SCoR Cycle Tour in Denmark
“We easily survived our first bike tour in Denmark” was Andrea Ashton’s Facebook post about the trip. Though on day 3 of the trip, they did purchase gel seats to soften the ride on their rental bikes. Until this year, Andrea and her husband Terry did not own bicycles. They bought bikes this spring and began riding on the Devonian pathway in preparation for the trip.
The basic rule for this trip was that we could stop at any time for any reason; to put more clothes on, to take clothes off, to take pictures, to enjoy the scenery, to have coffee or a beer or just to rest.
Denmark’s terrain in some respects is similar to southern Saskatchewan, largely flat with a few rolling hills. Though on the first day some of us pushed our bikes up the first real hill, by the fifth day we were all riding up every hill. And of course, on every day, the downhill side was a blast.
The route that we followed gave us a taste of most of what Denmark had to offer. We cycled: through Copenhagen, past the Queen’s palace and the Little Mermaid statue, along the Baltic Sea with some wading and swimming, through small communities, past a windmill, the Louisiana modern art gallery and several castles, into the world’s oldest amusement park (Bakken), through forests, along lakes and through the royal hunting preserve (with two bucks posing for pictures only, no shooting). The trip also provided for a ferry ride to Sweden and some cycling there. We skipped this side trip and spent more time exploring in Helsingør, home of Hamlet’s Castle. Lots of great photos were taken on all of these sights.
Though it rains a lot in Denmark, for some reason, most of the rain on our trip fell either during the night or when we were eating supper inside a restaurant. And the temperature during the day was perfect for cycling.
The people of Denmark have made cycling a very safe mode of transportation. There are designated cycling paths everywhere. And, where the path is beside a major highway, there is a good separation between the two. There are bicycle underpasses so you can avoid crossing busy roadway. And where no underpass exists, there are often traffic signals specifically designed for cyclists. There are even air pumps along some of the routes that you can use to pump up your tires.
The highlight of the trip for me was cycling through the varied terrain, from sea to forest to farmland. My wife’s (Dianne’s) highlights were interacting with the actors at Kronberg Castle who were performing portions of “Hamlet” and sampling wild blackberries by the side of the route.
Terry, Andrea, Dianne and I are preparing to cycle in Finland in 2019. Hopefully you and/or some of your family will join us.
By Greg Swanson
Our Bikers – Greg, Dianne, Andrea, and Terry
For more details on the trip please see the tour company’s website, http://bike-denmark.dk/…/royal-zealand-copenhagen-and-swed…/
Tour price, including hotel, route instructions and moving of luggage, was about 750 Euros, plus 100 Euros extra if you wish to rent a bike. Click here to help you convert Canadian dollars to Euros and visa versa.