15 to Saulkrasti

Route: 109 kilometers, accumulated: 1,355 kilometers | Elevation: 350 meters, accumulated elevation: 4,960 meters, distance from home: 1,575 kilometers (as the crow flies).

I actually intended to leave this morning at 8 AM, but there's always so much to do. Everything must be ready for departure, and above all, I must not forget anything, so it's always a double check. Since I had charged the batteries in my room, I had to reinstall them and take the bike out of the garage. Then I grabbed the four pieces of luggage: backpack, front bag, and left and right side bags. I carry the backpack on my back, containing the most important items like IDs, wallets, and credit cards. Nothing heavy should be in the backpack since I will be wearing it all day. The front bag holds food and drinks. It mounts in front of the handlebars on the rack. Finally, I hang the two side bags on the left and right of the rack. These are secured with a combination lock so they cannot be stolen. Speaking of theft: I have never had anything stolen on my trips, perhaps because I am careful and always think carefully about where to park my bike when I go shopping.

In Estonia, I only had about 30 kilometers left to cover today, all on a quiet road without stress and traffic.

Did I complain yesterday about the narrow strips for cyclists on the right edge of the road? Today I would have appreciated having some of those. At times, there was only the safety line, and to the right of it were just dirt and mud. While preparing for the trip, I searched last night for all possible detours that would take me off this frightening federal road. This resulted in over 10 kilometers more distance, but it was very worthwhile. I entered beautiful and romantically scenic areas. There wasn’t a soul in sight, only nature and me. Sure, I didn't make good time, but it was comfortable and stress-free.

I also saw the sea several times and beautiful beaches, just like one can only imagine in southern countries.

Unfortunately, it was unavoidable that I had to return to the federal road after every detour to reach the next one. So over the whole day, out of 65 kilometers, I only had to ride about 10 on this highway. But even that was 10 too many.

However, just before the destination, the lanes for cyclists suddenly became pleasantly wide, and I could approach the finish line without stress.

I can surely say that these detours provided me with great insight into the lives of the locals, and additionally, picturesque landscapes in 3D that cannot be captured photographically.

Weather-wise, I had almost everything, including light fog, and in the evening, while I was already dry, it still rained.

Along the way, I also encountered Baron von Münchhausen, who lived here for a long time, and many of his tall tales originated from here.

https://www.komoot.com/de-DE/tour/2184279641?ref=itd

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**Español:**

En realidad, quería salir esta mañana a las 8, pero siempre hay tanto que hacer. Todo debe estar listo para salir y, sobre todo, no debo olvidar nada, así que siempre hago un doble chequeo. Como había cargado las baterías en la habitación, tuve que volver a instalarlas y sacar la bicicleta del garaje. Luego, recogí las cuatro piezas de equipaje: mochila, bolsa delantera y las bolsas laterales izquierda y derecha. Llevo la mochila en la espalda, en la que están las cosas más importantes, como documentos, billeteras y tarjetas de crédito. No debe haber nada pesado en la mochila, ya que tengo que llevarla todo el día. En la bolsa delantera hay comida y bebida. Se monta delante del manillar en el portaequipajes. Finalmente, cuelgo las dos bolsas a la izquierda y a la derecha del portaequipajes. Estas se aseguran con un candado numérico para que no puedan ser robadas. Hablando de robos, nunca me han robado nada en mis recorridos, quizás también porque soy precavido y siempre pienso bien dónde dejo mi bicicleta cuando voy de compras.

En Estonia, solo me quedaban unos 30 kilómetros por recorrer y todo era en una carretera tranquila, sin estrés ni tráfico.

¿Me quejé ayer de las estrechas franjas para ciclistas al borde derecho de la carretera? Hoy hubiera agradecido tener algunas de esas. A veces solo había la línea de seguridad y, a su derecha, solo suciedad y barro. Al preparar el recorrido, busqué anoche todos los posibles desvíos que me llevaran fuera de esta aterradora carretera nacional. Esto significó unos 10 kilómetros más de recorrido, que realmente valieron la pena. Así llegué a áreas paisajísticas románticas y hermosas. No había un alma cerca, solo naturaleza y yo. Claro que no avancé rápido, pero fue cómodo y sin estrés.

También vi el mar varias veces y hermosas playas como solo uno puede imaginarse en países del sur.

Desafortunadamente, no pude evitar tener que volver a la carretera nacional después de cada desvío para llegar al siguiente. Así que, en un día entero, de 65 kilómetros, solo tuve que recorrer unos 10 en esta autopista. Pero esos también fueron 10 demasiado.

Sin embargo, poco antes de llegar, los carriles para ciclistas fueron de repente agradables y anchos, y pude acercarme a mi destino sin estrés.

Seguro puedo decir que estos desvíos me dieron una gran perspectiva sobre la vida de los locales y, además, paisajes de cuento de hadas en 3D que no se pueden capturar fotográficamente.

Tuve prácticamente de todo en cuanto al clima, incluyendo una ligera niebla, y por la noche, ya que estaba seco, aún llovía.

En el camino, también me encontré con el Barón de Münchhausen, que vivió aquí durante mucho tiempo, y muchas de sus historias de mentiras tienen su origen aquí.

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**English:**

Actually, I intended to leave this morning at 8 AM, but there is always so much to do. Everything must be ready for departure, and above all, I must not forget anything, so it’s always a double check. Since I had charged the batteries in the room, I had to reinstall them and take the bike out of the garage. Then I picked up the four pieces of luggage: backpack, front bag, and left and right side bags. I carry the backpack on my back, which contains the most important items such as IDs, wallets, and credit cards. Nothing heavy should be in the backpack since I will be carrying it all day. The front bag contains food and drinks. It mounts in front of the handlebars on the carrier. Finally, I attach the two bags on the left and right to the carrier. These are secured with a combination lock so that they cannot be stolen. Speaking of stealing, I have never had anything stolen on my trips, perhaps because I am cautious and always think carefully about where to park my bike when I go shopping.

In Estonia, I only had about 30 kilometers left to cover today, all on a quiet road without stress and traffic.

Did I complain yesterday about the narrow strips for cyclists at the right edge of the road? Today I would have been grateful for such strips. At times, there was only the safety line, and to its right was only dirt and mud. While preparing for the trip, I looked last night for all possible detours that would take me off this frightening federal road. This resulted in over 10 kilometers more travel distance, but it was very worthwhile. I entered beautiful and romantic scenic areas. There wasn’t a soul in sight, only nature and me. Of course, I didn’t make good speed, but it was comfortable and stress-free.

I also saw the sea several times and beautiful beaches, just like one can imagine only in southern countries.

Unfortunately, it was unavoidable that I had to return to the federal road after every detour to reach the next one. So over the whole day, out of 65 kilometers, I had to ride about 10 on this highway. But that was still 10 too many.

However, just before my destination, the lanes for cyclists were suddenly pleasantly wide, and I could approach the finish line without stress.

I can confidently say that these detours have given me great insight into the lives of the locals and also fairytale landscapes in 3D that cannot be captured photographically.

As for the weather, I had almost everything, including light fog, and in the evening, while I was already dry, it was still raining.

On the way, I also encountered Baron von Münchhausen, who lived here for a long time, and many of his tall tales have their origins here.