Det værste, det bedste og det mest overraskende ved cykelferie i Danmark – Australsk familie om at cykle i Danmark

Hvad overrasker en australsk familie på cykeltur i Danmark?

Hvad er de bedste oplevelser? Og de værste?

Og hvilke tips og råd – om cykeltur i Danmark – vil en australsk familie give videre til DIG?

Det får du svar på her.

Jeg har interviewet Meraiah og Tim. De fløj til Danmark fra Australien med deres to børn, Morgan på 8 år og Eden på 5 år, og har været på 2 ugers cykeltur i Danmark.

Turen gennem Danmark var første del af den australske families 6 måneder lange “tour de Europa”. De er afsted på to specialbyggede tandemer og har alt, hvad de skal bruge det næste halve år med i deres cykeltasker.

We wanted to start our journey in a cyclist friendly city, and Copenhagen was a great place to start. We were also looking for a country with good cycling routes, fun and adventurous playgrounds, and lovely rural scenery. Denmark was perfect in every way (Meraiah, australsk cykelturist i Danmark).

Familien kontaktede mig gennem cykelnetværket Warm Showers. De overnattede hos mig, og vi udvekslede erfaringer, oplevelser og drømme om livet som turcyklist.

Her fortæller australske Meraiah om familiens cykeloplevelser i Danmark.

Om danskernes reserverede attitude og om at finde gratis overnatning i et af Europas dyreste lande. Om tissetrang, danske bilister, og hvordan én dansk attraktion blev udslagsgivende for familiens rute gennem Danmark.

Til sidst får du familiens 3 bedste råd til cykeltur med børn i Danmark. Og de er gode!

Interviewet er på engelsk – men det går vel an? For som Meraiah overrasket siger: “Alle er jo virkelig gode til engelsk i Danmark”.

En australsk cykelfamilies vurdering af Danmark som cykelland

1. Why did you choose Denmark for your bicycle tour?

Denmark was our starting point for a six-month, north-to-south cycle tour through Europe.

We wanted to start our journey in a cyclist friendly city, and Copenhagen was a great place to start. We were also looking for a country with good cycling routes, fun and adventurous playgrounds, and lovely rural scenery. Denmark was perfect in every way.

2. Please describe your route through Denmark

After leaving Copenhagen, we cycled north toward Helsingør, then west toward Sjællands Odde.

From Sjællands Odde, we took the ferry to Aarhus, and then followed National Cycle Route 4 toward central Jutland and Billund.

From Billund, we headed southwest to Ribe, and on to the border via National Cycle Route 1.

3. Why did you choose this route? 

We generally don’t do a lot of advance route planning, hardly more than two days ahead.

In this case, we were guided a bit by the location of interesting Warmshowers hosts (we especially love staying with families), Legoland –  and some interesting towns and cities.

We are never afraid to adjust our route if necessary.

4. How long time did it take you – and how far did you cycle every day?

We left Copenhagen on June 5, and crossed the German border at Rudbøl on June 20, so 15 days, including a rest day at an organic farm in central Jutland, two rest days at Legoland, and a day exploring the museums at Ribe.

Our longest cycling day was 57 kilometres and our shortest was about 25km.

A usual day is about 40-45km.

5. Will you describe your route as family friendly? 

Yes!

So much of Denmark is very child friendly. For the most part, the terrain is pretty flat (except in eastern Jutland), and the roads are very good.

Often you have a dedicated cycle path, so you are completely separated from the traffic. Even when we had to share the road with cars, we found the drivers to be exceptionally courteous and respectful to cyclists – the best we have experienced anywhere. Drivers in Australia and Singapore are TERRIBLE with cyclists, so our bar was pretty low. However, I still rate Danish drivers really highly.

We generally try to avoid busy roads and highways, and for the most part, this was quite easy to accomplish in Denmark.

6. Did you follow signposted routes – if so, which ones and why?

We did sometimes, and those routes were very lovely.

We followed the national cycling route north from Copenhagen toward Helsingør (national route 9), then turned inland and followed some of the local cycle paths across to Sjællands Odde.

In Jutland we followed the national cycle route 4 for a little while, and we also spent a few days on the North Sea Cycle Route (national cycle route 1).

Find cykelkort, der dækker hele Danmark og viser alle de markerede cykelruter her

7. How did you experience these signposted routes?

These routes are very beautiful and easy to follow, but not always the most direct route between A and B. So sometimes we had to use our GPS to find more direct routes.

In order to beat the hills of eastern Jutland and make it to Billund in time for our reservation to Legoland, for example, and also to make it to Ribe before the Viking Centre closed for the weekend.

8. What surprised you the most about Denmark?

Almost everyone speaks English, even the checkout worker at the grocery store in the smallest rural town!

Compared to other places we have cycled, people are generally quite reserved, but always friendly and helpful if you need assistance.

We got very lucky with the weather. For several days, the sun was shining almost too hot for our comfort, but we got to the North Sea looking a lot like the Caribbean, all turquoise and aqua, which we are told is very rare.

9. What surprised you the most about cycling in Denmark?

Not much! It was pretty much exactly what we had expected – a cyclist’s paradise!

10. What was your best experience as cycle tourists in Denmark?

There are so many, it’s hard to name one!

Cycling the dyke roads along the coast of western Jutland; the beautiful hills of eastern Jutland; exploring the harbours around Sjællands Odde; the many sheep, cows, and beautiful green fields.

Denmark is a beautiful, peaceful country. We will definitely be back with our bikes.

11. What was your worst experience cycling in Denmark?

My only criticism of Denmark is that public toilets seem to be very hard to find in small towns! But people were always very happy to let our five year old use their bathroom – so we were never caught out.

Also, in summertime, the sun comes up at 4:30am and sets at about 10pm, so we found eyeshades to be very helpful.

The weather can be very changeable, so prepare for many stop-and-go days where you are putting on and shedding layers every five minutes.

12. Please share your 3 best advises regarding bike touring with kids in Denmark.

1. Download the Shelter App and make use of all the amazing free campsites and shelters in Denmark
   One night we stayed on the grounds of an old school with wonderful playgrounds and a full kitchen. Another night, one of our camping hosts took the kids out for a joy ride on her horses, and offered us an outside shower – all for 50DKK for the whole family.
   The camping at these tent sites made our cycling experience in Denmark very affordable. Even though the app is in Danish, it was still very easy to use.

2. Bring Kindles (or e-readers of any kind)!
   We were really impressed by how much our kids wanted to read on this trip. It was really nice to be able to download books about some of the things we were seeing along the route.
   For example, after exploring the Viking Centre at Ribe, we downloaded a book about vikings that we borrowed from our home library, and our 8-year-old read the entire book in two hours.
   There’s really no need for formal schooling when there is so much out in the world to learn from.

3. Keep a large and diverse supply of food in your panniers
   One of our panniers is entirely devoted to carrying food; while the other is our “kitchen” with cooking pots, eating utensils, and fuel.
   Kids get hungry all the time and don’t have the patience to wait until the next town (which might be 10 kilometres away) to eat.
   You need to be prepared to stop, unload, and make a full meal at a moment’s notice.

Læs mere om familiens tur

Du kan følge familien på deres egen blog. Her deler de oplevelser og billeder fra deres 6 måneder cykeltur ned gennem Europa, 2016. Eller følg dem på Facebook: Tandem Family

Fotos: Tim Wimborne

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