exhausted

So yesterday a couple of friends and I decided we needed to get back to nature and explore the Danish countryside. We took an early train to a southern island named Mon. (The O is actually an O with a slash through it).

After arriving on the island around noon, we decided to rent some bikes and ride out to the edge, where there's a great cliff named mon klint. After renting our bikes, the bike shop worker informs us that it's about 20k away. Being super excited, this distance didn't really mean anything to us. Around 10k mark, we realized just how far away it really was, and that the road ahead looked pretty hilly, and not so fun to bike up. But we hung in there, and huffed and puffed our way up hills and through gorgeous untouched forests. By the time we got there, our leg muscles were twitching and we were covered with dry, salty sweat. I know, really gross. So we ran down the 300 or so steps to the beach, which revealed a gorgeous cliff and ocean, yay! Immediately the shoes came off and we waded into the ocean. I think we were all ready to strip down to underwear and dive into the icy cold waters, but there were children present. So we decided to explore the rocky beach for awhile. After about two hours, we realized that we should probably make our way back to the bike shop, seeing as the sun wouldn't be up forever.

I never thought I'd be glad that my bike is the only route of transportation, but it actually paid off a lot as I stormed my way up the hills. The way back into town was not nearly as bad as the way there; most of the hills were downhill now and we actually knew where we were going. We decided that rather than wait for everyone as we biked, we'd have check-in points every five kilometers. On route to one such check in, I was coasting down a slight downhill when this dog runs out from behind a truck and slams into my front wheel. I hit the brakes and nearly fly over the handlebars as I envision us tangled together is a bike-dog mess on the pavement. The dog was pretty big, and evidently resilient because it didn't seem to phase him much. He ran off before my bike could hit the pavement again, and I kinda staggered into balance.

Needless to say, I nearly had a heart attack and found myself almost angry with this dog while simultaneously feeling awful. Luckily no one was injured in this mess and we all had a good laugh about it on the bus back to the train station. I wish I had videotape.

So yeah, after 40k of biking yesterday, I woke up with dread, only to find that my back was the only sore part of my body. I think my legs are silently protesting, confident that I will not do that to them again for at least a couple of weeks.