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RACE NEWS & STORIES
Xavier Disley Kicks Ass
in Denmark
Xavier (who paradoxically
is a rower) rode his Kickbike across Denmark and back again covering a total distance of 917.65km at an average
speed 18.1km/hr; daily average 76.5km. Xav recounts his story.
Denmark August 2004
It seemed like a good idea at the time; as a suitable ending to a gap year, to try and become the first (and quite
possibly the last) Brit to do it. Cross Denmark on a Kickbike, and then back again. And as a plus, Denmark's a
flat country, isn't it?
Well, mostly flat.
Starting on August 10th, I took a flight to Copenhagen, having packed up the Kickbike in a box, along with my tools,
and tent (as I'd be camping along the way). Unfortunately at the other end the box was completely mauled, with
the front axle fully sticking out of the cardboard, and numerous fist shaped holes dotted around. Luckily the bike
was okay, so I put it together quickly, and wheeled it out of the airport.
My first job was to find a national cycle map. Denmark is criss-crossed with hundreds of cycle routes, and it proved
impossible to purchase this map (called Cykelferiekortet) from outside of the country. The Dansk Cyklist Forbund
have their headquarters in Copenhagen, so I went and bought what was apparently one of their last copies of the
map, so I could plan my route for the next few days. Denmark is made up of two islands (Zealand on the right, Funen
in the centre) and the peninsula off Germany (Jutland).
My bike was a Millennium Racer with a lowering kit and front rack - the rack could take a small amount of weight,
but too much would cause the back wheel to lift if you were braking quickly, so 20kg of rucksack and bumbag went
on my back. Surprisingly it didn't rub or ache too much, and after a while I got used to it.
National cycle route 6 took me nicely right from Copenhagen to Esbjerg (on the West Coast), so I would just have
to follow that, and then plan my way back. I wanted to come back a different way, to see more of the country rather
than just the straight line from East to West, and anyway, I wanted to go to Legoland.
Most of this first route was either along minor roads, or major roads with a cycle track down the side (there were
a couple of bad days though, one where I hit a gravel path, which is murder on a Kickbike, and another where I
accidentally found myself going down a motorway), and the signposting was clear and easy to follow. It took 4 days
to Esbjerg, the last day of that taking 9 hours from campsite to campsite, which tired me out just a bit. I had
intended to do about 80km per day, and around 18km/hr on the bike computer (just over 11 miles per hour), and so
far was doing well. It rained solidly on day 3, and I got my first (and only) puncture that evening, but the bike
held up marvellously. Total distance so far 349.94km.
I carried straight on to Billund, which is the second most visited area of Denmark, being home to Legoland Billund,
as Denmark is where it all began many years ago. More rain whilst I was there (Denmark is more or less the same
latitude as Scotland), but this was the halfway mark, and so I had a days rest, which involved taking photos of
lots of small pieces of plastic, and eating continuously.
I was now having to take regional routes, rather than national ones, which weren't quite as well signposted, and
at certain points taking me through wet and squidgy woodland, or roads with the kind of gravel that functions like
tiny nails on tyres. Also, this area (the central part of Jutland) was Denmark's lake district - so it was the
hilliest section so far. It wasn't particularly back-breaking, but in the rain and the cold, where all you want
is a nice hot cuppa and a warm bed (neither of which I'd get anyway once I got to the campsite) made some days
a bit more tricky than others.
By now I'd travelled North a fair distance, and so needed to catch a ferry before rejoining Zealand (the right-hand
island, with Copenhagen on the East coast). There were still some days to go before my flight out from Copenhagen
on the 24th, so whilst I could have just travelled directly East and got back with 4 days to spare, I thought I
might as well get the mileage in, and do a loop around the coast, going South and then back North. The rain had
all but gone by this point (although a couple of days were exceptionally windy), so it was mostly a pleasant daily
ride, and with the daylight hours being so long, there was no problem about getting to the next campsite before
dark, even if I left in the afternoon.
The penultimate day before I got back was one of the fastest out of the whole trip - 103km at 19.7km/hr (plus a
couple of breaks), and that allowed the last day back to Copenhagen to be a gentle ride, before I found a hostel,
and finally a bed that I could crash onto. Had a well-deserved trip to the Carlsberg brewery the next morning,
and then it was a flight back to Gatwick in the evening. Boxed up the bike with the help of a local bike shop owner,
and was chastised by the lady at the check-in desk for not booking a place for the box on the plane.
Total distance was 917.65km, average speed 18.1km/hr, daily average 76.5km. Not something I'd do again soon, but
hey, it's another entry for the scrap book.
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