Distance: 52.97 miles

Time: 4:26

Average Speed: 11.9 mph

Elevation Gain: 860 feet

So is there a plan, you might be minded to ask, before I set off across Europe. Well, yes, maybe! I am headed towards the northern German cities of Hamburg and Bremen, and then on towards Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, before making for a ferry back to the UK, most likely from Rotterdam or the Hoek of Holland. In terms of time frame, I think I have plenty of time, but I have added a secondary factor, of wanting to do a Parkrun in Germany, this Saturday! Hamburg or Bremen are the available options – and Bremen sounds lovely – but I feel like Hamburg is perhaps the more achievable target.

After another restless night, and a few short rain showers during the morning, it was after 1 PM before I finally left the campsite, and as I pedalled along the silk-smooth cycle path, for those first few hundred metres, the feeling was amazing, excitement, anticipation, and the freedom of the road.

For ten miles or more, I savoured the wonder of the Copenhagen bike infrastructure, consistently implemented, consistently used, there were cycle lanes on both sides of every road I took. Bikes gave way to pedestrians, cars gave way to bikes, somehow I have a feeling it would never catch on back home…

After 13 miles, the sense of wonderment was over, I couldn’t help but notice that the cycle lanes were also very flat. And the one time that flat cycle lanes aren’t particularly enjoyable is when there’s a headwind. Sigh.

Reaching Mosede Fort, I was pleased of the sea views over the Køge Bugt, before being lured off the bike once more by the sight of delicious looking pastries, of no obvious national affiliation, at the Baker Street bakery.

While pedalling through Helfolge, at 29 miles, and just after 5 o’clock, the wind started to turn, and the sky clouded over, a sudden downpour stopping me in my tracks. I’d just past Ristorante da Pino, a very handily placed pizza place, so I turned back, and hastened inside.

Rain having abated, I was back on the road, at just after 6, and with the wind now behind me, I was feeling good. Soon after, at 32 miles, the cycle path suddenly disappeared and I was cast out into the countryside for the first time. The road starting to rise and fall, the first real gradients all day.

The miles were passing much more quickly now, and I started to deliberate my campsite options for the evening. Plan A was too far away, Plan B wouldn’t be reached until after 9, and as their website was solely in Danish I couldn’t find any information about their reception opening hours. That left Plan C.

So, leaving the main 151 road at Tappernoje, I meandered along some quiet country lanes until I reached the large body of water of Praesto Fjord, continuing on to the pretty little harbour town of Præstø, after 50 miles, and leaving me only 40 more miles of the island of Zealand – on which I’d been travelling – before taking the ferry to Germany.

• cycle-touring