Notre trajet au Danemark (Vidéo)

Benoît décrit notre trajet en vélo au Danemark: le long des 750 kilomètres au totale, de Hanstholm du nord de l'île de Jutland, où notre ami David de Winnipeg Canada nous a rejoint pour deux semaines de vélo, jusqu'à Copenhague de la côte est de l'île de Seeland.

Our route through Denmark (Video)

Michèle describes the route that we bicycled in Denmark: a total of 750 kilometres from Hanstholm in north Jutland, where our friend David from Winnipeg Canada met up with us for two weeks of cycling, to Copenhagen in the east of Zealand.

A short video montage of Iceland

This is my first try using video editing software. I pieced together four clips of video that we shot while in Iceland. My apologies for the inconsistent sound level. In the first clip (Lava), I diminished the sound of the wind, so don't adjust your sound for that part. In the third clip (Wind), I left in the blasting sound of the wind even though it completely drowns out what Benoit was saying as he pointed the camera in the direction we were heading.

Our New Bikes (Thorn Sherpas)

Finally, we get to try out our Thorn Sherpas. We ordered these bikes about a year and a half ago. The reason for this was the economic crisis. The British pound was low and the price of the Sherpa was going up. At least that what it said on the website. So, we just went for it and got the bikes delivered here at my father's place. The delivery company was totally incompetent. They were not able to find my father's address (an address that shows up in Google maps). It took my father some significant effort to get them delivered properly. Really stressful and annoying when you're thousands of kilometers away.

When assembling the bikes I realized that one of the them had a bent derailleur hanger. Damage from transport I guess. The warranty was no longer available but Mr Thorn was very helpful. Returning my emails within an hour. He sent me pictures and instructions on how to bend it back. The bend was not too bad and I was able get it straightened out using a wrench (or spanner) and a set of pliers. Using the brand new derailleur as a lever was not an option.

Once put together we realized that the brakes are reversed. Will take some time to get use to it I guess. But in the mean time we have to be careful not to fly over our handlebars when slamming on the back brake. One annoying thing is that the braking system does not come with barrel adjusters. Something I really like to have when fine tuning brakes. The side wall of our rims is ceramic. Brake pads for ceramic rim are really expensive. 25 British pounds for a set of four. That's like almost fifty bucks! When choosing the frame I went for the smaller one. I choose the 560S (55 cm top tube) rather then the 535L ( 57 cm top tube). The bike feels really nice but I'll probably end up getting a slightly longer stem. So maybe the 535L would have been the better choice. At this point, I don't really care. We haven't tried them fully loaded yet but I can already tell they're going to be amazing bikes. Enjoy these pictures that include a nice view of the Mt Aiguille in the background.

More photos from Denmark

We have posted a few more photos from our trip in Denmark. If you want to see them all, you can find them here: Denmark 2010 photos

Cutting short the European part of our trip

Benoit writes: We have decided to cut short the first part of our trip through Europe. Iceland gave us a warm welcome even though, at times, it was quite cold. Its cheap and empty campgrounds. Its vast spaces and lava fields coupled with nightless nights have left something surreal in our minds. Once in Denmark, we were faced with the realities of populated and expensive Europe. Not the adventure that offered Iceland. In addition, the ticking time on our Schengen visa forced our decision to fly to France and get ready for the second part of the trip.

I think that one mistake we made is to dream too much about this adventure. It has come to our attention that the cycling is actually the easiest part. We imagined taking time off to have all the time in the world to enjoy life and do what we want. Truth is, we are constanlty pressed for time. Our TO DO List is never empty and even updating this blog is proving difficult. This miscalculation has left people disappointed. Caught up in the "theoretical" aspects of the trip, we told many people that we would pass by and visit them and stay for a while. The reality is that we have to move on.

Saying goodbye to the old bikes in Copenhagen

Benoit writes: We decided to catch a flight from Copenhagen to Lyon. And, instead of packing up our bikes, we decided to donate them. I wanted sell them to raise a few more bucks for the trip but people have been so generous that I felt it was our turn to return a little something to the universe. Good thing we did because we wouldn't have had the chance to ride a cargo bike through Copenhagen with the rest of our equipment. Thanks to Bryant from Baisikeli. Also, thanks to Emilie and Roy for letting us camp in their back yard and giving us large boxes to put our equipment in for the flight.

Ready to donate at Baisikeli (Swahili for bicycle), where they restore old bikes to send to Africa.

The cargo bike that Baisikeli lent us to get to the metro with our boxes.

Bicycle friendly Denmark

Denmark is a country built around the bicycle. There is an extensive network of numbered bicycle routes throughout. David bought a cycling map in Copenhagen: Cykelkort Danmark 1:500.000. The 'y' in Danish is pronounced like 'ew' in 'few', so the word 'cykel' for bicycle sounds a bit like 'sookle'. We did a lot more "off roading" in Denmark than we had expected. Sometimes the bicycle path was a gravel road that was more difficult to traverse than the ones we saw in Iceland. Along the western coast of Denmark, for example, the bike paths running alongside the dunes had many sand traps. The forest path in the photo below, on the other hand, was a tranquil ride out of the sun and mostly downhill.

Forest bike path along what used to be a railway track.

Hospitality of the Danes

It was late one Sunday evening. We arrived in a small town hoping to find a food store still open. Alas, the only store was open for two hours that morning. I was hunched over the map looking at distances to neighbouring towns. Benoit and David were discussing what food we had with us and whether we could muster up enough food until tomorrow. A man appeared from the closest house. He found out that we were from Canada and began waving us in towards his door. He has relatives in Canada, he said. I thought that perhaps he could tell us where to find a store open nearby. "Do you know ...?," I began. "I know everything. Come. Come," he said and waved us in to his house again. There, we met his wife and their dog Zilla. It was Zilla's barking that had alerted them to our presence out front. They invited us for dinner and to put our tents up in their yard overnight. As we were leaving in the morning, Birgitta offered us a gift of a box of tea. Something light enough that we can carry on our bicycles and that we can use, she said. We had only known each other for such a short time and yet I felt that she really understood the way that we are travelling. Thank you Hans! Thank you Birgitta! Thank you Zilla!

Belly rub, ahhhhhh.

Cycling with David in Denmark

Michèle says: From Iceland, we took the Smyril Line ferry. The journey lasted about three days. At least there was a small pool and sauna aboard. The ferry arrived in Hansholm Denmark where we were expecting our friend David to be waiting there for us. But when we rode off the boat, there was NO DAVID! It took us awhile to find internet to see if he had emailed us. The tourist office was closed (it was a Saturday). Someone told us that the nearest campground might have internet. That is where we read an email from David saying he was delayed by a day. I wish we hadn't taken the sweet Iceland prices of camping for granted. We were a bit shocked with the jump in price. About 30 euros per person. Ouch! We paid for a night at the campground, and had to dish out more money for a camping card (good for a year in all of Scandinavia) at the same time. The next morning, David arrived!

Benoit says: Happy to leave the expensive campground and head out with our friend David who is always ready to ask anyone for directions. A habit that we have adopted and that is essential for good traveling. Thanks David. Let's hook up soon in some far off country.


Ready to go after three boring days on the ferry.

Notre trajet en Islande (Vidéo)

Benoît décrit notre trajet en vélo en Islande: le long des 1370 kilomètres au totale, de Keflavík au sudouest jusqu'à Seyðisfjörður dans les fjords de l'est.

Our route through Iceland (Video)

Michèle describes the route that we bicycled in Iceland: a total of 1370 kilometres from Keflavík in the southwest to Seyðisfjörður in the eastern fjords.