Mon18Jul16: Vilnius – Serijiai, Lithuania (134.0km, 1,329.4km YTD)

Roommate insisted on closing the curtains at 9:20pm last night, so I cancelled my planned evening Skype with Kathy.  Then he’s up at 4am, turns on the bathroom light and leaves the door open, has a healthy pee and flushes the toilet, washes his hands, then turns off the light.  However, for nearly two hours he’s scratching himself and rolling around and yawning, so it looks like my day has also begun early.

TDA convoy on the A14 highway

Judith left the TDA tour in Vilnius (as planned), and Peter (the fourth Peter in our group!) has joined us, so our numbers haven’t changed – 21 riders and 4 staff heading towards Warsaw and Budapest. 

Convoy heads out shortly after 8am but 10 minutes later John realises he’s forgotten his glasses in his room, so we all haul our bikes up on the curb while he and Gergo head back to the hotel to retrieve them.

walking the A14 interchanges

Gergo likes convoys because it saves hanging a bunch of orange marking tape all over town, and reduces the risk of having a rider make a wrong turn and end up in Russia.  This time it’s a good idea because there’s a complex system of freeways and interchanges between our hotel and our intended cycling route.  After 10km we turn onto Road #132 and head out through the suburbs into the countryside.

Catholic Church, Rudiskes

Back into the forest lands again, tall trees and thick mixed vegetation, just the sort of place that partisan fighters could hide and live and fight.  Skies are grey and threatening but only the occasional spit of rainfall, forest usually blocks out the stiff crosswind, the terrain is gently rolling, but the traffic is heavy and aggressive.   

v illage square, Rudiskes

Turns out that this is the main route to Tarkai, the 13th century capital but now a spa/resort tourist destination.  Dan & Shirley (USA) catch up to my flagging body, and drag me along with them for awhile – both of them are my age and equally strong, but they prefer cycling with each other and don’t like the idea of a “group”.

Lunch with Ozcar at 69km is near Dusmenys, a lonely little van and tent at the side of the road.  I set out alone but Dan & Shirley catch up to me again and I obediently slip in behind and take advantage of their inexorable machine-like pace for another 10-15km.

TDA goes through urban areas using the most direct route, fewest turns, lots of marking tape where you do have to turn, and voila – you’re through them without even having to learn their name.  Tonight’s destination is a basic resort and campground near the small town of Serijiai, and I roll in after Peter and Chris at about 3pm. Put up the tent, hot shower, laundry, and then work on the blog.