Flat as a Pancake...

Riga's massive market place
Sells veg, and fish, and bangers.
Surprisingly, as you can see
It's made from Zeppelin hangers! 

Days 16 - 21      Distance 372 km

Riga - Padula

So we say goodbye to Klaus, who we have been criss-crossing paths with since Lithuania. He has given up his life in Germany to head off on two wheels, and has been on the road for 3 months now and on his way to Nordkapp. Good luck Klaus!

Question - What is worse than another endless road through the pines?

Answer - A BUSY endless road through the pines.

Admittedly it takes your mind off the scenery, as the thundering lorries and swerving cars give you more concerning things to think about like, "Am I going to die?"

But we didn't die, instead we hooked up for a few days with young Oliviere from France, who has been on the road for 8 months and also on his way to Nordkapp!

As we crossed into Estonia it started to rain on us. And the wind blew hard and tirelessly in our faces. And it was cold. And it rained. And there was nothing for days and days but this...

And this...

And this...

And camping in the woods...

Beautiful. But endless. And the only choices to be made were whether to take the neck-jarring gravel road, or the death-defying main road. In the end we managed to mix the two up making each one more bearable.

On the 4th day we came across a campsite and a much needed hot shower, and a 20 minute train ride into Tallinn. So us and our sore bums can have a day off the bikes tomorrow!

The great thing about cycling in Estonia is its very flat. The highest point in the whole country is Big Egg Mountain in the southeast, standing at a whopping 318 meters above sea level. The locals are very proud of this because it makes them taller than their neighbours Latvia - whose highest mound stands at a mere 311 meters.

The other great thing about the Baltics is the smoked fish!

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine...

Now I, as much as anyone,
Like a forest pine,
But days and days and days of them
Will likely dull your mind.

Days 10 - 15        Distance 350 km

Pavilosta - Riga (Latvia)

Our next stop was Ventspils, a great holiday town with lots of life, and a very bovine theme...

But after that...more endless pine...

Eventually, and for sanity's sake, we veered off the pine road and headed inland to Tulsi, a very pretty town where we camped on a lovely farm and were once again given home grown strawberries to feast on.

The closer we got to Riga (Latvia's capital) the busier it became (which wasn't hard because there had been NOTHING for days...) and we arrived on the eve of Latvia's biggest holiday - Jani - the summer solstice celebrations.
Originally a festival for pagan farmers long before the arrival of Christianity, traditions are kept very much alive. Everyone makes garlands of oak leaves and wild flowers, there is enchanting song and dance, and plenty of food and drink as nobody must sleep before dawn (we didn't even make midnight!)

But regardless of this wonderful celebration, Riga is a charming city with its art nouveau buildings and old cobbled streets, and well worth a city break.

I fear we may be heading back into endless pine territory for a few more days...wish us luck!

Steve's Hot Dogs...

There's been little to cheer about these last few days. Endless, tree lined dead straight roads, baking sun and then...just as we imagined ourselves home and dry in a nice little campsite...a monumental thunderstorm! We shared this biblical event with two fellow travellers, albeit on foot - a pair of very friendly French girls.
I think one of them, Marie Antoinette, fancied me because she donated two eggs. Not those sort of eggs...two hard boiled ones! But Julia pointed out that it was more likely she thought I looked a tad calorie deficient and took pity on me...hmmm.

And so, to this week's Spot the Dog.

It's unusual to reach such giddy heights so early on, but this one is truly up there with the best when it comes to man's best friend.
It needs very little walking, not much food, doesn't bark or sniff other dog's bits, there are no vet bills and you can even take it on holiday. But, best of all, when it's not being a dog - it's being a BBQ!

Rest assured folks, I will keep an eye out for the next candidate, although as you can see, due to some local restrictions it's been a struggle!

The Rough and The Smooth...

Some days the wind blows harsh in your face,
The road is uphill, and slow is the pace,
The sun can be searing - sunburn is tough,
Or it's so hot and humid you can't drink enough.
Sometimes your legs ache, your neck and your arms,
And cycling seems to have lost all it's charms.
Long, endless days on a long, endless track, 
Your energy's gone and you can't get it back.

Then one day you wake...and the weather is splendid!
It's warm and it's dry and the harsh heat has ended.
The wind is behind you, you feel young again,
You can hardly remember the heat and the rain...
And suddenly everything seems to be fine,
And you realise you're having a wonderful time!
But make haste and pedal while you're feeling so high,
Cause it can all change with the blink of an eye...

Strawberry Fields Forever

The ever changing Baltic weather
Makes your skin go tough like leather,
It's far more changeable, I'd say
Than anything in the UK.

Days 5-9   Distance 187 km  

Nide (Lithuania) - Pavilosta (Latvia)

Cycling across the Lithuanian half of the Curonian Spit was glorious. Cycle paths criss-crossed through endless tall pine forests right next to the beach.

We were in such a good mood when we finally reached the end of he Spit that we didn't even mind paying the extortionate amount of €1 for 2x people and 2x bikes for the ferry crossing over to Klaipeda.
Now, I'm going to give you a little holiday tip here - go to Palanga. Cheap flights, loads of bike rentals, miles of flat pine forests and beaches to explore - a super relaxing holiday could be had there.
The atmosphere was great, even with the Harley Davidson bike rally in full swing, and it was a pity we couldn't hang around a few more hours for the fish soup to be ready...

But from then on things went downhill. A small pedestrian bridge required crossing, no problem there you would think. Unless you meet hundreds of people all in a frantic rush to get nowhere in particular. Stuck in the middle, unable to move and with hoardes of "busy" holiday-makers squashing past us in both directions, the bridge started to sway. I seriously thought we might all take a dive at one point...

But we made it into Latvia - despite the relentless heat.

Next, Steve decided to get off the road and follow a cycle path that was showing on his map...uh-oh. 4km's of neck-jarring, bumpy gravel tracks that then turned into bog...

Then into sand...

Before we gave it up and headed back to the road.
But, our faith in the world was restored the next day when we were flagged down by a couple who wanted to give us their delicious home-grown strawberries. We had a nonsense conversation and a photo session, and left the best of friends.

And all was good with the world...until it started raining. After sheltering for hours and realising it wasn't going to stop, we booked a hotel in the nearest town, and tested our rain-proof gear out for the next 20 km.
Now the sun is hot but the air is cold...

Let's see what the next few days brings...

From Russia With Love...

Steve here...
While Rodders (AKA Julia) is dealing with the business of the blog, I'm going to continue my musings.
We have entered a glorious Brexit-free zone and already encountered warm hospitality, minging heat and torrential rain in 5 short days.
A regular feature will be Spot The Dog, and our first one is Alf. Yes I know it's a cat but no dogs were available.

Alf is the most famous cat in Kaliningrad,  Russia, and was generous enough to let us stay at his flat with Sasha and Yelena, and let us leave with all his unwanted fur!
We are now riding through Lithuania where the locals seem very friendly...

Look out for the next episode of Spot The Dog - it may even have a dog in it.

Not So Baltic...

I came prepared with snood and gloves
I expected Baltic breeze,
I didn't expect 100k's
In 38 degrees!

Days 1-4   Distance 239km

Gdansk (Poland) - Nida (Lithuania)

For some unknown reason Steve's Russian visa arrived a week after mine, hence we lost our first flight and were in a rush to get in and out of Kaliningrad before it expired.

We landed in Gdansk, Poland, built the bikes and cycled an extremely pleasant 50 km through warm air heavily scented with elderflower, until we found some woods where we camped the first night.
(BTW, Steve had his first puncture on day 1!) We also had our first river crossing out of Gdansk.

The next day Steve's bad luck continued as we had to stop 5 times because his rim was making holes in the inner tube.
We lost a lot of time, and the 101 km to the border was a struggle. It took us 11 hours -quite a shock to our untrained bodies!
We crossed the rather intimidating 5×checkpoint Russian border at Mamonovo at about 9pm, exhausted!

The next day we met up with our Russian friend Sasha - who, being a tour guide, gave us an extensive bike tour of Kaliningrad, an extremely interesting place that deserves it's own post.

We lunched on borscht - a delicious cold soup made from keffir and beetroot, and very refreshing in the searing heat...

And for dinner we learned to make Russian dumplings with Yelena, his girlfriend.

Being my birthday we went to the local beer shop which has over 20 locally brewed beers for sale to take away by the litre. Love that place! Thank you Sasha and Yelena for a great stay!

The next day after a tour of a Russian submarine, we left Kaliningrad and cycled the Russian half of the Curonian Spit and crossed a slightly less imposing border into Lithuania.

We've spent a much needed rest day here on a campsite and heavy thunderstorms forced us to sleep a lot in the tent!
Hopefully that will clear the hot air for the Lithuanian half of the Curonian Spit tomorrow!

Here We Go Again!

Horses make a change from bikes
The ground you cover's more,
But they can make your muscles ache
And leave you saddle-sore.

Yippee! The time has come to embark on our next bike trip, and this time we have chosen to cycle around the Baltic Sea. Not the entire coastline because that's about 8000 km and we're not that stupid! Our route will be about 3500 km, but this time I have a cyclometer so as long as I remember to put it on we should be able to see just how far we actually do cycle.
  

Countries Visited:   

Poland, Kalingingrad (Little Russia), Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Holland.
We should be following the EuroVelo 10 route, but from past experience it's not always that simple...

Kit:

We are taking the same bikes and more or less the same equipment as last time, with a few upgrades - new panniers; from Lidl, £10 each pair, (I'll let you know how they fair...!),  new tyres, side stands so we don't have to lie the bikes down every time we stop, and a couple of bags from the boy scouts jumble sale to replace the Sainsbury's heavy duty bin liners that we used before! 

Plan:

As you see, no expense spared this time. Training will once again begin when the trip does, (Steve badly sprained his ankle a few weeks ago and still can't quite get his shoe on) and we'll ease ourselves in slowly, especially as I believe we are remembering the last trip through rose-tinted glasses - after re-reading the blog I'd forgotten about swollen knees, aching everythings and terrible weather!
If all goes well we hope to catch a ferry back from Holland. That's the plan, but already the plan is not going accordingly; we were supposed to fly to Poland today, but had to cancel the flight as Steve's passport and visa still haven't arrived back from the Russian embassy. Mine arrived a few days ago, I'm obviously not as dodgy looking as him!

Reason:

We are still raising money for Lake Bunyonyi Community Village. Since our trip to Uganda we have continued to raise money and helped with emergency hospital fees, school fees and clothing.
Edison has been promised 1000 laying chickens from the local MP, with the plan that they can sell the eggs and create an income, but they need to raise money to buy materials to build housing for the hens. Let's help them do it!
You can click on the Go Fund Me link under Navigation to donate. 

So, that's all for now. We are checking daily for Steve's visa, and will book a flight as soon as it arrives. I'll be in touch...