So after waking up and feeling a bit shit, and covered in bites, getting back on this track leading back to the road, all was good again. Road less travelled blah blah blah.

I had planned to get a bit of wi fi in Genthin to update this thing, but when I asked around, they assured me i wouldnt find any. Pretty as parts of the old town where, I got some league of gentlemen 'this is a local shop for local people' vibes from the few old people cruising around on their old bikes.
One thing which Genthin did pretty well however, was the colours on the bridge coming into it, rocking that Blue and pink all the way.

On the other side of Genthin, I remembered why loads of people go on cycle tours in this part of the world, its really, really beautiful, and flat. The scenery would change from picturesque forests, to vast stretches of agricultural land, maintained with a German sensibility. There was lots of corn fields, hardly any fences, and a lot of the roads had fruit trees dotted along them, handy for a quick snack. The farm buildings are generally made from a nice dark stained timber, with a rustic feel, a lot nicer than our corrugated iron.

I've started to really get the feel for the wobbly bike, and managed to take a few selfies while cycling, and some drive by shootings.

Dotted along the landscape there are lots of wind turbines, and despite what people say, they're class, and these ones where pretty quiet, even when right under them. The dramatic shadows they cast, dancing along the road made for a quite hypnotizing if not a bit distracting show. Topical as they are at the moment, the pylons were not quite as mesmerizing, but more so menacing, sprawling across the land. If faced with a choice of which one I'd like more of in Ireland, I think i know which one I'd go for.

After not long, I got to the town of Ferchland, along the Elbe, when I got there, It was yet another lovely little town, not many people around though, these guys however where chilling on the main street. 

 I soon realised after closer inspection of the map, the road actually stopped here, so I went down to the river, with hope of maybe some people pout canoeing who could ferry me across, to my relief, and partial disappointment, there was a ferry just loading up with one car, 2 quid with a bike, not bad.

On the other side, the next town was Grieben, which had a sweet windmill in the middle, along with lots of really nice Gardens and  friendly looking elderly German folk out tending to them in the intense sun.

Just on the other side of Grieben, I realised I was starting to get quite a tan line from my camera strap, so I put it away, perhaps not the best idea, but definitely sped up progress. After a roadside lunch stop and a few water breaks, I made it to Dolle, which according to the map, would lead me to a nice straight road through a forest, the road however was a windy, real bumpy, dirt track, not ideal when you're riding 23s with a lot of weight on the back wheel, and the bike is a bit bandy as it is. After about a kilometer, I turned back, as I knew 20 odd more would almost certainly result in a flat tyre and wouldn't do the rest of the bike any favours. the only other route i could take was 18 km up a main road, and then around another 15k on a secondary, around to where I should have come off the 'road'. Shitting a brick, I headed off up the road, which was pretty busy, and for some reason seemed to be a favorite of big trucks going really fast. I only got beeped at once, but two nice Germans gals did pull over at one stage to see if i was alright, when I told them all was good, they looked a little confused, but wished me look and went on. I have to say this was one of the most scared I've ever been, I'm all up for 'EXTREME YEA ROCK 'N' ROLL' and all that jazz, but this was taking the piss. There was one particularly big downhill stretch, which meant I had built up some substantial speed, I had about 2 foot between the ditch and the speeding cars and trucks, and some serious speed wobbles. To make matters worse, the trucks create quite a gust as they zoom past, which shakes you further, and they're pretty loud too. I was holding on as tight as I could, trying to keep her steady, tensing my whole body, and repeatedly screaming FAAAACK. After getting to the end of this road, i was on quite the adrenaline buzz, and whizzed on to Gardelegen, making great time, and ending up on a few more stretches of main road, but luckily they weren't as busy. When i got into Gardelegen, again that plan was nab some wi fi and head out of town to find somewhere to camp, but sure enough, nowhere was open, and anywhere that was, definitely didn't have wi fi. With some fairly ominous looking rain clouds, and fast approaching darkness, I decided to go mad and book myself into a shitty hotel the only one in the village.

My room had a weird leaf pattern thing on the wall that looked like a 3rd class art project, there was some mould on the bread at breakfast, and internet was fiver, still though, its a roof. within seconds of being on the place, I had bike grease all over the bed, and shortly after, I had managed spilled canned herring juice everywhere, the place subsequently still smells like herring, its not nice. I'm fairly sure I should have checked out by now, but I still have to wash my pots in the shower and pack my bag. Over and out. x