Once away from the town the puddly path is unsurfaced, amongst the dunes, skirting a pinewood undergrown with acres of purple heather and wild roses. Then into farm land where sheep and cows graze around the path, covering it (and our bike tyres) with their poo! In the farming hamlets tall pointed thatches cover farms and barns.
As the enormous cranes of BREMERHAVEN docks come into view we turn off towards the town. Too late I notice barbed wire lying across the path. As we untangle Mike's bike we are "shocked" to find it is electrified! As if my hair isn't curly enough with all this rain. Then the canal bridge is shut for repair and the alternative blocked by a frisky bull escorted by a farmer, safe in his tractor. Finally we reach the town centre to discover it easier to find a brothel than an hotel (Blue Nights, Cherbourg Strasse, if anyone is interested) but an App comes to our rescue and we are happily installed in a cosy room near an excellent Italian restaurant.
Next morning I spend an hour sheltering from the rain with the bikes in the local shopping mall whilst Mike finds a bank. As always with the bikes, people come up to chat. This time they include a trawler-man, a local cyclist, a Jehovah's Witness and an ancient old man keen to practice the English he had not used since his schooldays.
We catch the ferry west over the Weser river. Having just disembarked my rear wheel gives a horrible twang as the rim splits (well it had done 23,000 miles - we had just rather hoped it would last until we got home).
There was nothing for it but to take the next ferry back to Bremerhaven. With our Rohloff hubs, a specialist bike repairer is needed and a town centre bike shop gives us directions to the Rohloff dealer 5 miles to the south. On the way we pass the best bits of town we had missed first time including a "Burj" style hotel and tall masted ships in the Maritime Museum.
A giraffe tethered outside the travelling circus leans right over the fence to give us a close inspection.
We did not get to them until 2pm, but the lovely bike shop (Bastler on Weserstrasse) had everything needed for my wheel rebuild, and had it ready by 5pm! Then it finally stopped raining and the sun came out!
We are not choosy about where we pick up free Wifi and get a good signal, this time, outside a funeral parlour, to catch up with remainder of Ted and Sue's Norway blog.
With deja vu we approach the ferry terminal next morning, just as the barrier comes down on the gangway and the lights turn red, but they reverse the ferry engine thrust, lift the barrier and let us on - heroes!
As the wind has disappeared we do not now need to shelter behind the dyke, taking instead an estuary farm track for magnificent views including a 3 masted tall ship in sail. Curlew, oystercatchers and avocets feed on the mud, and a large flock of spoonbill cover a small lake.
At a small seaside resort, there is a brisk Saturday trade in 4 wheel family size hire bikes. One lot are having to half carry theirs back to base as a wheel has dropped off!
The path then wends through fields, and we are briefly delayed by a farmer (on his bike) bringing in his friesian herd to milk. Well we assume they are friesians as this is West Friesia. We spend the night at WILHELMSHAVEN.
Miles to date 3,564
Location:CUXHAVEN to WILHELMSHAVEN
