Doubilet-Benson Scandinavia Bike Trip 2013: Another Life-Saving Device Comes into Play

Today's ride was a very pleasant 57-mile journey through well-kept farms, picturesque rolling hills, and nice small towns. Partway through our ride, while cycling on a quiet road through farmland, two large, mean-looking dogs came dashing towards us, barking viciously. Peter grabbed the pepper spray from the holster on his bike and sprayed the dogs as they closed in, causing them to immediately stop in their tracks and back off. Pretty good marksmanship from a staunch gun-control advocate!

We stopped for our mid-morning break at a marvelous bakery in the small town of Aalestrup (population 2700). The selection of fresh breads and pastries was amazing. Peter, a lover of such food, was in bakery heaven. It made him wonder why small European towns can support excellent bakeries, while such towns in the United States offer little more than Wonder Bread or tasteless imitations of ethnic breads (e.g., bagels or "Italian" bread). Even the larger towns and small cities in the US have only mediocre corporate offerings, such as Dunkin' Donuts, Panera Bread, and the misnamed Au Bon Pain (Au So-So Pain might be more appropriate). Peter suffered through "bakery hell" (and more broadly, food hell) when we biked cross-US in 2013.

We ended our ride today in Aalborg, Denmark's fourth largest city with a population just over 100,000 and a metropolitan area population over 200,000. It's the first place we've been to since Copenhagen that appears to have much of a night life (not that old fogies like us take part).

Tomorrow, we head to Norway.