Episode 2: Germany! Almost there, right?

Almost there might be a bit too optimistic, with about 1800km to go, but at least I crossed the border today:)

Afke´s mother cycled with me for the first few kilometers in the morning, and she showed me a great cycling path which I wouldn´t have found on my own, with great views along the way. She and her husband had been incredibly kind to me during my stay.

Today, problems started quite early. Not with legs or behinds but with the pedals. They were slightly loose and it got worse the longer I went on, so I decided to stop at a mechanic to have him turn the bolt tight again. This was a matter of three seconds, and yet this man managed to charge me 2 euros for this incredible feat! Well, I couldn´t really complain, he fixed it, so I was on my way again.

I passed through landscape that became increasingly foreign, and it did not take long before I reached the border. I had taken a little road where a sign pointed to `Duitsland´, so I went down there. When I got to the border it was quite stunning how unimpressive it was. There was no sign, no old border police cabin, no nothing, except an old red and white steel bar that had been tossed aside a long time ago.

It wasn´t until a few kilometers along the road that I finally started noticing German license plates. I had actually finally made it to Germany. But I hadn´t even done half the distance for that day. From here on I often cycled through the forest. It´s amazing how there are so much more trees in Germany compared to the Netherlands.

The hours were passing fast, but I was cycling slower and it got quite heavy at some point. Moreover, the sounds I had heard that morning that alerted me to the problem with pedals had come back. I decided to go past a mechanic again. When I found one the man was very friendly, though also amused at my attempt to get `thát piece of 30 year old iron´ to Russia, or even to Greifswald. But at least he helped me, and when I wanted to leave he told me he would put a little more air in the tires with his electric pump.

KABLAMMM!!!!!

That, my dear readers, was the end of my back tire as we knew it. The mechanic cursed a bit, but immediately told me to bring my bike in at the back, and he fixed up my whole bike, for free!! Well, at least fixed those parts that were still in a condition that they could be fixed, because on the whole, he said, this bike was beyond any repair.
He confided me in telling that the bike was about 30 years old and the wheels and frame and everything on it can´t be found in any factory anymore. That, combined with the fact that my wheels were in a terrible state, made my bike a total loss as it was. My view that it was still going was quickly put aside by a `not for long´. My chain would break any moment, he said, and when I would replace the chain, I would also have to replace the entire gear system. Which, of course, would take costs up to a level quite above what I would be able to afford.

I finished the 10 last kilometers quite afraid that I would end up crashing down head first on the asphalt. In the end it wasn´t that bad, but chances are I will at some point have to leave my bicycle and continue hitchhiking. Luckily I did prepare for this.

What will happen tomorrow? A 150km ride to Bremen, will he crash, will he make it, will he survive? Find out here, when I post the next story!