Day 2_Arriving to Copenhagen

We saw: the Danish bike lanes for the first time
We ate: steak and potatoes at Det Lille Apotek
We pedaled: 15 km
We had bike accidents: 1 fall (Vickie)

As we arrived in Copenhagen, it was a miracle to see our bikes come out the "oversize luggage" door. There were intact and ready for us to ride them. But we first needed to unpack them, assemble the pedals, inflate the tires and hook all the panniers.

Czech Mc Giver, Boris, had smuggled a blade to cut open the box and started to assemble everything.


We took some Danish crowns out of the bank machine, changed our shoes and hop on our bikes and started to pedal towards the hotel in Copenhagen. 500 meters after starting to pedal I tried to stop but could not get off shoes out of my fixed pedals, so in a matter of seconds I fell with all that weight right down on the paved route. I felt the trip had really begun.

Then, following our Google map, we arrived at the Plaza Hotel safe and sound.
We went out to a typical restaurant called Det Lille Apotek where we had a delightful Danish dinner and went to bed.

VIKA

Day 1_Starting our trip from Malaga to Copenhagen

At 7:00 am, our dear friend David picked us up at home. We said goodbye to our home, our dogs and cat and left without worries, since they would be taken care by Martin (Boris' bother and his family). I know beautiful Matilde would give them lots of love while we were away.

David drove us in a VW minivan to Malaga's airport. We chose Malaga as our departure spot to avoid plane transits in Madrid or Barcelona. Air Cimber flies low cost from Malaga to Copenhagen almost everyday. They charge you about 70 euros extra for the each bicycle. We were there quite early to have enough time to deal with the entire bicycle ordeal.

As we got there, we were one of the first ones to line up for check-in. The lady on the counter was very nice but she had a skeptical look in her eyes towards the bikes...She said to us that the scanner of the airport was too small for the bikes. It made no sense to us giving the fact the Malaga's airport was recently built. It opened last year!

We took the bikes to the first scanner and as expected, they did not fit. The security man told us that we would have to unpack them, dismantle them, past them through the scanner and then assemble them again, pack them again and finish to check- in!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ayyayai...Aside from the pain in the ass this would be, we had no biking tools to do any of that because they were already checked-in with our luggage.

So the security man gave us the option to go to the second scanner. We had to go with our bikes one floor down. The second scanner was slightly bigger so the bikes did not fit either. The security man from scanner number 2, suggested to unpack them, dismantle them, past them through the scanner and then assemble them again, pack them again and finish to check- in!!!!!!!!!!!!! After telling him our situation, he sent us to scanner number 3.

Scanner number 3 was located at the very end of the buses parking lot. We all know that airport distances are not short at all. So we went down to scanner number 3 and luckily, the bikes fit. The woman from Air Cimber was with us all the time feeling quite ashamed of the logistics of this new airport. So were we.

We had had enough, but did not now what came next: Air Comber seats were smaller than scanner number 1. We had the most tight 3.5 hour flight to Copenhagen you can ever imagine, touching arm to arm with a very long hair neighbor who softly tickled through the entire flight. Not too mention the ambience of a screaming kid in our back row that kept us from sleeping to forget it all.

VIKA

Planning the trip

There are 1200 km from Copenhagen to Prague, so it is obvious that we would have to prepare ourselves physically for such adventure, mentally we already were prepared. We calculated that we could do the trip in 20 days, riding 60 km per day.

So what have we done so far for the planning and training?

Actually not much, giving the fact that is already May and the trip starts in June, take a look at all the things we have done so far...Well, let’s see:

In December we joined Pilates. We have been there about 6 times. Not much. We shot a video to do it on our own while we were away. Yeah right.

In February, for my 39 birthday, Boris bought us both 2 fantastic bicycles. For those of you who know my dear Boris, you will not be mistaken to think that these were probably the most expensive bikes in the market. The bikes are called KOGA, hand made and custom made just for us, by a Japanese fellow who lives in Holland.

In March we ordered bicycle maps from with different routes from Denmark, Germany and Czech Republic. I looked at them and realized all the work we have ahead…

It was only in April when the bicycles arrived each one with our inscriptions: Vika 2010 and Bo 2010. So we tried the bicycles for the first time with the kids (Tamara and Jacobo) for a day trip. We managed to do 63 km from Mairena to Carmona and back around Gandul and Alcalá. The bicycles were amazing but even so, I was not prepared for such a deal. Tamara and Jacobo were always ahead and I was always the last one. My back hurt, by knee hurt, my pants were stuck to my legs from the sweat and made it more difficult to pedal….at last I was so frustrated and tired I walked the last 2 km back home.

It is May and I still haven’t planned the damn trip yet so, I will finish this entry to the blog and start doing immediately after. Let’s see if it is true.

The idea of biking from Copenhage to Prague

Sometimes ideas come to us just as an idea, with no reason, motive or justification behind it. Some times the idea is not even our own, just someone else’s comment or suggestion. But once we decide to persue the idea, then we need to find the reason, the motive or justification to do it and when we do, we need to research it, plan it and even name it. At least, I do.

In this case, one day of October 2009, while taking a plane back from Istanbul, Boris my beloved partner for over 10 years, suggested the idea of doing a bike trip together. We do not bike anymore although we both were into serious biking as we were young. As a matter of fact, we do not exercise at all anymore. For both of us is hard to do it with our jobs and all the travelling that work involves.

When Boris mentioned the idea, it came along with a subtle challenging tone: as “We should make a bike trip from Copenhagen to Prague, would you do it?”

“Of course” was my answer immediately without any hesitation. But seconds later I wondered whether he was joking. This idea is the type of idea that comes usually from me, not from him. But he was serious, when he then told me that it was something that he really felt like doing. I became very excited with the idea but somehow thought that it would vanish along the weeks, since we had tons of projects to work on for the next months ahead.

Finally, we decided to do the trip after finishing some of the exhibitions, during the month of June.

I realized then, that this trip was important for both of us. We have been working very hard for years, we are getting old and we still want to put our energy in different things. Boris will turn 50 in 2 years and I will be 40 in one year, maybe is just a way to celebrate it all.

So I decided that it will be worth it to take this trip as serious as we can, and somehow save our thoughts, plans and experiences through out the trip since the beginning until the end.

This blog will help us do that and this way we also share it with you if you are interested.

The title for the blog and for the trip in general was clear to me the minute I started writing:
Hello 40 (that is me) Goodbye 40 (that is Boris)
A bicycle journey from Copenhagen to Prague.

I hope this works out!