ÆrøIsland (Denmark Day 10)

It was a multimodal day! We woke up early to a delicious breakfast buffet to power us for the day ahead. (How many cheeses and fresh baked breads and veggies and yummy goodness?!? I don't know because I forgot to take a pic.) I chowed down and nabbed the new rental bike--adjusted to my particular leg length the day before--to zip on down the hill to the ferry. Was I almost run over in that 5 minutes? Not that time. It felt like a car might hit me at any time in the shared lane.


I ran a bit late, but managed to get to the ferry to Ærø Island with some minutes to spare. I've never taken a vehicle onto a ferry before, so riding our bikes into the hold was kind of cool. Bikes, cars, and a dump truck full of soil parked in the hold. 

Most of us in our crew went up top and outside to enjoy the views and "fresh" air. (Why the air quotes? The ferry's diesel exhaust occasionally drifted down to us. Plus, what seems like a lot of Danish people still smoke. Weird, I know, but true. It's a bummer for those of us that have asthma. Anyway, I digress...) Watching the various islands and beachfront homes go by refreshed my appreciation of the sea.


After about an hour, we pulled into the ferry port at ÆrøIsland. Per a guy we met in the train from Copenhagen to Svendborg the day before, there used to be three ferry ports on the island, but they were consolidated into one. 

Once on the island, we gathered for the last repeat instructions. Reapply sunscreen. Stay hydrated. Eat ice cream (or other snacks). Follow the route. Be back before 5 so we don't miss the return ferry. Then we set off for our bike Tour de Ærø.

The ride followed the coastline to Marshal, around the south end of the island, and up the west coast before cutting back across and down to the ferry port. Was it beautiful? Yes. Have I seen that much grain growing since visiting my dad in Pullman, Washington as a kid? No. 

Did I scare a herd of cattle into running away when I almost biffed it into a ditch and wire fence going downhill on gravel with a turn in the road and hidden washboard? ABSO-F***ING-LUTELY. (Sorry, cows.) 
{No picture available as I simply tried not to die or be permanently maimed. Shout out to my childhood rural southeast Ohio years learning to bike on a gravel hill driveway with a turn and barbed wire fence at said turn.}

Was I ready for biking 27+ miles up and down hills with a headwind even if part of it went along the coast? No, no, not really. 

Did I see a literal swan lake? Almost, it was a little bay or harbor. (Zoom in on the water to see the swan flock.)

As for the biking infrastructure reviews, I preferred the paved paths/roads--even the shared ones--over the gravel ones--especially the shared ones. It seemed like the locals took care to share the road while the summer-home-Audi types looked aggrieved at anyone else being on the road. If it weren't for the reckless and rude summer drivers, I'd say the shared rural roads worked just fine.

A few times, I wished for a diagram of the bike routes with a "Du er her" star on or something. The way finding helped now and then, but car drivers definitely got more help than bike riders when it came to a signs at key junctures. This particular corner had great signs, a bus stop, a garbage can, a local happenings poster hut thing, and bike parking. Oh, and a picnic table.

To cap it all off, I didn't find bike parking near the local restaurant with ice cream near the ferry port, so I popped into the grocery store, found ice cream, and had a pint of pro-body autonomy Ben n Jerry's for my after-biking snack / dinner. We all made it back, took the ferry, and rested for the continuing endurance tests.

Next up: "Please don't kill me," a mantra for highway riding

Random pic(s) of the day: The ceramic (?) chicken displays behind the one shop I found asking the way that had water for sale (cold! And Cokes!) Zoom in for the full glory.

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