Rain, Mud and a Field of Screams - The End of Day 3

Today's planned destination: Ratzeburg

I began the morning filling myself with as many carbs as possible with the breakfast buffet of the Huckleberry Finn. As I approached Rostock I could see the clouds forming on the horizon making me anxious about another rainy day. As I departed the ferry itself though, the sky for the moment was clear.

Leaving the ferry terminal in Rostock was unintuitive to say the least and riding to the town centre was difficult with extended strips of cobblestones and a very industrial backdrop complete with a nuclear power station gracing the horizon. My original plan was to ride the approximately 45km's to Bützow but that was quickly derailed by my inability to find the bikepath there. I had to hang my head a little as I relied on my first train of the journey.

From Bützow things didn't become any easier. After a quick train journey that cost about 8 euros, I found myself struggling for orientation to the Hamburg-Ruegen bike path. Once on the bike path things became a rapid degradation from decent to bad. Initially, the path wound through the German countryside - an ideal backdrop for Porsche advertisements. Rapidly, as I approached Warin I found myself on more and more cobblestones, dirt paths and muddy hillsides. Not the ideal terrain for a fixed gear Bianchi. I was quick to determine that the route before me was nowhere near a rapid path ideal for covering long distances and instead was better suited to hourly jaunts on a mountain bike through the fields of Germany. And then the rain came again. It was at this first time, and definately not the last, which the task ahead of me seemed to be impossible. I decided the best resolution for this was to scream my head off, standing ankle deep in the mud and stop pushing my bicycle.

Then I came up with a plan. First, find concrete. Second, use my worst shirt to clean my chain. Third, head for the roadway. I abandoned the cycle path entirely, and aimed west. With no map, I abandoned the route I did have and rode with instinct, roadsigns and knowledge of two German words. Danke Schön. Within no time, I was wet, frustrated and with a great sense of discouragement in Schwerin - where my spirits were lifted by the Schwerin Schloss.

From here, I 'B-lined' it to Ratzeburg (where I saw the most amazing cafe beside the train station), Mölln and Lauenburg. Completely wet and without a plan for sleeping, a broken man I found myself quickly within 40km's of Hamburg - my destination for tomorrow. I made a quick decision to take the late train to the city centre and stay in a hostel. My plans seemed to have collapse - the no-tent concept, utilizing the bike paths and pre-arranging couchsurfing. I only wanted to sleep. It was back to the drawing board after what would ultimately become the fourth most difficult day of my 15 day journey to Spain.

Total time on the bike: ~ 12 hours
Total time from departure to arrival: ~ 14 hours