Day 13-2. Nørklit to Hirtshals contd.
It didn't take us long to get warmed up and into a good rhythm. After Bulbjerg we headed into Vester Torup Klitplantage on more good gravel tracks which took us on a zig-zag path through the forest. To help us along the way the sun had decided to come out properly and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day. This was some relief after the deluge we suffered the day before. Today was going to be long but we were prepared for that. It was good to enjoy the hazy sunshine, the forest and the sound of gravel crackling under our tyres. Life was green, forested and good. It took us around half an hour to get through this section of forest and then we were back on tarmac for around ten kilometres between Torup Strand and Kollerup Plantage. Then it was back on to forest tracks for a few kilometres before popping back out into open countryside down to Grønnestrand. Here, we turned away from the sea and back onto section of sand covered cycle track. This bit included a short steep hill which we both remembered this from the previous trip. The picture does not do it justice and neither does it show how soft the wet sand actually was.
A quarter of an hour later we arrived on the outskirts of Slettestrand, noticing signs of a holiday home building boom, all a little unbelievable in post credit crunch Europe. The road took us out to the edge of the dunes, and here we found a small cafe selling warm buns and fresh coffee. It was high time we had a proper rest as we'd only had one break an hour and a half before. It was a bit early for a proper lunch but we bought some coffee and sat outside eating our sandwiches. The weather was not brilliant but it had stayed dry so far and the wind was clearly in our favour, despite the zig-zag nature of the route.
Half an hour later we were on our way again. There followed a section on rough and soft gravel that Damae described as "slow going". We picked our way carefully round deep puddles of water under the grey brooding sky and made our way towards Tranum strand. Not long after we turned onto a nice flat section of concrete slab road and, being able to take advantage of the tailwind, raced towards Rødhus. We passed another free camping ground in the woods, Tranum Klitplantage came and went and once out of Rødhus, we carried on up to Blokhus. We had a short break just before entering Blokkhus Klitplantage and by half past one we were in the centre of Blokkhus.
Our arrival in Blokkhus signified the start of perhaps the best part of the day's cycling. From Blokkhus the NSCR takes in all fifteen kilometres of Saltum strand up to Løkken. The last time we had been here we'd had a headwind, our thin tyres had struggled on the soft sand and yours truly had been feeling a bit under the weather. This time, we had a tailwind, fifty four millimetre wide Smart SAMS and we were both feeling good. As you might have guessed, out on the beach our tailwind strengthened. This was a hoot, sitting bolt upright on our bikes trying to catch as much of the breeze as possible. Despite the grey skies and the wind there were plenty of things happening on the beach. We passed a pair of cycle tourists heading the other way. Not surprisingly they were moving much more slowly than we were and looked like they would rather have been somewhere else. A bit further up we came across some kite karts on the sand. There was plenty of space for all of us and the kite karters seemed to know what they were doing.
At a quarter past two we decided to stop and have some more lunch. Given the distance we were aiming to cover today it made sense to pace ourselves even though the going was good at the moment. We found a hump of sand not far from a bin and sat down to eat. Damae prepared some extra sandwiches whilst I made some tea and we watched a tractor with a trailer repeatedly dumping sand on the beach. I wondered what effect such small amounts of sand would make on such a vast beach. Did it really help or was it a Danish job creation scheme employing modern King Canutes in a futile attempt to shore up Denmarks West Coast sea defences?
Who cared. The sandwiches tasted delicious and were washed down with fresh, hot strong tea. While we were sitting there we noticed a large colony of ladybirds on the bin. They were just sitting there as if though they were taking a well deserved afternoon nap. We were careful not to disturb them when throwing away the tea bags and then packed away our things. After a welcome half hour sitting on the sand it was time to push on.