Staying Clean

There's something about checking off the cities as we along our route that gives us a sense of progress, ''Ah, 4 more small towns closer to Frankfurt!'' Although, it seems like super slow going for us through southern Holland, around lots of farmland and small industrial towns. In fact, if there's one smell that will instantly take my memories back to this trip, it will be cow manure. Not sheep, not goat, but cow because seriously, judging from these Bikeline routes, one would think that cow fields are what Europe is comprised of.

The other thing about the scenery staying so constant is that it's way more mentally tiring than riding where there are lots of new things to see; it's kind of like running on a gym treadmill instead of along a mountain trail. Kat suggested I think about something completely different to break the monotony. She likes to daydream of future situations where comfort is the top order of the day: spa retreats, hours of yoga, movies on the couch with a hot chocolate and a warm blanket. I focus on songs-or more like, I try desperately to remember the lyrics to songs I should know. My favorites, and most successful remembrances, are Blackbird and Sweet Baby James. Both songs are super comforting and easy to pace with my squeaky metronome-like peddles.

It's finally gotten warm enough to break out the sunscreen, tank tops, and biking shorts. It's the kind of weather I was envisioning for this trip all along. It's totally awesome. The only downside is that it's hard to feel clean for more than an hour. In Holland, they don't have those large bathroom sinks big enough to fit one's head under, like they do in Sweden. Here, they are more akin to the size of an airplane sink, just enough room to put one hand under at a time. And now we actually sweat. Riding through farmland all day, with wind kicking up dirt that then gets stuck to our bodies, well, that's just plain gross by the end of the day, even by our standards. The sunscreen we keep slathering on adds a nice layer of grease to our already sweaty and gritty skin.

After noticing the rings of dirt on my neck-I kid you not-Kat said she had reached her gross threshold and we were definitely showering at a bonafide campsite that night. We can make it for about two nights just camping by the side of the road, but by the third it's mandatory to find a nice shower and go to bed early. We also bought these little Dove face wipes that also work well to de-grit at the end of the day in between showers that seem to help us feel slightly more clean before we get in our sleeping bags.