500-some km of the great North Sea Cycle Route’s 6000 km go along the North Sea Coast of Jutland. In Denmark known as the Westcoast, hence the routes Danish name, Vestkystruten (Westcoast Route). The danish westcoast is famed for its strong winds, great waves and wide, sandy beaches, in the north and the Wadden Sea in the south.

The Westcoast is where many danes (and germans) traditionally spend their summer holidays from late June to July, when the temperatures reach the 20’ies, to catch a refreshing dip in the waves (the water temperature, though, rarely even comes near the 20’ies). The small towns, inns, hostels and campsites are relatively busy in the 6 weeks of high season – in stark contrast to the rest of year (see Jesper’s experiences while Cycling home for Christmas).

On this particular trip we, a family of four with the youngest being 8 years old, went the upper half of the danish part of the route, from Agger to the top of Denmark in Skagen in 10 sunny cycling days and two rainy restdays. Around 330 km all in all (including multiple trips to the beach and unintentional detours).

Acctually, we went from the nearest  train station was Hurup Thy, from where it is some 11 km to the camping at Agger, added a detour to see the passage-grave at Lundehøj, 5 km in the opposite direction, making the first day a 20 km stretch. The train takes an epic 5 hours from Copenhagen, including changes at Vejle* and Struer.

Highlights

Among the highlights of this tour are riding on the white sand beach, surfing the waves of Cold Hawaii, the frenetic summer life of the coastal towns, the famous chefs and restaurants’ summer residencies in Skagen and the beach hot spots. The Thy National Park, the rough nature, the numerous signs of the locals fight against the sand: where they lost and the churches houses and even beacons were buried. Also the enormous wandering dune, that slowly  wanders across the land crushing everything in its path, the remains of the German WWII Atlantic fortifications – bunkers in various states of disrepair dotting the coast line all the way to Skagen. The

Skagen Museum dedicated the  famous Skagen Painters, Michael and Anna Ancher and P.S. Krøyer (anyway, the museums restaurant in the museum garden is nice and serves delicious food).
For the youngest there are 500 km of sand beach, amusement parks, many nature playgrounds and lots of places to get ice cream, along the route.

Somewhat off the route in Thy you may find Kirsten Kjærs Museum, museum for a (rather unknown) female artist and collector who was  in the midst of the cultural elite of the 20th century, Thylejren, the first danish hippie commune, still waving the hippie flag high – famous for having had John Lennon and Yoko Ono staying there. Although not really a tourist sight (like Christiania is), they have cheap beer and soft drinks for a refreshment.

If you’re not content with just going along one route, og might want to see something off-route, you can follow the sign-posted detours, called Panorama-routes, roundtrips of 20 to 50 km along the traditional cycle route.  On the northern part of the Westcoast Route so far 7 Panorama-routes have been made.

Nice to know

Apart from the occasional grand gourmet apperances by danish chefs relocating for the summer to traditional foodie “hotter spots” like Skagen and Lønstrup, food on the Westcoast is rather basic, and most surprising, rarely fresh fish. Pizzas, burgers and kebabs rule the tables. In the tourist centres in the season you may find restaurants or cafees with an alternative offering. It pays to have your eyes open.

Technincal data

The route is almost flat, though it has some climbs that that can challenge the rider of a heavily packed bike, mainly due to the tracks rough surface.

The quality of the surface varies a lot along the route. From the high grade tarmac in Thy National Park, to gravel, dirt, concrete plates, grass and even sand – of course along the shore line but also on some paths further inland.

As many cyclists say: “The mountains in Denmark are flat”, and refer to the at times strong and continious winds, that really can take the energy from you.

You can go on a normal touring or everyday bike as we did, or, if you would like to try out some of the great mountain bike tracks, fit a mountain bike with panniers.

Notes

* Usually the ticket states that you change at Fredericia, but that means that you will have to change platforms (with bikes and stuff) in a rather short time. Changing at Vejle is less stressfull since there is only one platform, and the trains go on the same tracks, so they will come in the right order. Ask for advice from the personel on the train.

Additional links

The Route: http://cyclistic.dk/da/?routeID=96b3fc95-c02b-4d45-b5fe-5c9e70bf1ece

North Sea Cycle Route: http://www.northsea-cycle.com/

West Coast Route: http://vestkystruten.dk/

Secondly. The lighter you travel, the easier it is to move.

Before going summer touring on Bornholm with the family we decided to test the bikes, panniers, and the youngest member of the family. How far could she manage to ride with weight in the panniers?

From Copenhagen, we took the regional train to Sorø, where we had planned a short trip around the twin-lakes, Tystrup-Bavlelse Søer.  The full round-trip around the lake back to Sorø would be 38 km, but also having the option of a short cut to approximately 25 km going to the train station in Glumsø.

Starting in the early afternoon, we planned to stay the night at a hostel, not so far from Sorø, the Kongskilde Friluftsgaard.

The tour is not a dense collection of highlights, but rather a nice slice of the diversity of beautiful country side. The landscape is dominated by the many small hills and small villages that dot the landscape.

On the first leg, from Sorø station and south, through the countryside, and avoiding the bigger roads, we passed the only wild growing forest in Denmark, Suserup Skov. It is the last remains of the forests that covered Mid-Zealand after the ice age 20000 years ago. Today, it is privately owned by the Sorø Akademi, and has been left to its natural order for experimental reasons since 1920. You are only allowed to walk on the paths, but it is beautiful, and a rare sight in Denmark.

The hostel is placed  almost directly at the intersection of the National Cycle Route 6 and 7,  and is a great starting point for exploring the area around the twin lakes, since it also doubles as a information centre for local nature and food.  Since it is fairly large it is also quite popular with weddings and parties.

Continuing the round trip next day, we became aware that Copenhagen is actually quite close, when meeting the hordes of cyclists on carbon racing bikes on their sunday morning exercise.

The gentle hills and curvy rural roads make for perfect road racing. Actually, Copenhagen is not further away, than many road racers from Copenhagen include the twin lakes in their training circuits.

As we left the National Cycle Route 7, we realized that the roads we’re not as suitable for cyclists as the roads designated for the cycle route, and decided to go to the nearest station, and take the train back to Copenhagen.

Just do it

There where, however, some considerations.

First, it could get cold. Well, with a good layer of wool that should not be a problem. Second, the daylight at this time of the year in Denmark is very limited, lasting only from 9 AM. to 3.30 PM. Okay, I would have to use my old winter bike with a dynamo lightning system and put on a hi-vi jacket. Third, and in my mind the biggest obstacle, the trains would probably not have any room for bicycles when half of the Danes would be visiting the other half for Christmas celebrations. With pessimism I called DSB – the Danish train operator, and a friendly lady gave me reservations for both my bike and me. Forth, it would be way out of season and I did not want to wild camp – would I find any accommodation? The options were limited, but I managed to find two hostels still open for reservations.

In the morning of December 20th I made myself comfortable for the 5 hour train trip to Aalborg, from where I would start the bike tour. I planed on cycling for two and a half days. The total length of the trip would be nearly 400 km.

Drinking cold water

I cycled out of Aalborg under a perfect blue sky.

The temperature was around 7 degrees Celsius. The first half day was planed as a moderate warm up day with only 50-60 km of cycling. I was excited how it would be to cycle in the dark, especially how difficult it would be to find the right way. For that purpose I had mounted a headlamp on my helmet. Together with my LED front light and my two tail lights, one dynamo driven, the other running on batteries, it was a humble arrangement for illuminating the nearly complete darkness of the Danish countryside.

But it worked very well. What did not work that well was my intake of water. I made the mistake of not drinking because I did not fell any thirst. After around 40 km I felt dizzy and tired. I got off the bike seriously in doubt that I would make it to the hostel, which was less than 20 km away. But what was the alternative? To wait for the bus? There were no buses. To call a taxi? No, it would probably take hours, and I was already freezing. Instead I floored the remains of my water bottle and got back on the bike. Somehow I made it to Fjerritslev, where I treated myself with a big dish of kebab and a giant coke.

The endless road

In the early dark morning of day two I had a quick breakfast at the local bakery. The woman in the bakery did not know the town I was heading to, Fjaltring. I took it as a proof of covering a decent amount of kilometres. According to my measurements it would be around 130 km. The first half would be in a South-Western direction, the second part straight South. The weather forecast made me worry a bit. It predicted strong winds of 8-10 meters per second from South-West, lasting the whole day. And, by the way, the next day too.

I covered 50 km in the first 3 hours, not using the big chainring one single time. I had lunch completely alone at a nice spot in the National Park Thy and envisioned that I could use the larger gears as soon as I would turn in a more Southern direction. I was wrong.

The constant headwind made it impossible to cycle more than 15-16 km/h. I felt slow on my lightly packed bike, but I still had the feeling I was moving somewhere. On some stretches the trees created a full wind screen and for a short while I could stop pedalling without making the bike stop. What was even better than the interruption of circulating pedals was the silence. Suddenly, I could hear my self think again. I enjoined the brief reminiscence of how great cycling is, before stamping down in the pedals again.

The last hour before sunset I cycled down the languet Agger Tange. The road is 9 km long and totally exposed to wind. The headwind made it hard to go more than 12 km/h. It gave me plenty of time to enjoy the constant view of the endless road ahead, though I mostly just looked down.

I made it to the end from where I took the ferry across Limfjorden to Thyborøn. From the harbour town I called the next hostel to inform about my late arrival. The friendly hostelhost adviced me to eat before arriving in Fjaltring as the only shop would close at 6 PM. On the ferry I had seen a train line going more or less in my direction. The wind had worn me out, so I decided to swing by the train station to check the timetable. To my luck the next and the last train for the day would leave in less than an hour. Just enough time to have a bite of food.

After the short train ride, which costed me 20 kroner (bikes are free), I cycled the last 10 km in complete darkness to the hostel.

The friendly hostelhost greeted me with a nice little treat.

Overturned garden gnomes

The third and last day of my Christmas journey was also the longest. At least according to my plan. I had measured it to be somewhere around 180 km. The direction would be straight South. The wind had been pretty strong all through the night, and its source of air did not seem to run out on this side of Christmas eve. There was plenty of wind for one more day and all of it seemed to come from the South. Rømø was further away than the map showed.

At breakfast I looked into some short cut possibilities. As I was going to cycle in more densely populated areas with bigger towns, there was a better offer of public transport than had been the case in the Northern part. I had several options of jumping a train as I got longer South. So that was the plan. To cycle as long as I could and then find a train to take me the rest of the way. That I would give up after only 100 km did not cross my mind.

It happened somewhere between Hvide Sande and Nymindegab on route 181, a 23 km long, straight road with high dunes on one side and Ringkøbing Fjord on the other side. Around noon the headwind had joined up with its dear friend rain. The constant blow of wind mixed with thousands of small jabs from horizontal raindrops slowed me down to 10 km/h. After two and a half hour I arrived in Nymindegab. Even though I was waterproof dressed from head to toe, the rain had managed to penetrate. My hands and feet felt numb.

I had spent nearly 7 hours to cycle 90 km. It was beginning to darken. I had lost my guts. On the map I had seen a railway line from Nymindegab. I decided that it would be the end of the tour. Only I did not find any station. To my luck the next bigger town, Nørre Nebel, was only 7 km away and in a Southeastern direction. For the first time of the day I did not cycle in direct headwind.

The time table at the train station said that the next train would leave in one and a half hour time. In a small waiting room I changed to dry clothing and went on hunt for a cop of coffee. That was the end of the tour, and I knew it. The train would drop me off in Skærbæk, only 15 km from Rømø. But it would be 15 km over a dam with absolutely no protection from the wind. I called my father and asked if he would pick me up at the station. He would.

The basics

I used my Specialized Rockhopper comp from 2000, which I have built, rebuilt and modified dozens of times.  Today it is my winter and  heavy touring bike.

I cycled 300 km on 2 and a half day. The temperature was around 10 degrees Celsius and the sun was up for 6 and a half hours each day.

Next time I will cycle the route in the other direction, from South to North, coinciding with the official recommendation. And probably pick a different time of the year… Well, I am actually not so sure about that. Winter touring has the same benefits as off-season travelling: it easier to get a room and you get a view behind the scenes of the summer destinations. You just need to keep your feet warm!

Travel tips

I stayed in two Danhostels. They can be found and booked on www.danhostel.dk

The time table of the ferry between Agger Tange and Thyborøn can be found on www.thyboronagger.dk

The time table of the train service from Thyborøn can be found on www.lemvigbanen.dk

The Westcoast or North Sea Cycle Route which I followed on large parts of my route can be found here www.northsea-cycle.com

For customized route planing I used www.naviki.org

In the end, we spend 12 days on Bornholm for our vacation, to be able to have plenty of resting days.

Bornholm features, as the only part of Denmark,  genuine rocks, combined with rather large forests, a unique flora, and great beaches that make it stand out from the rest of Denmark. It also has build a reputation of being one of the best places for cycling holidays in Denmark. You find cycle path almost all way round the island, and disused rail tracks have been restored into bike tracks, passing through beautiful scenery with gentle climbs and curves, and undisturbed by car traffic, making it a comfortable ride.

Even though bike rental is affordable and reliable on Bornholm (and thus makes i possible to avoid the rather steep ticket price for carrying your own bike on the ferry), we brought our own everyday bikes. The kids carried their personal stuff (teddies, a notebook and rain clothes) in their own panniers. Actually, normal front panniers fit kids’ bikes rather well. We adults took the rest of the stuff. Tent and sleeping bags were put on a small bike trailer, to penalize the fastest going adult, making his speed somewhat slower.

Getting there (and away)

Bornholm is a relatively well connected island, especially in the season with daily ferries from Rügen in Germany, Ystad in Sweden and Copenhagen (Køge) in Denmark.

It is possible to bring bikes on all connections, although the Ystad-Rønne connection has limited space. The Bornholm CykelExpress provides cheap transport of bikes, kayaks and stuff.

The night ferry departs from Køge, 45 km south of Copenhagen, around midnight. Going to Køge from Copenhagen by bike is absolutely an option.

The cycle route through suburbian and industrial south Copenhagen qualifies to be among the most boring bikerides in the world. For the less fanatic, there are S-trains going every 10-20 mins. Accompanied by paying adults, kids and bikes go for free on the s-train.

All ferries arrive at Rønne. The night ferry around 6 am and usually you can buy a breakfast on board the ferry, and enjoy the view over Rønne before venturing out. If you prefer solid ground under your feet when eating breakfast, the bakeries of Rønne usually open at 7.30-8am.

Being the hub, and main city of Bornholm, Rønne is where you rent your bikes, stock up food and what ever you’ll need for the next 10 km. The smaller cities have shops catering for most of your everyday needs.

Setting the pace to high

Our ferry trip had been really exhausting. So after a quick breakfast on the main square, we left Rønne going north following the National Cycle Route 10 through the forest passing the rather amazing Ruby and Emerald lakes that have filled former quarries.

Traveling with kids, you can never make to many breaks. So after just 3 km we made the first break to go swimming. The beaches on the southern half of Bornholm are sand beaches, while the the northern beaches are mostly rocky and less suitable for bathing. The Baltic Sea is rather cold in the early summer, and after a quick dip, we continued to our lunch stop at the smokehouse in Hasle 10 km from our start in Rønne.

Herring is called the “Gold from the Baltic Sea”, and Bornholm owes lots of its former importance to the abundance of herring. Smoked herring is the “national dish of Bornholm”, and almost every town on the coast has at least one smokehouse serving a variety of smoked fish. The smokehouse in Hasle is a personal favorite.

After lunch we took some time to sleep and play on the nearby playground, then we continued north aiming to stay at a basic campsite just north of the port Vang. Making it a total of 20 km for the first leg. The the southern part of west coast of Bornholm is nice for beach fun, and you can stay in Rønne or Hasle, but we preferred to spend more time on the north coast.

The stretch from Hasle to Vang is one of the most hilly parts of the cycle route, and just outside Hasle the fun begins with a descend of 20%. The gravel on the descend showed be a serious challenge, and some bandaids later we continued rolling carefully downhill to sealevel heading for the amazing rockformation Jons Kapel (“John’s Chapel”) for afternoon tea (eg. ice cream).

Just before Jons Kapel we are met with the propably most challenging part of the cycle route, when the road ends and the track turns into a set of stairs going 25 m up a steep hill. On bikes with luggage you must dismount and pull the bikes up the hill. Luckily, theres a bench at the top of the hill, and a small café 500m further along the route, where you can catch your breath, and get an ice cream before locking your bike and walking back and down another set of stairs to Jons Kapel. The lower chamber is flooded during high tide, so check the tides at the touristinformation before you go.

Around 5 pm we arrived – as some of the first – at the campsite, giving us the challenge of finding the right spot to put up the tent.

For the youngest, the day had been exhausting, so we decided to shorten the length of the stages from a max of 25 kilometre to a max of 15 kilometre – and to hurry the food for the evening. We had the time to do this – but even then it meant less days for excursions.

We chose this particular camp site due to its proximity to the “Castle heather” that is particular beautiful in the early summer, and the nearby Hammershus, despite being in ruins still is a impressive sight built on the edge of the cliff.

Near Hammershus you find twin-cities Allinge-Sandvig, both former fishing villages, now popular with urbanites from Copenhagen. The northern, Sandvig-part of the city, has campgrounds close to the beach, the southern has the supermarkets and cafees…

In the surroundings of Allinge-Sandvig you find the usual beach tourism thrills and also a working quarry museum (“Stenbrudsmuseet”) and the Route 10 passes by the remains of a large field of bronze age rock carvings on “Madsebakke” just behind the soccer fields of Allinge.

Continuing along National Cycle Route 10, following a short stretch of greenway then merging with the main road between Allinge and Gudhjem, you pass some of the spots unique in Denmark: At Døndalen you’ll find the tallest waterfall in Denmark, and just a few kilometers further you’ll find Helligdomsklipperne (“The Sacred cliffs”) where the new Art Museum of Bornholm is placed.

On the way, almost blocking the path to the cliff, the museum is a perfect spot for a break. The museum building is build over a stream, that is now running through the main corridor of the museum. It is housing a nice collection of Bornholms artistic heritage, having attracted light seeking artists throughout the last century or so.

Leaving the bikes locked at the bike parking makes sense. The paths are meant to be explored by foot, and occasionally unsuited for touring bikes.

The caves in the cliff are habitat for some rare spiders, and on the cliffs you can be lucky to see the only orchids growing in the wild in Denmark. The caves are accessible by a steep staircase descending down the cliff to a pier at water level.

From the cliffs you can go by boat to Gudhjem and back and see the beautiful shoreline from the sea side – they don’t carry bikes, so it is purely for sightseeing.

From Allinge to Gudhjem, the cycle route is rather hilly, and the city of Gudhjem is situated on the hill side with the road running above the city. In Gudhjem cycling is prohibited on some of the steepest roads, and ignoring the signs on a bike with luggage is not reccommended. The road are steep and narrow, and if you make it to the bottom you’ll find the harbour, with cafees and people walking around…

The hostel is bike friendly, and the very comfortable campsite is in the next bay from the harbour, close to the shore, and with a 500 meter footpath directly into the heart of the city.

After a couple of days in Gudhjem we continued along Route 10 heading for Svaneke. This part of the route is dotted with outlets and shops, from glass and antiques to teddy bears, but also some magnificent views.

In Svaneke we decided to stay at the hostel – not because the campground was to far from the city centre, but because we on the way from Gudhjem already had experienced the first of the showers the weather forecast had promised would come the next days, and we found no reason not to stay dry.  (The campground is just next to the hostel and closer to the beach).

Svaneke is the third largest city on Bornholm, but the one where things are happening. It has the one of the few buildings build in Denmark by Jorn Utzon, architect famous for the Sydney Opera House, but probably not for this landmark water tower.

One reason to stay in Svaneke is the local microbrewer, Svaneke

Bryghus, and spending an evening with a tasting platter of their latest brew. The food in the Brewhouse is usually nice, too.

The other reason is the fun park Joboland, where the kids can try water slides and other fun stuff. Visiting the park on a rainy day proved to be a great succes, since it was less crowded, and the lines shorter.

From Svaneke we planned to go straight to the classic, white beaches of Dueodde.

In my opinion, the route 10 from Svaneke to Nexø is very boring. The only thing worth continuing along the Route would be a visit at the smokehouse in Aarsdale, for which people travel to eat the “Saltstægte sild”, the salted, fried herring on ryebread with mustard and beetroots. Knowing what I would be about to miss with my detour, I took my bike a day earlier and set out to pick up some lunch boxes of the meal (but aquired taste).

If you absolutely dislike hills and fields, keep going the “10”, but other wise I recommend to take the little longer excursion inland.

So, not missing a thing, we left the Route 10 and ventured in land to see the Great Rocking Boulder – a huge piece of rock, left on a flat rock surface by the receeding ice from the ice age, so that it now can be rocked by an average person. It dislocates from time to time, but it usually “works”.

Going inland also means going “up”. Luckily the rocking stone is not on placed on the pinacle of Bornholm, 108 meter above sea level, but only half way to the top. But less is also noticeable. And to our luck, we found wild blueberries on the way. Finally, as “The laws of cycling on an island” say, that, having gone upwards to the middle of an island, there is a descend to help you the rest of the way.

Crossing the middle of Bornholm also emphazises the very compounded geology of Bornholm, where the northern half is rocky and “nordic”, the southern part is flat and very “danish”.

The beach of Dueodde is famous for its very fine, white sand, and wide beaches. It has been a favored beach for 100 years and was goal for some of the earliest danish tourists, and the sand has been used for sand tea timers, spreading the brand throughout Denmark.

The water temperature around Bornholm is rather “baltic”. The baltic sea is rather cool, and even after weeks of hot summer it remains a refreshing dip until late in the season. The shallowness of the water at Dueodde make it possible to actually enjoy bathing here. Making it a fun and safe beach for kids. Take note of Lifeguards warnings though.

After some days of beach holiday, we decided that we had had our vacation, and set for Rønne and home. This we would do in two or three stages. depending on how strong the head wind would become. We decided on two days in order to try some of the specialities of Bornholm.

Before we left,  we had to try a lunch at the local gourmet restaurant, the Kadeau. The chefs have specialized in locally sourced food, and upgrading traditional dishes to a modern, fine cuisine. Their outgrowth in Copenhagen has earned a star from the Michelin Guide, but this is the relaxed vacation version, with a restaurant in a former beach kiosk, and you  can bring a towel and have a dip in the ocean between the courses, or just enjoy the magnificent view over the sea and the amazing food. In the season the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner.

On the laste stages we were deviating from the “10” again, partly due to the strong head wind, and partly to see the Nature centre of Bornholm, where the  unique nature of Bornholm is on display, as well at the dinosaur finds, that have been made, indicating that Bornholm – contrary to the rest of Denmark, has been land when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. The Nature Centre also arranges guided excavation tours, where you can try to find fossils yourself.

Our last stage, from Aakirkeby to Rønne is again a traditional greenway, a rail line put in to good use as a cycle way. Going straight a head, with few curves, passing one of the round churches, that Bornholm also is famed for.

Facts

Being a holiday island, booking in advance is advised, especially in the main season.

If you want to visit Bornholm in mid june (usually the second weekend in june), be aware that every possible accommodation in the in and around Allinge is fully booked due to a recurring political festival.

Basic nature Campsites are found all over Denmark. Many are free, but some charge up to DKr 25 per person per night. The sites are generally not accessible by car. The guide “Overnatning i det fri” is the comprehensive guide to basic camping in Denmark, where you’ll find maps and details for all campsites charging little og nothing per night. Being a basic campsite, there’s only the most necessary amenities: drinking water and a toilet, and you are only allowed to stay there for two nights in a row.

To plan the stages of our trip we used the map from the Cycling Guide for Bornholm, some maps from the local tourist information, the guide “Overnatning i det fri” and the online portal Cyclistic.dk

The Tourist Information on Bornholm is very cyclist friendly.