After the storm (Passau)
I should have known it from all the previous trips that the third day is always the hardest: The overflowing enthusiasm of the first couple of days has been spent and the body is starting to protest the relentless, steady demands of continuous physical exercise. Even more important, the mind is all of a sudden filled with all kind of doubts that physical discomfort only makes worse
Yesterday was such a day, and in hindsight I can say I came very close to giving up. The temperature that had been on the border of uncomfortably hot the previous days, now climbed to new heights, which together with the first real headwind made the going much less of a joy than the first couple of days. Moreover, my eastward route means that I have the sun in my face in the morning, making sunburn only a matter of time and degree, no matter the amount of sunscreen used. However, the worst thing by far was the pain in my knee; it took only a few kilometers for it to reappear, and after that, become more intense by the hour.
Thus, the first 50 km that wouldn't normally have taken me much more than 2,5 hours now stretched over 5 hours, meaning that I was cycling in the horrendous midday heat and only reached my lunch break town of Straubing at the far-too-late hour of 2pm when the heat was making the tarmac radiate an intense, merciless heat. Entering the city and looking for a place to cool off in the shadow, I took a wrong turn and ended up having to do another few kilometers, now almost in tears.Finally, I saw a small park with a long wooden bench and threw myself on it. No water in sight, and even in the shadow, the temperature surely well over 30 degrees I realised I was very close to heat shock.
However, an hour later, still awfully sweaty and sticky from the mixture of sun cream, dust and spilled over tomatoes that I had devoured to get dehydrated, I felt sufficiently better to venture into the old town. There, I found the first cafe with a shadowed terrace, next to two impressively well singing street artists, and sat there until 5 pm.
It had long since become obvious there was no way in hell I would be getting to Passau the same day so I settled on the doable destination of Deggendorf. This meant only an additional 40 km, but with the relentless pain that didn't seem to ease off with two 400 mg painkillers, it seemed like much more. In the end, I limped into Straubing like an old war horse, long since out of power but still trying to keep up an appearance of being able to do its job.
At the campsite, I shared some of the vodka I had bought during the sea voyage with my fellow bike travellers, a young Italian and a retired French gentleman who seemed only slightly bewildered by this sunburnt and dehydrated Finnish woman who resorted to such an ill-advised drink. However, as I was trying to come to terms with the possibility that I would have to let go of my plan to reach Budapest, indeed, even Vienna by bike, I felt I needed something stronger than tea!
Had a nice chat with the guys, ate more vegetables and went to bed at around 11, only to discover that the boiling, oppressive heat made sleeping impossible. Soon, it became obvious that a big storm was on its way, and out of nowhere, a very strong, gusty wind started shaking the tents, banging the roofs and raising waves in the river. I lay quietly in my tent, listening to the approaching storm, hoping that the tent pegs I had only managed to get halfway in the stone -hard ground would hold.
It was surely the strongest storm I have ever experienced while camping, and at some point, I realised that the only thing that was stopping the tent from being flown into the river was my weight in it. Miraculously, the pegs held, and although it did rain, all my belongings remained dry and safe.
This morning, the air was much cooler and the sky covered in light clouds. Furthermore, the wind had once again turned, so the 60km to Passau were a real joy. Most wonderfully, my knee was much much better, giving me hope that I can continue tomorrow into Austria and towards Vienna.
What a relief!
Yesterday was such a day, and in hindsight I can say I came very close to giving up. The temperature that had been on the border of uncomfortably hot the previous days, now climbed to new heights, which together with the first real headwind made the going much less of a joy than the first couple of days. Moreover, my eastward route means that I have the sun in my face in the morning, making sunburn only a matter of time and degree, no matter the amount of sunscreen used. However, the worst thing by far was the pain in my knee; it took only a few kilometers for it to reappear, and after that, become more intense by the hour.
Thus, the first 50 km that wouldn't normally have taken me much more than 2,5 hours now stretched over 5 hours, meaning that I was cycling in the horrendous midday heat and only reached my lunch break town of Straubing at the far-too-late hour of 2pm when the heat was making the tarmac radiate an intense, merciless heat. Entering the city and looking for a place to cool off in the shadow, I took a wrong turn and ended up having to do another few kilometers, now almost in tears.Finally, I saw a small park with a long wooden bench and threw myself on it. No water in sight, and even in the shadow, the temperature surely well over 30 degrees I realised I was very close to heat shock.
However, an hour later, still awfully sweaty and sticky from the mixture of sun cream, dust and spilled over tomatoes that I had devoured to get dehydrated, I felt sufficiently better to venture into the old town. There, I found the first cafe with a shadowed terrace, next to two impressively well singing street artists, and sat there until 5 pm.
It had long since become obvious there was no way in hell I would be getting to Passau the same day so I settled on the doable destination of Deggendorf. This meant only an additional 40 km, but with the relentless pain that didn't seem to ease off with two 400 mg painkillers, it seemed like much more. In the end, I limped into Straubing like an old war horse, long since out of power but still trying to keep up an appearance of being able to do its job.
At the campsite, I shared some of the vodka I had bought during the sea voyage with my fellow bike travellers, a young Italian and a retired French gentleman who seemed only slightly bewildered by this sunburnt and dehydrated Finnish woman who resorted to such an ill-advised drink. However, as I was trying to come to terms with the possibility that I would have to let go of my plan to reach Budapest, indeed, even Vienna by bike, I felt I needed something stronger than tea!
Had a nice chat with the guys, ate more vegetables and went to bed at around 11, only to discover that the boiling, oppressive heat made sleeping impossible. Soon, it became obvious that a big storm was on its way, and out of nowhere, a very strong, gusty wind started shaking the tents, banging the roofs and raising waves in the river. I lay quietly in my tent, listening to the approaching storm, hoping that the tent pegs I had only managed to get halfway in the stone -hard ground would hold.
It was surely the strongest storm I have ever experienced while camping, and at some point, I realised that the only thing that was stopping the tent from being flown into the river was my weight in it. Miraculously, the pegs held, and although it did rain, all my belongings remained dry and safe.
This morning, the air was much cooler and the sky covered in light clouds. Furthermore, the wind had once again turned, so the 60km to Passau were a real joy. Most wonderfully, my knee was much much better, giving me hope that I can continue tomorrow into Austria and towards Vienna.
What a relief!
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