When going to bed last night, I was already feeling quite cold, and it doesn't get better all night. When I wake up in the morning, I'm still shivering, and it turns out that I have a fever...just perfect, exactly what I need on a bike tour! Spending another night in the tent next to the cold lake is not an option, so after some thinking, we decide to check into a nearby hotel, and hope to be able to continue cycling tomorrow. Unfortunately, the only hotel close by is the Valhöll, and it's quite luxurious, and thus expensive. Through a [View Full Entry]

---

---

Late morning, the sun (!) wakes us, and we crawl out of our tent for some breakfast and coffee. Using the "super special" burning liquid bought in an outdoor shop in Reykjavik almost sets the tent on fire, because it produces a high flame, and all efforts to extinguish or control the size of the flame are in vain. Additionally, it completely covers all cookware involved in a thick layer of black soot. Quality stuff! Just for reference, if you own a Trangia using liquid fuel and you value your life, do not use Primus PowerFuel! To extinguish the flame, we [View Full Entry]

---

---

Having just arrived in the "Smoky Bay" yesterday, we were happy to be able to sleep through our first night of - well - no night. Around June 21st, the days in Iceland are neverending, and even in the south, it never gets even remotely dark. The bikes still packed away in bags, our first mission for the day is to assemble them. Also, two of my former colleagues from Edinburgh uni, an Icelandic couple, recently moved back to Reykjavik. When we got in touch with them, they were eager to meet up - another item on the agenda. Meeting Stefan [View Full Entry]

---

---

Day of arrival - if not without problems. It's the classical situation, almost ripe for a movie...you're almost there, but yet so far...anyways, let's start from the beginning. Waking up a last time, we go through the usual ritual: I make coffee, Hans takes down the tent, we have some breakfast, then get on our way. The road is good, but my rear tyre has lost pressure once again overnight and needs to be pumped up again. Not a good sign, but we're only about 50km from Lepel, surely it will last at least until we're there! Also, we're running pretty [View Full Entry]

---

---

I wake up around 9 and the rain has finally stopped - no excuse to stay in bed any longer! Time to get up, make some coffee - and it starts raining again, fortunately before we start taking down the tent. So: back inside, play a round of cards, then another and another and another... As predicted by Hans' rule of thumb, the weather changes at 11 and we can take down the tent and get on the way. But the legs are tired (mine at least), the first 30kms a real torture. Around noon, we find a small shop and [View Full Entry]

---

---

What a helpful bunch of people these Belarussians are! Some of the friendliest people I've met on our journey I met today, here in Belarus. But first, let's talk about what happened... Around 9am it seems that the rain finally stops and we crawl out of our tent that held up well against the storm. We use the last of our water for some coffee and continue along the M7 towards Ashmani. The first problem: we need money. I try a cash machine, but it turns out that Belarussian cash points don't accept debit cards. Fortunately, I have some Litas left [View Full Entry]

---

---

Early morning I wake up - around 5:30 - probably because of my less than pleasant sleeping position: as we put the tent up on a slight slope, my head is actually about 10cm lower than my feet, which didn't make for a great night's sleep. Then I realise: it's 6:30! Forgot about the time difference again, I really must change my clock forward. As Hans is up as well, we decide to just get up, pack away our stuff and flee the still mosquito-infested meadow. In the next town on the way, Eliskes, we stop to get some cake for [View Full Entry]

---

---

Day 11 of our journey, and the legs are starting to feel tired. A good thing that the road out of Druskininkai is absolutely perfect: sheltered from the wind, flat, and the sun is not too hot. On our way out of Druskininkai, we get lost once again (as we did on the way out of pretty much every single larger town). Two Lithuanian women, dressed up in their fancy car, offer to not only help us find the way, but drive with us to make sure we find it. Once they made sure we found the right junction, we have [View Full Entry]

---

---

The last (half) day in Poland! Apparently, our tent was hidden well enough as nobody found us (or was bothered with us being where we were). As usual, we start the day off with some coffee, where I almost manage to set fire to the forest floor because I spill some cooking spirit. We get on our way towards Lithuania. As if someone was trying to keep us from reaching the border, the headwind picks up and makes cycling a real pain. Traffic is perfect though, not even the Nr. 16 route people warned me of manages to come up with [View Full Entry]

---

---

For the first time in over a week we get rain. And, of course, it has to happen in the middle of the night. Quickly get out of the tent, pull the rain cover over the tent, and retreat back into the dry inside. Fortunately, the rain doesn't last and is gone by the time we get up in the morning. A coffee and some bread later, we're back on the road towards Lithuania. If everything goes according to plan, today should be our last day in Poland, we'll cross the border tomorrow. Just when I'm starting to get used to [View Full Entry]

---

---