Day 5. Harboør to Nørre Vorupør via Hurup.
Distance 71.1km. Average 18km/h.
The day started drier than the previous one had finished. This was not saying much however and the ground round the tent was still sodden. The dirt tracks of the campsite were covered in puddles. There was no chance of getting the tent dry but Damae wiped the worst of the condensation off the inside. I fiddled vainly with my back tyre hoping to get it straight but to no luck. So we ate and got the day started. Shortly after leaving my bike started making odd cracking noises and we very nearly decided to stop at the Bike Shop close to the route. For some reason Damae persuaded me otherwise and we pushed on.
We had a nice ride up to Thyberon or so Damae's diary says. Her not on the map reads "Bird reserve? Lovely sights, ridden with midges and horseflies, lovely big boulders". Coming out of town we picked up some oil at a petrol station close the ferry and some calorie food. I tried cleaning various bits of my bike to stop the cracking noises that were becoming ominously loud.
Coming off the ferry we whizzed up to Agger, my bike was now sounding rather worrying indeed. I suspected bearing troubles and didn't want to have to buy a second new wheel if it went on for too long. At the local hotel we made enquiries and discovered that the nearest bike shop was in Hurup. So we were going to see Hurup and what it had to offer. This meant leaving the route proper, which was a little sad. The compensation was nice rolling Danish countryside, now and again a bit too rolling to be easy cycling.
Once in Hurup it took us a few minutes to find the bike shop. The friendly and garrulous proprietor of the shop cleaned my bearings and rear cassette, and put a new outer tube on the bike. I could have done most of this myself but was now thoroughly tired of problems with our bikes. We avoided a lot of rain in the big shop and then when repairs were finally effected we went to look for a place to stay.
Whilst waiting in the shop we thought about using one of the basic campsites for the first time, and discovered that there was one in Hurup. With directions from the owner we left the bike shop in the drizzle and headed to the address. There we discovered a neat little bungalow rather like the one my grandparents used to own in Chester. But no one was home and the telephone was not being answered either.
So what now? I suggested that we pushed on that evening as we had not done many kilometers so far. We decamped to the local snack bar, and after a big plate of chips and a cappucino Damae was convinced enough to go for it. Our evening meal saved us from another downpour although it was still spitting as we made preparations to leave. Looking at the maps we decided to go cross country rather than retracing our steps, picking up the NSCR and faithfully doing all of it.