Dancing is life (Oskarshamn)

Despite the heading, I did not quite walz through today's journey from Västervik. The long sleep, followed by a big breakfast, left me feeling somewhat lazy and lethargic, and I could not quite shake the sleepyness the whole day.

Even after yesterday's frustrations, I was still not happy about riding on the infamous E22, but for the first part of the day, there really wasn't a choice. And indeed, after only a couple of km's ride I could see that I had been right; the ceaseless stream of cars, all driving at full speed, along with long streches of being 'fenced in' between two metal fences on a one lane section with virtually no shoulder...all I can say is that there was no way I was going to be riding on this death trap all the 70 or so km to Oskarshamn!

So, off I went again, in search of smaller, less frequented roads, which meant making a detour towards the West via Ankarsrum and from there heading due South. I was lucky that this time all the roads were tarmac and that I actually knew all the time where I was, but with plenty of uphills it was still a pretty exhausting day. In addition, the detour translated into extra km's that all seemed to further deplete my energy levels. To be honest, I am starting to worry about my physical condition, as it was only my 5th cycling day and already my glutes (plus the dreaded muscles just above the knee) are feeling as if I had just completed Tour de France! Well, I suppose it is no use being mad at myself, this simply is the shape I am at this year, and that is what I'll have to deal with.

One thing that is not making the cycling any easier is the weather. I know how boring it can be when people moan about the rain, but really, the constantly threatening rain clouds plus the ridiculously cold temperatures are making the whole experience a bit of a misery. Today, at one point I noticed that my toes were starting to get numb from the cold...while I was pedalling!!
A 'refreshingly' crispy coffee break, huddling from the wind behind a rock.

Somehow, with the help of tango on my Mp3, I did make it through the day and got to Oskarshamn more or less at the expected time(considering my departure at noon!). Found this campsite, to the South of the city centre, well before dark but also well after the reception had closed for the night. As I could easily ride past the security gates and was feeling too tired to go looking for another place to stay, I decided to pitch my tent anyway. Had a lovely hot shower and warmed up some pea soup, and while sitting down for supper discovered that the only other people staying at the campsite were...dancing enthusiasts! No, they don't do the tango (traditional and folk dances are more their thing), but they also spend their free time travelling around the country in order to dance in different places. Thus, they had no difficulties understanding my Travels with Tango Tour, and we had a great time talking about dance and what it means to us. What a great way to end the day!
The dancing enthusiasts at Kalmarshamn. Skål!

Tomorrow I am hoping to finally reach Kalmar, and even more importantly, be able to put on my dancing shoes again. It feels like an eternity since my last tango, and my legs are begging for a break from the cycling!

Comments

  1. Unknown17/05/2010, 07:32

    täällä alkoi sitten helteet! oisit jäänyt! ei vaan, pidä kivaa,tääl ei mikään muutu.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mari17/05/2010, 20:48

    Moi Nina ja Onsku,
    voitte uskoa, että pari kertaa on käynyt mielessä, että pitikö mun sitten just nyt lähteä tänne palelemaan... Mutta ei voi mitään, täällä ollaan, ja ainakin on muutosta elämässä!!

    Tosi kiva saada teiltä terveisiä, toivottavasti voitte hyvin ja Onsku on taas oppinut jotain uutta (kerro, kerro!)
    halaus
    mari

    ReplyDelete

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