Get our free cycling brochure 2013 - Bornholms Velkomstcenter
Get our free cycling brochure 2013 - Bornholms Velkomstcenter
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4<br />
“Cycling makes you feel good”<br />
Lone Anker has no doubt about the best way to experience<br />
Bornholm: sitting on a bicycle with the wind in<br />
y<strong>our</strong> hair and y<strong>our</strong> hands on the handlebars. Ever since<br />
a foot injury put an abrupt end to her running pursuits<br />
a few years ago, she has truly enjoyed taking bike trips<br />
from her home in Allinge.<br />
In summer, she prefers to bike at least once a day<br />
with her dog Pippi, a five-year-old Bichon Frisé who<br />
sits comfortably in her basket attached to the handlebars<br />
of Lone’s powder blue, seven-gear Winther<br />
bicycle.<br />
When the weather is warm, they often start the day<br />
with an early bike ride, together with Lone’s husband<br />
Steffen. They coast down through the slowly waking<br />
town – across the cobblestones along the waterfront,<br />
past yachting holidaymakers on their way to the baker’s,<br />
through the narrow winding streets lined with<br />
many pleasant guesthouses, past Nordbornholms<br />
Røgeri smokehouse and restaurant – before reaching<br />
their final destination: the small, secluded Næs<br />
bathing beach at the southern edge of Allinge where<br />
they take a morning dip, before enjoying coffee and<br />
sandwiches on the rocks.<br />
“The atmosphere at Næs is unique in the morning.<br />
The beach is not very big and it’s actually inside the<br />
town limits. That’s why many locals bathe here and,<br />
if you come here every morning, you soon get to<br />
know the other morning bathers and their routines,”<br />
Lone says.<br />
After working h<strong>our</strong>s, Pippi and Lone like to set out<br />
on the bike again. This is when they usually cycle out<br />
of town to Marie’s Kiosk at Hammerhavn harb<strong>our</strong> at<br />
the foot of the Hammershus castle ruin. Here, locals<br />
get together on two benches with a sea view behind<br />
the kiosk, which serves coffee, home-baked goods<br />
and freshly made sandwiches.<br />
Pippi and Lone take longer bike rides whenever<br />
they have time. Sometimes they take one of their fav<strong>our</strong>ite<br />
routes all the way to Hammershus across the<br />
island, through Slotslyngen wood, past the “hidden”<br />
sculpture park near Stenløsevej, past the whitewashed<br />
round church of Olsker, down the long hill to Tejn and<br />
from there back along the coast to Allinge.<br />
“A ride like that makes me feel good. I love to feel<br />
the fresh air against my face, smell the sea air and<br />
plants, listen to the cry of seagulls and the crashing<br />
of the waves, and enjoy the sight of the yellow rocky<br />
coastline. Cycling through the Bornholm countryside<br />
stimulates all y<strong>our</strong> senses. It lets you forget y<strong>our</strong> daily<br />
troubles for a while and lose y<strong>our</strong>self in the experience,”<br />
Lone believes.<br />
“I fully understand why people want to experience<br />
Bornholm by bike. We have a network of signposted<br />
<strong>cycling</strong> tracks extending more than 230 kilometres.<br />
Bornholm has routes for everyone, regardless of their<br />
physical fitness or age. You can easily cycle around<br />
Bornholm even if you haven’t trained y<strong>our</strong>self up for<br />
it. All you have to do is divide the trip into small stretches,”<br />
she says, adding:<br />
“The terrain and countryside are incredibly varied<br />
and you can ride on <strong>cycling</strong> paths and tracks almost<br />
the whole way. There are lots of places where you can<br />
stop for a tasty bite to eat, go for a swim or see an<br />
interesting sight. And not only that, outdoor exercise<br />
is good for you, too, and puts you in a good mood.”