Forest Grump

A testing four days for me. I'm using Google Maps now and it's keeping me clear of the roads which is great.

But the route instead is leading to madness, gravel tracks around farmers fields with big pot holes in them, single track through overgrown bushes and public bridleways that haven't been used for years.

I would say 30 percent of my daily ride has been completely offroad, the rest on cyclepaths.

It's rained a lot over those four days as well. One day was particularly bad. I was completely lost in a big forest for about 90 mins. Just loads of tracks going in different directions. I had no signal on my phone so I was just pedalling around, the bike was taking a hammering and I was concerned about the tyres blowing out, as they were road slicks.

I had to keep stopping and climbing over fallen trees, it was a proper test of mental and physical strength.
I wouldn't say I was worried but I was  definitely getting apprehensive about the situation.

Eventually I came across a wider path that I presume the logging trucks drove down, so I followed one until it came out at a paved road. I still had no signal so it was a case of turn left or right. I went left.
After a few miles the road went back into a forest! Anyway, after another big loop I came out on a road, I had signal on my phone so I could follow it to my campsite.
After 20 minutes of riding on the road I passed my original junction where I'd turned left! If only I'd of gone right I'd of been miles closer to my destination by now, but hey, these are the breaks.

I don't feel sorry for myself when it goes a bit wrong, I try to stay pragmatic. I have my tent and food so I could of camped in the woods if need be. But I had time on my side and it's just a case of keeping going and not getting stressed out. A good lesson for life as well.

After two days of forest trails I camped near a decent sized town, in the morning I called in at a local bike shop. I asked if he could replace a broken spoke, true the wheel up and swap my tyres for mountain bike ones. I also had a snapped bolt so my back rack wasn't held on very securely.
He was a great guy, he said come back in 2 hours and it'll be done for you.

I was so happy when I returned and it was all done, it may not seem a big deal but when it's your primary mode of transport and you're in the middle of a foreign country it means a lot. 
Straight out of the bike shop and onto the gravel, the tyres made such a big difference. 

Anyway, that little bit of offroad action was certainly an experience. Today, I rode 25 miles following the River Fulda. It was on a wide, paved cycle path and it was beautiful. Got a nice campsite for 2 nights, Sunday tomorrow so a day off the bike. Get my washing done and relax.

Plus, when I checked into camp they gave me a large plastic container with a screw lid on. It's for me to put my food in so the raccoons don't steal it.

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