Hejnum

I was on the road at eight in the morning.  Ok, I finished the book.  Looked at some more Limestone rocks then started to work my way back to Visby.  Stopped in a more village churches and made some good time.  I decided to take the bike route across the center of the island.  Did not see any bike route markers even as passes the golf course marked on the map that the bike route went around.  I decided I would go for it thinking the trail might be more for mountain bikes.  The dirt road had large pools of water across it and then it turned into a narrow muddy horse track.  I push through that and came to another dirt road.  Then the road just stopped in the middle of the forests.  I decide to continue working my way through the forest as I did not want to face the horse track again.  It was tricky as I wound my way between clumps of trees and had to ford some streams.  Finally came to an electric fence across my route.  This I took as a good sign as roads usually lead to fenced off areas.   I decided to follow the fence to the right as that way looked easier for the next hundred feet.  After a while I came to a corner and now I was heading in the direction I needed to go.  The forest closed of on my side of the fence.  So I carefully hoped the three strands of electric fence.  Shortly after that came to some pools that my water proof boots would be under water.  I changed into sandals as the deer flies would enjoy more exposed flesh.  The forest opened and then I could see across the marsh I had come to.  I then realized I had just been warming up to the crossing.  The water was 6 inches to a foot across the marsh with thick clumps of grass adding to the fun of push a hundred pounds of bike and gear across the marsh.  I kept an eye on the electric fence with one wire a few inches above the water.  The marsh only lasted 2 miles and then the fence turned again. Another turn and after a while I came to a road that was a river also.  The fence sparked as I put gate wires back while I was standing 8 inches of water.   I could ride in the road/river as the ground was solid under a foot of water.  After a 100m the river and road paths diverge.  I did finally come to a sign an found I need to do some back tracking to get the right road out of area.  After a number off fence crossings I made it to a main road and a sign for the area.  It was a nature preserve and bikes were not allowed along with camping in any of the preserves.  As this was the first place with a sign in English and a guide to all the preserves I had been camping in.  So I was bad and camping illegally the last few days.  I camped just outside the preserve trying to be better.

7/28/10

62.2 mile 6:48 hr / max speed 22.7 / avg moving speed 9.1 / stopped time 5:61/ 694 ft total ascent. (cloudy with a headwind from the south) 

Love & kisses

Steve