myself a few times thinking: Just give up and go home. The next train station is coming soon for sure. At the same time I thought: Giving up is not an option. Apart from my personal mind games I realized that there was something wrong with my left hand. The left part of it felt numb and I was unable to compress my pinky and ring finger with the rest of my hand. A bit scared that I probably close to an apoplexy or heart attack I kept cycling to the city Hildesheim. I just did not want to camp somewhere in the wilderness that night just in case it was something really serious. Although the weather was perfect for camping. So I ended up in a hotel in the city center of Hildesheim that night. Staying at a hotel gave me the security that the ambulance would at least find me if I was about to die. That would be for sure way more difficult if I would have camped somewhere outside. Well, I did not die that night. I went to the emergency room for a medical check the next morning. After a few electro shock tests and a computer tomography it turned out that a nerve in my left elbow was incarcerated from putting too much pressure on it. The doctor gave me two options for the regeneration. Either to put the left arm into a cast or take some strong pills three times a day and make sure that my cycling position is straight all the time from now on. I chose the pills. I thought: I made it so far so I will not give up cause of some stupid injury yet. I had no idea that it would become that difficult to cycle in the same position for the next days.
After some sightseeing in the historic city center of Hildesheim I made my way further up north to the city Celle. By the way, Hildesheim is beautiful. It is one of the places that I would definitely visit again. I went through several small towns in the eastern suburbs of Hanover and made it to the city Celle that day. I luckily arrived at a hostel right before a thunderstorm came up. Making it to Celle that day also meant that I cycled 750 kilometers in total. The same thought that I had after 500 kilometers came up to my mind: From now on it is only going downhill.
If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign for Doctors without Borders and make a small donation. Cheers!
Km on the clock: 530
The next morning I enjoyed the breakfast buffet including rolls, scrambled eggs, yogurt, orange juice and hot fresh brewed coffee. I sat at the window, looked out of the window across the market place to the church and asked myself: How can I protect myself from the heavy rain if it would be as bad as the days before? First, I decided to arrange myself better plastic bags than the ones I had the day before. Seriously, the yellow plastic bags are not recommendable. Second, I should get some rain shoes to make sure that my feet would stay dry and warm. I asked the hotelier for plastic bags. He kindly gave me some big blue ones which made a way more solid impression to me than the yellow ones. I went to every single sports and bike shop that I could find in this small town to ask for rain shoes. There was only one shop which had a single pair of them. Unfortunately they were too small for me. Going to all of these shops also gave me the chance to do some sightseeing in Meiningen. I visited Elisabethenburg Palace where a primary school enrollment event just ended. I felt a bit sorry for these six years old kids because it was their first day of school in their lives and it had to be on a Saturday. I really hope for them that it will be the only day that they have to attend for school on weekends.
I left Meiningen and started cycling in direction the state Hesse. I was a bit disappointed that I could not get the much needed rain shoes which made me concerned about another day in rainy hell. At the same time I was also glad that I had new plastic bags with me and that it did not rain yet. I hoped that the weather would stay like that for a long time knowing that it would not. The sky was covered with dark grey clouds.
I do not know exactly where but at some point I crossed the 500 kilometers mark that day. It was probably around that time when the heavy rain started again. So I stopped at a bus stop and created a rain poncho and a new pair of rain shoes out of my new plastic bags and celebrated the halftime of Expedition1000GER with a handful of gummy bears. When I realized that I went half way through the country I thought: From now on it is only going downhill. Well, it did not. This area of Thuringia is quite hilly so I had to use the first gear of my bike a lot to climb up the hills. At some point I caught myself making faces while pedaling uphill. I am sure it was not a pretty picture. Everyone who ever went to a gym and observed people lifting heavy weights knows what I am talking about. I arrived the village Richelsdorf in Hesse that evening and decided to stay again at a guest house for the night. The weather conditions just did not allow to camp outside. I even started to ask myself: Why do you even carry all that camping equipment with you? Just send it back home. At the same time I hoped that the weather would become better the next days. There was a group of elderly men at the bar of the guest house looking quite funny at me when I walked in in my plastic bag outfit. I checked in, got some dinner and dried once again my clothes for the next day. If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign for Doctors without Borders and make a small donation. Cheers! |
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