Guest Blog: Bike-Packing Across Scandinavia (Days 13 and 14)

Day 13: Horsens (21 miles, 339 total miles)

19 June 2024: Wednesday 

Facial recognition is a reality!

I just learned that about two weeks ago when I boarded a plane in Houston. They didn’t check my passport or my boarding ticket. They just did a facial recognition, and the system immediately welcomed me: Mr. Craig Davis. 

Technology is moving at a fast pace. And primarily for the better. AI will change the way we function in the future. The advances in the next five years will be inconceivable from 2024. I believe AI will provide a cure for cancer, and help with solutions from everything to learning and behavioral disorders to climate change. 

The threats are there, for certain. From biological weaponry to authoritarian abuse to cyber criminality. But I am optimistic that the benefits will outweigh the threats. 

The breakfast hour in Vejle must be 7:30 to 8:30 am. I have been awake for over four hours. But I hadn’t planned on leaving till about checkout time at 11am to ride my 19 miles. So, I went down to investigate the breakfast option. By far, this was the very worst $19 breakfast that I have ever suffered. Coffee was bad, scrambled eggs inedible, chicken meatballs (instead of bacon) were not worth the effort, fruit salad gobbled up by the time I got there. However, the tiny croissants, salami, and cheese were good. 

By 8:30 am, the crowd had left. I finished up loading some photos to the blog, read a little, and forced down the coffee. 

The temperature was only 56 degrees by 9 am, but I needed to get on the road. Although no rain was forecast, I didn’t trust the dark clouds hovering over town. Better to go upstairs, pack, and hit the road. 

Before I had gone a mile, I hit bridge construction, forbidding bikes to cross. I stopped a tall, young man, asking him how to get around it. I assumed that the bridge crossed water, and that bridges would be hard to find. But I was wrong. The bridge crossed a railroad track. The young man studied my GPS and then told me to go right and keep going and the GPS would reroute me. 

It did, but added a couple miles onto the trip. In addition, a few miles outside of town, I hit a pretty good sized hill, but peddled up it. I had plenty of energy. My legs felt strong. Then a few miles further, I found perhaps the most formidable hill I have found on this trip. It was definitely a pushing hill. Took me about 15 minutes to get to the top by both pushing and riding, reminiscent of hills in Alabama. On days there, I had ridden 45 miles, I seem to recall, and climb inclines of 1,500 feet. 

After landing back on highway 170, I cruised along. It looked like rain most of the way, but I ended up arriving at the Danhostel Horsens. This trip ended up being 1,100 feet incline over 21 miles. But the wind was to my back for much of the way, so I averaged 10.5 mph.

Yesterday, when I made the reservation at Danhostel, I followed my usual habit of asking if I could check in early. Typically, they either don’t respond or they give me permission. Within an hour, however, Tim responded saying that he could let me check in for $30 extra. I thanked him, but told him I couldn’t afford it. 

When I arrived at the hostel, Tim came immediately into the lobby. He is about 6’4” and close to 300 pounds. He was cordial enough, but pointed out that “Heidi cannot stay inside.”

“Where can I put it?”

“Outside,” he said.

“It is an expensive bike. I can’t just leave it outside. Will you be responsible for it?”

“No.” He was prepared for this. I suspect he has used the same tactic on other customers. “It cannot stay inside. If you want, I can cancel your booking and you can find another hotel.” 

Tim was not rude. Just all business. Business before hospitality. I would say that up till now, almost all of my hosts, with the exception of the room in Korsor, have been hospitality first. 

“You know a few nights ago, I stayed at the Danhostels in Ringsted, and they let me keep it inside.” I was beginning to regret booking here.

“Yeah,  but we all have independent—” he couldn’t find the English world.

“Management?”

“Yes, management.”

He walked me out to the bike shed, which only guests have access to. I decided it was better to lock Heidi here than to try to find another place, and possibly have the same problem there.

Tim was not by any means rude. He is just an alpha male administrator who insists on running a tight ship and sees little value in customer service. And I think he might be struggling financially. Or perhaps he is attempting to maximize profits at the expense of customer service. In the hospitality industry in the US, there are plenty of people who run tight vessels, taking advantage of customers in legitimate and legal ways. 

For example, I remember that man from the Florida Panhandle who refused to let me park the bike in his $50/night motel, allegedly because one previous customer had ridden his bike on the walls leaving tire marks on said walls. There are several Gujarati hotel managers who insist on a $15 or $20 fee for early check-in. Or the Gujarati man in Corydon who refused to let me take breakfast to the room. 

Naturally, they can make their policies as they see fit, but poor customer service produces animosity and likely will hamper their business growth, repeat customers, online reviews. Sure, in the short, a manager may be able to squeeze a few extra bucks out of a desperate customer who has ridden a bicycle for 6 hours in the 90 degree heat. Or maybe you save a few dollars on breakfast. But in the long run, poor customer service will always come back to haunt you. 

We walked back inside. He insisted that I get Heidi out of the lobby immediately, as if she might contaminate the air. Three more times he insisted that check-in time was 3pm, leaving the door open for the $30 early check in fee should I so choose. 

He also told me that the door was locked at 5 pm, and explained how to get in after that. He started telling me about all the guests who come in and leave the windows open and then go to a party until 3am— but he got a phone call and had to go into his office to talk. I guess he feared I might eavesdrop on his Danish conversation.  

While I was locking Heidi in the shed, he came out and said, “As I was saying… “ do not leave the windows open for air because we are at the edge of forest, and “the room will be filled with bugs if I come back at 3am” like his other guests. 

I thought about asking him if he would introduce me to these guests who checked in and then left only to return at 3 in the morning. I want to do some partying with them. 

As I was pulling out several dirty clothes to wash, I asked him if I could used the washer and dryer (like I had at the Danhostel in Ringsted) but he told me he didn’t have a guest laundry.

“One other thing. If you are going to book another room, I suggest you book it directly with the hotel.” I knew where he was coming from. “Booking.com or Hotel.com charge me anywhere from 15% to 90% to book a room… I would like to see the customer pay less… You could save that money by booking directly with the hotel.”

Usually, when I have tried to tack on an extra night in Sweden, Vietnam, US or anywhere, the hotel is always 10-20% more. 

Just for the fun of it, I checked on his website and the lowest priced room is $90.70 plus tax. I paid $79 plus tax. So 13% more.

That is why he is upset. Normally, he would get the entire $90, but after Booking.com takes their, say 10%, that leaves him with $71 as opposed to $91. 

I explained to him how hard it was to try to book in a hotel in a new city by checking all 20 hotels, but by Booking.com, I could get all the information in one place. But, I did see his point. Booking.com makes a profit off me and off him. As he suggested, find the hotel you want to stay at, and the price on Booking or one of its competitors, check the direct website of the hotel, and take the cheapest one. 

Anyway, as great an experience I had at the Danhostel before, this one was turning out to be less attractive. No early check in, can’t take the bike to the room, no laundry, and no breakfast (the ad explained only breakfast on weekends). 

Unable to check into the room, I walked a mile to the 365 Discount and bought a few items. Then back to McDonalds and ate lunch. By the time, I got back to the hostel, I had walked a little over two miles and blisters had started forming on the balls of my feet. 

I walked in at 2:07 pm, and Tim said, “Craig, I think your room is ready,” which was kind of him, considering his earlier position. 

I thanked him and went directly to room 9. My feet were ready. 

Tim is a good manager. He has a very clean place. It is, in fact, very nice here. Very comfortable. Toys for kids to play with. The guest kitchen is fully equipped. There are even leftovers of coffee, rice, cereal and many other things. Guests are free to use anything on the condition that they wash, dry, and put it back when they are done. 

I finally found another Danish Danish. I ate it in the room and ranked it a 8.5. 

Danhostel ($79/night)

Horsens FLINTEBAKKEN 150, Horsens

Day 14: Aarhus (27 mi, 366 total miles)

20 June 2024: Thursday 

Magical!

This trip is magical. 

When I was a young man, I had this fantasy about riding a horse cross country. I would ride a horse eastward from Moscow across the endless plains of Soviet Union for years. In no hurry, just stopping to meet people, learn the language, enjoy the culture, camping every night, taking whatever life threw at me. No timetable, no urgency, just an endless cross county experience. 

I had a fascination with the Soviet Union. A deep fear and hatred because of what I had been taught in school—this was evil, atheist communist government that abused its people and kept them in perpetual poverty, after all—while at the same time I had an affinity for, and curiosity of, the Russian people, culture, architecture, and language. 

But that was fantasy. 

When the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, I just had to experience it. So, I made it happen, albeit on a shoestring. That was my introduction into Afghani, Pakistani, and Indian culture, which led me to return again and again. I couldn’t get enough. I wrote my dissertation about the fratricide and struggle for the Mughal throne in 17th century India. 

As I reached my late 50s, although I didn’t consciously realize it at the time, I began to envision a modified version of the cross-country trip on the back of a bicycle. In fact, I thought I had cleverly coined the term “bike-packing” until I found it was a real genre of travel. When I turned 60, I began trips of a few days to a month, peddling, observing culture, enduring the physical challenge, and enjoying the experience. Alone with my thoughts.

At work, I talk, talk, talk, all day long. I mentor and motivate staff, negotiate, coordinate activities, and come home exhausted. It is a very rewarding job, and I hope I can continue it for some time, but for an introvert, time away from constant interaction with people can be refreshing.

Here in Scandinavia, riding Heidi across the beautiful Nordic countries is magical. This is not the radically alien and exotic experience of Vietnam and Cambodia, but it is soul-refreshing, almost spiritual. The day-to-day logistical planning—route, elevations and incline, distance, accommodations, supply resources, weather, pricing, transportation options—can be complex. I suspect I invest 60-120 minutes a day into planning. Yesterday, I planned tomorrow’s trip, booked a hotel, checked accommodations for the following day, and then outlined the legs for the next two weeks. 

Asleep at 9pm, and awake at 4:20 am. I slept well, as usual. 

In the guest kitchen, I made a pot of coffee. Offered a cup to Danish man who came to wash bowls—he must have been up before me. 

Beginning at the edge of Horsens this morning, I encountered an incline. For the next two miles or so, I was riding gradually uphill. Then I turned west onto a narrow country road, which led to the most spectacular views of rolling wheat fields and old country architecture.

Suddenly, I came to a boom truck (large vehicle truck-loaded crane) blocking the road for small, rural bridge construction. That is where I met Soren. He told me I could carry my bike across the site. So I did. 

Then I peddled on over winding country roads, stopping often to catch my breath, pushing Heidi up a steep hill or two until I reached a small village, where I was forced off the main road and through town, where once again, I faced road construction. This time, I gingerly eased Heidi past a busy backhoe and over several steel road plates.

Once outside the village, I got back onto a busy road with no bike path. There are not many in the country, but I manage to find one. This was like driving along a highway in the US. In several places, however, the wind was to my back, and I made good time. I arrived at the hotel having averaged about 10 mph. That is good for me. 

Aarhus is a beautiful city!

The Aaarhus River runs through the down town, adorned with merchant shops, street-side, restaurants, and plenty of seagulls to peck away at leftovers neglected on diners’ places. I walked around the winding, cobble-stone streets and admired old churches and shops, laden with bargain bins and racks of clothing. Two young women gleefully pushed a Lidl ice cream cart, giving away chocolate or cherry ice cream bars. 

Not wanting to play to the well deserved stereotype of the arrogant American, I politely accepted a chocolate one and sat on a short brick wall in the shade to eat it. I, then, found Joey’s Burgers and ordered a burger with fries.

Nice day and the city is marvelous. 

Cabinn Aarhus Hotel ($85)

Kannikegade 14 8000 Aarhus Denmark