Thu07Jul16: Kasmu - Tallinn (85.6km, 447.2km YTD)

Nice walk at 1:39am to ‘see a man about a dog’, but the pitter-patter on the tent roof started about 3:30am and continued…and continued...

Dozed for awhile but up at 6:12am so see just how long it takes to break camp in the rain – 26 minutes seems to be enough for me to take down the tent, stuff everything into my red duffle bag, and equip my bike for the ride ahead.

Instant coffee at 6:45am and a breakfast of porridge with strawberry chunks (got to try that sometime at home!) with everybody huddled under the canopy or a nearby spruce tree to avoid the rain. 

Headed out about 7:30am, solo, pedalled through pine forest farms for several kilometres, then small farms started at about 28km.  Startled a dark brown rabbit that was loping towards me, he turned and leaped through the wires of an electric fence, stood up on his rear two legs to see me better, then disappeared into a nearby bush.  Another stork nest in a farmyard indicates that these birds get along quite well with the local populace.  Sorry to see the pine forests behind because the wind is really strong in these open farmland areas.

Crossed the four-lane E20/Hwy#1 on foot and stopped for lunch at 58km.  Chris arrived just ahead of me, grabbed an apple, said his hands were freezing and he couldn’t make a sandwich, so he just kept riding.  Rain has kept up a steady patter and it’s only about 10C, but my fingers are still working.

Reached the outskirts of Tallinn at about 70km just as the rain decided to stop, followed the flagging tape into town until I caught up to Gergo who was still installing the tape – time to be bold and venture forth!  Okay, so I missed the hotel on my first pass but after a circuit of the downtown core I found our Tallink City Hotel – a monster 10 storey building right in the middle of town – and walked my bike through the front door and across the lobby. I always enjoy this kind of entry to fancy hotels, with other guests staring as if they can’t believe who walked in the door soaking wet and covered in grit.  Had to lock the bike in the rear parking lot until the hotel management figures out what to do with 23 bicycles.

Chris and I are the first to arrive so there’s some logistics to sort out, but we get a room (Room #914), grab a hot shower and wash our riding clothes.  As usual, the room becomes an instant disaster area with clothes and equipment hanging everywhere.    Reception let me pitch my tent in their Wine Cellar/Disco since it's shut down for the month of July, so that item should be dry by morning.  I locate the nearest bike shop (City Bikes) for tubes and a pump, change my rubles to Euros at a bank, and wander throughout the Old City (13th century town hall and wonderful high walls) taking photos. 

Buffet supper at the hotel costs E10 (!), after which I snag a couple of cleaning clothes (my request:  “Cloths that you wouldn’t ever expect to use again”) and wash down the bike and chain.  Now, it’s time to settle into the room for the night.