That look pretty much sums up the trip…

Last weekend, three of us planned another little biking adventure from Hamburg central train station to a campground on the Baltic Sea coast. When it was first mentioned, the trip was estimated at about 160km/100mi round trip. A closer look at the map (or perhaps our first look) showed that it’s actually 300km/186mi). Hmm…

We took off from Hamburg at a very late 3pm after the train trip up from Wolfenbüttel. The thinking was that the trip up there should take about 8 hours and at the worst 9 hours. Either way, we were going to arrive before midnight.

We pulled in to the campground at 2am after an 11 hour trip…

Why? Wind…

We’re so happy right there, just chilling and enjoying a little break in the breeze. As you may guess, this pic wasn’t snapped at 2am.

Speaking of snapping…

The trip up started out fine but the wind never let up. Having that constant drag on your progress when you know how far the trip is and how much weight in baggage you’re carrying was not a fun mental distraction.

It got dark around 8:30-9:00 and quite cold. Around 10 we were in a small village where a party was already underway (for some guests a bit longer than others). They helped us spot the next turn and we took a nice break for an even-colder-than-us beer.

Shortly thereafter we rode down a seemingly dead-end road. It turned out to be connected by a short ferry actually, a first for me on a bike. When we finally passed through Eckernförde, an estimated 2 hours from our destination, the mood lifted and we picked up the pace as much as we could.

This is where things get a bit weird. After already riding for 8-9 hours, you’re not the sharpest tack. Also, riding in the dark deprives you of your ability to estimate speed and distance. We rode at that increased pace for what seemed like 30-45 minutes and then saw a sign that said we’d only covered 2km!

This was probably a sign problem because shortly thereafter another showed we’d covered 18km. Obviously this part of the country has signage problems because they didn’t stop there.

As we FINALLY were within 10km of the campground, we’d see signs which pointed in two different directions on the same pole for the same town (Schuby left 4km, Schuby right 3km). Due to this and our dimmed intellect at 1:30am, we ended up riding an extra hour finding our way.

That was a really strenuous ride with baggage and headwind and everyone was pretty much down for the count upon arrival. The last 30 minutes of riding is kind of a blur for me. I do really remember drifting off mentally a few times on the bike and then being suddenly flashed with the reality of where I was and what I had been doing.

Surreal.

So, yes, at 2am we finally reached headquarters.

Our day of rest and relaxation on the beach was hampered a bit by the weather. Luckily enough, it only rained the ENTIRE day so there was no need to stress out making plans.

Oh, did I mention the wind?

The two-man tent gave out in the evening, collapsing under the rain and gusting sea breeze. So we had to move our stuff to a porch attached to an RV. That was sturdier and greatly appreciated but unfortunately didn’t really yield much sleep. It was simply freezing out. I wore all of the clothes I had packed so I could sleep comfortably.

After about 7 hours of toss-turn sleeping, the alarm clock signaled the start of a new nightmare. We now needed to ride back! I wasn’t too thrilled since the rain had still not stopped and somehow the wind direction had shifted 180° within 24 hours giving us another headwind to deal with.

The day started out with a lot of missteps and wrong directions again due to the signs. Then, the first flat tire of the day. Unfortunately there’s no picture…but don’t worry, there’s a picture of the second.

Shortly after this we were back in Eckernförde. It’s one of the only larger cities in the area and I had to be realistic with my ability to continue. The other two riders are way fitter than I am. If I would have kept riding and slowing them down, no one would have made it to Hamburg before the last train left. So, I gave up and took the train…

Total Trip Stats: 195km/121mi

The other guys made it all the way back to Hamburg which was very impressive considering the time constraint! Oh…and did I mention the other flat tire they had?

…or this one?

…or maybe this one?

Ok, I think you might get the idea. We had enough difficulties and bad weather on this one. Hopefully the next outing goes smoother!

Göttingen - Wolfenbüttel

I still want to tackle the trip from Wolfenbüttel to Hamburg in a single day. So, training has to start somewhere this summer.

A nice excuse to go visit a buddy in Göttingen, combined with our free Lower Saxony travel card put everything in place to take the rail down and bike back.

This is the same route (opposite direction) that was used when traveling to Eschwege last year but the bikes have changed. No more lady speedsters…we’re actually on real bikes.

It took 6 hours of real time, 4.5 hours of ride time to cover the 97km (60mi) distance. This isn’t too bad for not doing anything “big” yet this year.

Granted, this is a pretty tame route with lots of gentle downhill stretches and hardly any mentionable climbs…very pretty though.

Still a long ways to go to cover the WF-HH trip (about double as far) but the summer’s just begun.

Fifteen hour time lapse of the Milky Way from the Paranal Laboratory in Chile.

I’m using a hidden 4-measure loop mode (usually it’s an 8-count 2-measure limit). You can switch it on by:

1. hold down the TAP / BPM and LOOP REC / PLAY buttons
2. switch the unit on
3. hold down the TAP / BPM and press LOOP REC / PLAY to access the loop count menu
4. switch it to the newly activated 16 count setting

“Der Computer Nr. 3” from France Gall on German television in 1968. Note the outbreak of enthusiasm in the audience.

“We don’t need flawless robots. We need human beings with rough edges, with all their weaknesses and wonderful qualities.”

The original German being:

“Wir brauchen doch keine fehlerfreien Roboter. Wir brauchen Menschen mit Ecken und Kanten und mit allen ihren Schwächen und ihren wunderbaren Eigenschaften.”

A list of ancient sites that moved megalithic stones, organized according to the size of the largest megalith on the site. A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. In all cases at least one colossal stone over ten tons has been moved to create the structure or monument. Documented in recent times, there is a list of efforts to move colossal stones that used technology that wasn’t more advanced than the technology the ancient civilizations used.

- List of Megalithic Sites

Taken in 2004 on my 25 hour straight-shot trip from SD to Los Angeles. The next picture after this was of a sign “Now Leaving Colorful Colorado.” I can only assume that was the home of this stretch of highway.

One day of color in the past ten. Nasty. The trip to work took a bit longer than usual for some reason!

In the style of Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser. Nice name, right? Found in the Uelzen Railway Station.

The Jungfernstieg station in Hamburg, Germany. This part opened in 1975 and seems to have retained its original flair.

…well that’s one way to secure your festive store mascot. Spotted outside the year-round Christmas store in Bremen, Germany.