After three nights in Vilnius, Lithuania, I loaded up my bicycle and hit the street with plans of biking for the subsequent 4 days till I reached the town of Riga, Latvia (about 300 kilometers to the north). I might have simply cycled to Riga in three days, however I used to be in no rush, so I took my time and tried to take pleasure in myself as greatest I might.
Getting out of Riga didn’t take very lengthy. After about 45 minutes I used to be effectively exterior the town and biking in stunning, inexperienced countryside. The terrain, nevertheless, was a mixture of paved and grime/gravel roads. When the grime/gravel grew to become too tender or bumpy, journey was gradual. However on the paved streets, I used to be completely flying.
I cycled all day lengthy, loaded up on meals and water within the tiny city of Panoteriai, Lithuania, after which discovered a spot to camp for the night time in a close-by forest. This campsite was most likely on my greatest throughout this specific leg of my journey. It was fairly, with nobody round, and solely a small variety of mosquitos.
Within the morning I packed up camp, loaded up my bicycle and hit the street. I noticed a big rabbit simply as I used to be leaving the forest, and the rabbit dashed off into the woods as quickly because it noticed me.
All day lengthy I used to be crossing from grime to paved roads. Grime street for six km after which paved roads for 10 km. Then grime roads for 8 km and paved roads for 12 km. It went on like this all day.
If the picture under makes you suppose the climate was spectacular throughout this specific leg of the journey, you’d be improper. Regardless that the solar was out at instances, it was normally very chilly. The climate over the course of those 4 days was virtually at all times chilly (or on the verge of being chilly) with the solar popping out for a number of moments after which shortly going away. The specter of rain was virtually at all times close to.
Throughout my second day on the street I slept in one other forest simply north of the town of Panevezys, Lithuania. The picture under reveals my campsite round 4:30 AM, after I crawled out of my tent within the early morning as a way to use the restroom.
The climate the subsequent day was the worst of all the bike tour. It wasn’t so chilly, but it surely was raining on and off all day lengthy. I’d get moist, get chilly, dry out, after which get moist yet again. Plus, the wind was blowing like loopy and it felt like I used to be pulling an anchor behind my bicycle. I saved checking to ensure I didn’t have a flat tire. The wind was significantly slowling me down. However I lined 80 kilometers or extra that day, and to my delights, was in a position to cross the Lithuanian border and cycle into Latvia.
The home under is the kind of structure I’ll without end affiliate with Lithuania. Whereas most of the properties in Lithuania are fairly fashionable and constructed of brick (like these you may see in Poland or Germany), Lithuania had numerous previous, wood properties like this. A lot of them have been painted yellow!
As quickly as I crossed the bridge that introduced me from Lithuania to Latvia, I used to be handled to this spectacular view of the Skaiskalne, Latvia. The lighting was unbelievable! See under.
I then cycled for an additional hour or so earlier than making camp in a big forest close to the facet of the street. I celebrated having made it to Latvia by doing a number of handstands in entrance of my tent.
I slept in late the next morning, awakened and browse a chapter from the guide I’m studying in the intervening time (“Ender’s Sport” by Orson Scott Card) and didn’t get out of my tent till 11 AM. As soon as I hit the street although, I used to be flying!
Not like the day earlier than, when it had been a wrestle to cowl simply 80 kilometers over the course of all the day, I cycled about 80 kilometers in 3.5 hours and made it to Riga, Latvia earlier than 3 PM.
Biking into Riga was simple. There was a whole lot of visitors and the biking lanes have been removed from excellent (they didn’t actually exist on a number of the bigger roads), however discovering a spot to spend the night time was simple. I used to be capable of finding a campground on the sting of the Duagava River, simply throughout from the town heart (within the just lately opened Riverside Tenting). I used to be in a position to pitch my tent on a small patch of grass, proper on the sting of the river. This was the view from my tent!
I ought to have gone into the middle of Riga the primary day I arrived, as a result of after I awakened the next morning, it was pouring rain… and it continued to rain virtually all day lengthy. Someday round 2 PM, nevertheless, there was a brief break within the rain, so I went into the town heart, walked round, and snapped a number of photographs. Then I returned to my campsite and spent the remainder of the night time on my pc and hiding from the rain.
I ended up staying in Riga for 3 whole nights… and through my final day within the metropolis I met up with Ilze from en.thecrazytravel.com. Ilze and her boyfriend, Pablo, are conducting a bicycle tour around the globe. They’ve already traveled for six+ months and plan to be on the street for the subsequent a number of years.
It was nice assembly you Ilze! I can’t wait to listen to all of the tales (and see all of the photographs) out of your bicycle tour around the globe!
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