Denmark's Cycling Dreamland

In case you haven’t heard, Denmark is one of the most cycle friendly countries in the world and, to be honest, there’s not a whole lot to say about this fact.  There are cycle lanes and named and signposted routes between most towns as well as several long-distance, cross country cycle routes designed to take you to some of Denmark’s more interesting sights.  Actually, everything is so well laid out and safe, it can be a bit boring for adventuresome tourers.  We were lost most often when we failed to spot a sign indicating our route was turning, leaving us to pedal off blindly in the wrong direction until we’d hit a major intersection where the lack of a bike route sign would then indicate that we were lost.  We’d pull out our map, attempt to correlate roads and intersections which have no names (on our map), try to remember the names that were on the last sign telling us the distance to the towns on the road.  Eventually we’d turn a phone on and let the gps figure it out for us and use the phone to figure out how to get back on track.  A route would be mapped and this would ultimately lead us on to busier roads with no shoulder until we reconnected with the bike route.  You then get to feel a bit silly, pedaling down a highway with a 6” shoulder being passed every 10 seconds by people who are wondering why you’re there and not one of the 12,000kms of bike routes.

So forget bike routes.  We found a better way...for us.

Shelterplads.

Shelterplads are free, basic shelters scattered about Denmark.  They’re meant to be used by hikers and cyclists only and are usually hidden away with in small forests.  Some are signed, some are not.  Often they’re found near those meandering cycle routes, but just as often they’re located in forests near the communities and people that maintain them.   Once we decided to abandon the cycle routes and create our own path linking up shelterplads as we discovered them, the trip sped up and got much more interesting.  Instead of constantly being on the lookout for bike route signs, we would find our own way, taking short cuts down sandy forestry roads, smooth single track trails and quiet farm roads.  The cycle routes also have these, but for us, we found ourselves spending too much time trying to stay on track rather than simply letting go and making decisions as we went.  Plus, nothing screams fun like pushing your bike up a steep rain runnel in soft sand!

Our route through the north of Denmark took us along sandy beaches and grassy dunes.  We passed through many cozy beach towns full of friendly people.  As we moved south and away from the coast (to escape the winds which had been dogging us since Iceland) we found beautiful old farmhouses and tidy villages and towns set among rolling forested hills.  We spent time linking up roads and trails that passed through woodlots and protected forests.  We spent a couple nights in Viborg, one of Denmark’s oldest towns, before plotting as direct a line as possible to the south to get us through the corn and potato fields as fast as possible.  Farmland often creates complications for cycle tourers; there are usually fewer places to camp.  Denmark, being different that most places, even through the farmland we managed to find small forests which inevitably had a shelter or a free tenting site available.  It’s really an amazing network, built and maintained by the farmers, communities and enthusiastic locals.  At one shelter, a couple came by and asked us how we found this shelter, then suggested if we come through the same way on our way back, that we stay in the shelters they’ve built on their property. 

More so than the bike route network, shelterplads are what makes Denmark the easiest place in the world to cycle tour.  The biggest problem of every day is finding a good place to sleep.  With that solved for you already, all you need to do is pedal around and enjoy the beautiful scenery and towns.  Denmark really goes above and beyond for cyclists and pedestrians.  And with that comes a country that has 4 bikes for every car, a high level of fitness among older generations and is one of the happiest places on earth.  

Denmark Round-up:

ODO Start: 804kms
ODO Finish: 1368
Total km:  564
Number of days: 13
Avg km per day peddled:  51
Rest days: 2
Rainy Days: 7
Cost per day each not including guesthouse: $14.50
Cost per day each including guesthouse (2 nights): $25
Pancakes eaten: 30
Number of sore knees:  1
Nights in shelterplads: 7 
Nights in Teltsplads: 4
Campfires:  3
Number of time a fire had to be re-lit because of wet wood:  6
Number of National Bike routes followed or crossed at some point: 8 (of 12)