Lance Armstrong ain't got nothing on us

This past weekend was the Bornholm Bike Trip.

You take an overnight ferry to the island of Bornholm, arriving at 7 AM. Check into the hostel, eat breakfast, grab a bike, and you're free until 7 PM, at which point you eat dinner. Day two: repeat, and leave at 8:30 for the overnight ferry back to Copenhagen.

Details:

I was with a largish group, which was made up of:

Myself
A., a triathlete
A., who is Navy ROTC
L.,
N.,
C.,
and A.

We had biked for maybe an hour and a half when it was realized that we were following the triathlete and the ROTC-er, who had us set to bike 65 km. Uh-uh, Helllllls no.

So we split, with the triathlete, ROTC, and N. going one way, and L., A., C., and myself heading back into town for lunch. Mind you, it's about noon, we've been biking for over an hour, and we spent the night on a boat. I had slept decently, but none of the others had. Exhausted! After lunch, L., A., and C. wanted to nap, but I was recharged, so I biked around by myself for about three hours. Bornholm is BEAUTIFUL! Pictures below.



I can't even begin to describe how excited I was when I saw her. I almost crashed my bike.

I also saw these really neat, itty bitty module homes. IKEA-esque module homes. Check it out!
"Little boxes on a hillside" indeed!

Bornholm, by the way, is a small island that is criss crossed by bike trails like Cher should be criss crossed with wrinkles.

Also, it has so many birds it was a little like Hitchcock and Little House in the Big Woods exploded all over the place.

DAY TWO

Biked maybe 25 km very at a very leasurely pace, just taking in the good vibes and enjoying having a sore ass. Here's the other thing about Bornholm: it's hilly as all hell. When the Danish students in my kollegium told me that I thought, "yeah, but you think a three hour drive is a long trip. How hilly can it be?" The anser: very. Bornholm is the product of undersea volcanic activity, so it's damn bumpy. Thankfully, it's highest at the north end relative to where we were staying, and we biked mostly north, so it was downhill almost all the way home.

Met some animals:

We got sidetracked by this FANTASTIC antique shop, specifically old records, and then suddenly it was three in the afternoon. In Denmark, nearly everything closes by three on Sundays. Restaurants, shops, all closed. So there we were, starving, and all the places to eat were shutting their doors. Then it started to drizzle.

Thankfully, the grocery store was open, so we (oh! I was with N. and the triathlete) got a half loaf of bread, peanut butter (fuck yeah!), jelly, juice, and a Danish Little Debbie esque dessert. We found a nook in the building to shield us from the wind. Catch: it was by the recycle vent, so there was a nine foot tall pile of bags. Plus: there was a tiny table for people who came to drop off loads of stuff, and it was EMPTY!

Lunch was delicious.

OH we also saw one of the Round Churches - in fact, we saw the oldest Rouch Church in Denmark! Hooray! It was large, white, and round.


Lastly, I made a new friend: Ferdinand, the THREE LEGGED SWAN/GOOSE

Observations:
1) Danish lasagna does not include cheese. Seriously, Denmark. What?
2) White carrots exist, and taste like orange carrots
3) Bikes are rad

Danish phrase of the day:

"Jeg kan lide kartofler" (yai/ya cn li kahtohfluh) = I like potatoes. Actually, it translates more to "I endure potatoes" or "I tolerate potatoes" but it's the closest we can get.