Tanger

When this trip was originally being put together, we were meant to spend a night in Havelberg. This plan was changed a few months ago, when we were informed that there was going to be a "huge horse event" in Havelberg and all accommodation was booked out.

Since I had not seen many "huge horses" in my lifetime, I thought that it could actually be quite interesting. I also doubted that it would be possible to book out all the available beds in the town, just because of a visiting large equine. We were to learn otherwise.

With the prospect of another long and hot day, we left Bad Wilsnack at about 8 am and aimed to complete some distance before the real heat set in. It turned out to be a wise decision. The early morning was delightfully cool and we enjoyed some of the best cycling trails of the trip so far.

Because it was Sunday morning, everything was deserted. There was not a car or a person in sight, so we had the lovely shaded paths all to ourselves. It was only when we started to near Havelberg that we discovered where all the people had gone.

The entire town was jammed with visitors, and it appeared that every visitor had come complete with an old caravan. I had never seen so many caravans all crammed together, occupying every square millimetre of available land. There must have been thousands of them. In fact, there were so many caravans and motor homes, it was hard to see the elusive giant horse.

The central part of the city of Havelberg is situated on an island, surrounded by water (as I guess the majority of islands are). It was a beautiful little city, full of quaint, historic buildings and cobblestoned streets (which were challenging for both both bikes and backsides.

Luckily we did manage to find a few seats where we were able to rest and enjoy a drink before continuing on our journey. As we made our way along the narrow path out of town, we joined a huge convoy of cars and caravans leaving the event. It took some time before we back on the proverbial road less travelled.

We had no idea that the event was so huge, but we could now fully understand why the accommodation was non existent. After another stop for lunch, we continued on our way, finally reaching Tangermunde about 3 pm. The computer said we had ridden around 76 km.

Tomorrow we have the different challenge of a wet and much cooler day. We also have a couple of bikes that need mechanical attention, so that will be something else to contend with.Read more