Refining the Route - Day 1

I’m going to have to work out how long this trip is really going to take so need to refine the route and add some realism over the next couple of weeks. If it turns out to be too long I can take some short cuts and trim time off the journey later. Better to do it now than find I have left myself three or more 1000km+ days to get from Nordkapp back to Germany.

Sylt

My first thought was to head to Copenhagen  - doable if I treat my 6hr/600km limit as more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule, however that gets me the the Pan Gathering too early so I  might as well take a bit of a detour. So the plan for day 1 is to visit Sylt. Loads of cars around where I live have a sticker on the back that looks like a ballet dancer and it took me a while to work out that it wasn't in fact some local ballet school logo but a kind of status symbol that says I've been to Sylt so I'm going to see what its all about. Day 1 will therefore be 527km and 7:15 in the saddle if Myroute app is top be believed. The only way to Sylt with a bike is on the ferry from Romo to List. The round trip is 50 Euro so will need to find a campsite on Sylt for the overnight stop. 

Rest Stops

I found aiming to stop every 2 hours or so for a leg stretch, a drink, bathroom break if necessary and maybe top off the fuel tank worked well on my trip to Leon in 2016 so I’m going to use that plan again. The first stop will therefore be at the Aral garage in Egestorf. I have no real allegiance to Aral other than the fact that I hold a Aral card which, provided through my employer, gives me a good discount when I fill up in Germany. Naturally the second stop will also be an Aral, but this time in Flensburg where I’ll also try to find a spot for lunch overlooking the harbour before saying Tchuss! to Germany.