Day 19. Hirtshals to Sæby via Skagen and Fredrikshavn.
Distance 116km Average 18.5km/h.
The day started fresh and autumnal, the sun was shining and there was a bracing breeze off the sea. We were both awake early and raring to go. I started by cleaning my chain and replacing the derailleur cog that had a lot of play in it. Damae went off to wash some clothing. Then we did the breakfast and packing up routine exiting the campsite for the second and final time of our trip.
We quickly realised on exiting the town and heading out to open countryside that the wind was in our favour. The route for the morning was a mix of off-road and on road, sometimes in forested areas at other times in the open sunshine. Damae wrote a comment in the guide book, 'Hirtshals - Skagen loveliest section of the entire route' and it was indeed lovely.
We stopped for short pauses as the morning progressed. One time was just after entering a forested section. Sheltered from the wind and in the dappled sunshine we did not cool down as we had expected. Then off again, it was great fun with the wind in our backs and the sun shining gloriously.
At around half twelve we saw the Rädbjerg Mile from afar. This is a wandering dune around forty meters high that has in the last hundred years, moved a distance of four kilometers from southwest to northeast. It looked like a large bald patch on the dune, and I stopped to take a couple of photos. We very briefly considered doing the walk up to the dune but decided to push on as the going was good.
Within the hour we had reached the outskirts of Skagen. We got off our bikes and walked the first section through the busy town centre to get a feel of the place. The NSCR proper was a parallel road a couple of streets across. However seeing as we had to come out of Skagen the same way we decided to take the official route on the way out of town.
It appeared to be market day and the street was very crowded. Whilst summer had officially ended in Norway it appeared that it was in full swing here. There was plenty to look at and to buy if you were in buying mood. Everything from the necessities of life to the arty-farty. The sun was still bright and the place seemed alive.
At the end of the shopping street we picked up the route again, turning right on to the parallel street. We ran up past dock areas getting progressively closer to the sea. Suddenly the road did a sharp left and then right past an old fire basket hanging from a frame. We paused took a look and then cycled the last bit. Our goal was to get somewhere close to the spit of land that is the end of Denmark. By two o'clock we were there. We had cycled just under sixty kilometers pretty much non-stop in the morning session and only now did we stop properly.