Day 4 - Vordinborg, Denmark - CRASH!#!#!

Tony's View

We finally got to ride — a nice little 62‑mile warm‑up. Well… we made it about half a mile after leaving the Airbnb before things got exciting.

I made a left‑hand turn without signaling or checking the mirror. Rookie move. And did we mention Copenhagen has about as many cyclists as Amsterdam? It feels like the entire population commutes by bike, and the bike traffic proves it.

So back to that left turn onto the bike path. I start turning and — CRASH — the cyclist behind us plows straight into the fairing. He kept going, thankfully unharmed, and his bike seemed fine too. Our fairing, however, looked like it had been through a demolition derby. You can see in the picture just how badly it was mangled.

Nothing like starting a 62‑mile ride with a little Copenhagen love tap.

We pulled off the road, relieved that nobody was hurt — except maybe my pride. Then it was time for my best MacGyver impression. I broke out 17 zip ties, duct tape, electrical tape, and whatever dignity I had left. Half the fairing looked like it had been folded by an origami enthusiast with anger issues.

We spent about an hour bending parts back into something vaguely resembling their original shape. The photo shows the fairing about halfway through its transformation into a modern art sculpture held together by zip ties and hope.

Once we got it “rideable,” we headed off again — with Joan literally holding the fairing in place like she was part of the pit crew for a very confused Formula 1 team.

Nothing says “vacation cycling” like roadside repairs and improvised engineering.

We stopped again, and it was clear the zip‑tie‑and‑tape masterpiece was not performing as advertised. At this point it looked less like a repair and more like a craft project gone wrong. A guy rolled up and told us there was a bike shop about 6 km ahead. Perfect — professional help, because my inner MacGyver was running out of inspiration.

We rode there, peeled off all the tape and zip ties, and revealed the full horror show: bent alloy parts everywhere. Both I and the mechanic were worried that if he tried to bend anything back, it would just snap like a breadstick. But he took the challenge. He grabbed the mangled fairing pieces, walked it back to his vise — you know, the tool I didn’t pack for the trip — and got to work.

After a couple of attempts (and a few moments where I thought we’d be throwing the fairing away and going without one), he managed to get everything close enough to its original shape that we could reassemble it. It’s a little cock‑eyed now, but fully functional — which is basically the mission statement of bicycle touring.

Here are some pictures with our new bicycle‑mechanic hero, the man who saved the day with a vise and a can‑do attitude.

With our newly “functional” fairing — well mostly — we were finally rolling again. Naturally, our first stop was a bakery, which is Joan’s version of a spiritual pilgrimage. It was delicious and gave us just enough energy to pretend we were real cyclists again.

A little farther down the road, we spotted something super cool: apples for sale with MobilePay. No stand, no person, just apples and trust. A few minutes later we saw a rack of dresses set out the same way — basically an unmanned garage sale powered entirely by  honesty. 

We were on some pretty cool roads today's you can see from the picture. I would say we were on 60% bike paths and 40% country roads. A beautiful ride.

A great place for a stop in the middle of nowhere to take a break.

We ran into miles of steel plate roads through farm fields, I thought this was super cool and I know my friend Jeff Puthoff would think the same. Yes, the same guy who likes it when I lose my luggage.

We got to the beautiful Airbnb and did some additional adjustments. Then when we went out to eat downtown. I got my favorite Pepsi ever, and the Italian food was awesome. The chef was from Rome, Italy.

I really hope we don’t have to use the word crash again in this blog. Joan did a great job staying calm and reminding me that freaking out doesn’t actually fix anything. She was right, of course — and after she gently told me to relax, I finally stopped acting like the world was ending.

On the bright side, we used about 90% of our battery on a 62‑mile day, which I’m actually pretty happy about. Tomorrow is a shorter ride… with rain in the forecast. Because nothing says “vacation cycling” like wet roads, questionable fairing stability.

Joan's Extras

After setting out on our inaugural first ride of this trip and experiencing an abrupt change of plans, I started to think, "Is this going to become the norm for our first days out?" Last year, I had to peddle backwards the entire day. This year, I had to hold the fairing up off of my legs until we found a bike shop hero. One can only imagine what the future will hold???

I'm actually really loving that fairing. Besides keeping the rain off and making us aerodynamic, I think it absorbed the impact today that could have been me instead. 400 krone was a small price to pay to get it back on guard. 💜

Vordinborg is another cool small town. We walked by the #1 tourist spot in town -  Goose Tower. Goose Tower was one of 7 towers that was once part of King Valdemar Atterdag's castle. It was used as a prison and the locals have some legend about a princess being locked into Goose Tower. There is a golden Goose on the top, although the original golden Goose flew away with King Eric of Pomerania when he fled Denmark with the royal treasure. That part is true, Eric! 

Day 3 - Copenhagen, Denmark, Bags Deployed~

Joan's View

Tony on Fedex watch

The bags to be shipped to Vienna were packed and set outside by 9:00am for pickup. Fed ex was expected anytime before 1:00 or 5:00 depending on the source. Tony spent the morning assembling the rest of the tandem, test riding it, and then went outside a little before 1:00 to be a scarecrow. Ironically, close to 1:00, I went to check on him and he decided that he needed a beer. He went in while I stood guard, and just then the Fedex driver turned the corner and parked on the sidewalk to pickup our bags. 

Fedex loading our bags

We were free again. We metro-ed it to Our Saviour's Church based on another Kaye suggestion. The tickets to hike the steeple were sold out so we checked out the inside of the church. It was pretty cool how the elephants hold up the pipe organs.

Kaye said that the views were great up there. 😁

On our Metro ride to the Torvehallerne, a farmer's market area, we met this couple from New Castle, England. I asked him if his injuries were from the biking or running yesterday during the Iron Man. He said it was from the biking. He was coming in fast to the transition and was looking for flags overhead. Instead there were 2 guys waving flags and a crowd of cyclists in front of him. He slammed on his brakes and went down. He gashed his left arm to the bone and beat up his legs. We asked him if he finished and he said, "Of Course!" They patched him enough and told him that he would have to assume responsibility if he went on. He finished in 13 hours 28 minutes and 50 seconds, and went to the hospital after finishing to get stitched up. That 's an Ironman!

Name that beautiful fish from the fish market, Bud, Nick or other fishermen???

Tony wears his Notre Dame hat and look what we find!

Finally, we found this amazing Chinese place, Mywok. Pad Thai for me, free shrimp chips (Tisha will appreciate that one), and my new favorite drink, Faxe Kondl.

Tomorrow, we ride!

Tony's Extras

Yea, the bags were finally picked up. The folks at Choice One knew I was extremely worried about whether the driver would actually take them. They told me the bags needed to be in a cardboard box, but the shipping company said it was fine without one — “but it’s up to the driver.” Great. Nothing like leaving your sanity in the hands of a random guy with a van. I think it helped with Joan being out there, probably felt sorry for her.

Of course, I had a backup plan… and a backup to the backup plan. Didn’t need either, but I explained all of them to everyone at Choice One anyway. By the time I showed up there for the third day in a row, I told them I’d woken up at 3:00 a.m. just to call my backups and make sure they were still on board. Yea again.

By the way, Doug Borchers — I have great patience. I just don’t like to use it. 😂

I saw this sign and had to get a picture, such a great point.

It was a blast talking with the injured Ironman. He had just retired and said doing an Ironman was something he’d always wanted to check off the list — but he needed retirement to free up the 25+ hours a week to train. I’m sure that’s exactly what most people dream of doing the moment they retire. I’m also sure my recently retired friends, Dan Ernst and Eric Huth, will jump right on that plan. 

Ready to ride tomorrow.

Day 2 - Copenhagen, Denmark, Two out of Three Ain't Bad

Tony's View

Last night I was lying around, half‑asleep, half‑annoyed, wondering if—after all the calls—the bag would actually make it onto the Toronto → Copenhagen flight. And of course, the only thing running through my head was Meat Loaf: “Two out of three ain’t bad.” Except when you only have half your bike, it’s definitely bad.

I kept waking up like a kid on Christmas morning, checking the tracking. Then at 2:15 a.m., boom: “Bag ready to load.” A little later: “Bag loaded.” Finally, I could sleep without dreaming about lost luggage.

The Air Canada rep told me I could swing by the airport at 11:00 a.m. and grab it off the belt. So Joan stayed at the Airbnb, and I set off on a 35‑minute metro mission.

When I got there, they wouldn’t let me near the belt. “Go talk to Air Canada.” Air Canada then told me they were short‑staffed and couldn’t take me back there. It took them an hour to deliver that news. Then they sent me to the information desk, who also said they were short‑staffed. Copenhagen Airport was apparently running on a skeleton crew today.

Finally, they told me the bag would be delivered sometime between 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. Bummer

So I headed back, grabbed Joan, and we went sightseeing instead of bag‑hunting.

We headed downtown and stumbled right into an Ironman race — and not a small one. This was a full‑blown, carbon‑fiber‑everywhere, “my bike costs more than my car” kind of event. You can see all the high‑end triathlon machines in the photos. Yes, I was absolutely salivating.

We ended up right at the transition zone between the bike leg and the marathon run. Perfect spot for people‑watching and gear envy. The run was set up as a 10K loop, so the athletes passed by four times, which kept the crowd fired up and made it feel like we were part of the action instead of just spectators. You can see in the pictures that there are some pretty cool helmets.

Here you can see the runners on the left just coming off the bike leg, while the ones on the right have already knocked out one, two, or even three of the 10K loops. You could actually tell how far along they were by the bracelets — each lap earned them a new color. It was like watching an endurance race and a craft project at the same time.

During the rest of the race we decided to walk around and check out the canals and the colorful buildings that Kaye Borchers recommended. They are something special. 

We decided it was time for food — and obviously a couple of beers. While we were sitting there minding our own business, two guys walked up and sat next to us. Turns out they were ridiculously interesting. We ended up talking to Martin and Jamie for over an hour.

Both were Harvard grads with the kind of life stories that make you wonder what you’ve been doing with your time. The guy next to me was from Sydney — or should I say Sidney, since I apparently can’t spell when beer is involved. They’re working on a project in Greenland, and the material they’re mining there is so similar to what’s on the moon that they actually test moon buggies up there. Greenland: secretly NASA’s playground.

I mentioned that Trump once floated the idea of annexing Greenland, and the guy immediately launched into the strategic reasons — missile defense, Arctic positioning, all that. He said he knows the King of Greenland (which is already a wild sentence), and that Greenlanders like the USA but not the way Trump approached it. According to him, if Trump apologized, the whole thing might actually be possible.

I told him, “Well, you both live in DC — why don’t you go tell him?” He said he’d thought about it, but he might go through Marco Rubio since he knows him well. Then he casually mentioned that his best man is friends with Trump and once asked what Trump is like personally. Apparently, Trump is polite, funny, great at telling jokes, and a surprisingly enjoyable golf partner. Not exactly the description you expect to hear over beers in Copenhagen.

There were plenty more stories, but I’m tired of typing and you’re tired of reading, so we’ll call it even.

Here’s one of the finishers I talked to after he gathered all his gear. Joan and I were honestly amazed that he was still walking — let alone looking like a functioning human being. He told us he finished in 8 hours and 12 minutes. Eight hours! He said everything was going great until the last 10K, when he “struggled.”

Struggled? Most people are still out there grinding away at hour fifteen, bargaining with the universe and reconsidering all their life choices. If his version of struggling still gets him across the line in just over eight hours, that’s not struggling — that’s superhero territory.

Back to the lost‑luggage saga. We got back to the Airbnb at 5:00pm to wait for the delivery. Joan stayed inside on bag‑watch duty while I headed to the grocery store to stock up on supplies. I came back, grabbed a chair, cracked a beer, and parked myself by the road like some kind of suburban scarecrow whose only job was to flag down a delivery van.

We needed that bag tonight — otherwise shipping the empty bike cases to Vienna would turn into a logistical nightmare. So there I was, sitting by the street with my beer, when the phone rang. I told them I’d be out there waiting until the driver showed up.

Their response?

“Wow, you’ll be sitting out there for a while. Our driver can’t make it until tomorrow.”

Big bummer.

Are you happy yet, Puthoff?

I told them I needed it tonight. They said, “Well… if you come to the airport, we can see what we can do.”

So off to the airport I went — again. At this point I didn’t even need Google Maps. I could practically commute there blindfolded.

I arrived, and they told me they could get the bag to me at 9:30 p.m.

It was 6:00 p.m.

Not ideal.

So what did I do?

Yep — I started begging.

And then Celine came to the rescue. She worked some magic, took a picture with me, and we both celebrated like we’d just completed our own Ironman.

 I HAVE THE LOST BAG NOW, YEA!!!!

Joan's Extras

Truth be told, my luggage waiting duty involved a few naps. 😍 Our history is that it takes me longer to adjust to the new time zone and it takes Tony longer to adjust when we go home. Carol and Clyde can attest to that one because it took me days when we visited them in China, a lofty 12 hour difference.

Tomorrow may be another waiting day depending on how soon the bags to be shipped to Vienna get picked up by the courier. Nap anyone?

Day 1 - Copenhagen, Denmark, Oops it Happened Again

Joan's View

3 Schroeder generations for the airport delivery

Our trip started with this wonderful Indianapolis Schroeder Uber service. Air Canada flights all on time through Toronto and to Copenhagen. However, Tony started watching the bags after leaving Toronto and, oops, it happened again. We have a bike bag still in Toronto! 😤 Here we go again, folks!

We started a lost baggage case in the airport. After getting a little help from the guy at the Metro ticket kiosks, we lugged the heavy, bulky bags that we had on the Metro through elevators, and a few escalators even. Our 2 checked bags that made it from Toronto weigh the maximum allowed, and each of our carryons contain the heavy lithium batteries since they are not allowed in a plane cargo hold. On top of that we have our personal items, and mine is at maximum capacity. 😁

Metro Tony

After getting to our planned last Metro stop, we realized that the route that was supposed to be 600 meters to get to the airbnb, was actually, 1.5 miles. After asking AI, we decided to get back on the Metro via more elevators and escalators to find a closer stop. A nice Danish guy saw us contemplating the map since there are several tracks in Copenhagen. He gave us some helpful directions, and off we went this time ending up much closer to our Airbnb. It was still a tiring walk with several rest stops and a water break for me. Wade, the workout machine, will be proud of all the strength his Mama gained today carrying and hauling. 😁

Since Tony is the only one with international service again, we waited to call Air Canada about the bags until we got to the Airbnb. They actually called back even if it was while we eating at Cafe Svejk. Looks like Tony will be heading back to the airport tomorrow to get the bag if it makes the flight tonight. Per the customer rep, baggage delivery is unpredictable here in Copenhagen too. Tony got his first Danish big beer at Cafe Svejk though. 🍻

Tony assembling the tandem parts that we have.

We decided to go to Mass tonight since tomorrow is a toss up with the bag situation. The Mass that worked for us was an Italian Mass (great music) about a 3.5 mile walk. We got to see a little of Copenhagen too. You can see from outside of the church that we are in a bicycle loving country.

Tony's Extras

Well, Puthoff got his wish. He said I hope Tony's Luggage gets lost again to everyone at Choice One.It makes the blog more interesting. 😡 Unbelievable, It is me checking if the luggage gets on the plane at 3:00am here and if we are lucky, I get to go back to the airport tomorrow and pick it up. If it doesn't show up tomorrow, things really start getting interesting and complicated. Hopefully we will have good news tomorrow.

Day 37 -Tallin to Vilnius Bike Trip Summary - We are Home

“Your bike is a discovery; your bike is freedom. It doesn’t matter where you are when you’re on the saddle; you’re taken away."

                                                                        ~ Doug Donaldson

Zurich to Brussels bike trip summary

Miles ridden: 624.56

Elevation gain: 11,625

# of Countries: 4 - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (no biking there)

# of flat tires: 0

# of times the chain fell off: 4 times it broke 

# of bicycle light malfunctions: 3 the radar turned itself off. 

# of diabetes monitoring device malfunctions: 0, yay!

# of items lost, broken, or left behind: 8 - My bike helmet visor broke, and a pannier clip broke when I failed to catch the bike as it was falling over the morning before leaving Pärnu, Estonia. The brakes were slowly losing their grip. I intentionally left my worn-out bike shoes in Vilnius. 

# of dogs that came running after us: 0. 

# of people asking us about the tandem, taking our picture, thumbs up, yelling out positive comments: hundreds

Blessings to be thankful for on this trip:

• Ron & Tina, and Tom that helped get our bags moving out of Dulles.
• Cooler weather so that we had enough water to ride 50+ miles in the woodlands of the Baltics.
• Frequent bus stops along the highways in the Baltics.
• Meeting and talking to so many kind people.
• Injury free trip except for some minor scrapes when the pedals hit Tony's leg.
• The drivers in the Baltics that got way over for us.
• Finding a bike shop in Riga and a bike mechanic that had the parts for our bike and could repair it.
• Dr. Wolters for guidance on getting an insulin prescription, and the doctor in Riga that saw us right away and gave Tony an insulin prescription.
• The people that prayed for us before & during our ride.
• The thousands of smiles, waves, high-fives, thumbs ups, positive comments from all the great people along the way.
• Wade, Linda, A.J. & Roxy for Luna sitting.
• Cara, Nick, Luke, Todd, Scott & Jane for house & garden sitting.
• Cara & Nick for transporting us to the airport.
• Bud & Theresa for joining us on the WCT and sharing our journey.
• The faithful readers of this blog that give Tony the incentive to keep doing his half even when he really just wants to go to bed.