Saulkrasti, short easy rest day
Today was somehow destined to be a short easy rest day. As I looked at the map, I figured I had two extra days, and considered spending one of them in Riga. However, the hotel was expensive and I had seen a bunch of old town so might be nice to get out of the city. Weather forecast called for headwinds from the north.
I then noticed I couldn’t find my warm hat. Not quite sure where it went, and it could still show up but with the weather being as it was, a warm hat was important. The hotel desk hadn’t seen the hat, but could let me know where I might find a replacement. So, I parked the bike in the room and went off to the store. Most shops don’t open until 10am, so had to wait a bit before finding a nice Latvian colored hat.
Now off to ride out of town. The main road was busy but straightforward. In one stretch with cobblestones I walked but otherwise was able to ride with traffic. By 10km, the road turned into a major expressway. I stopped briefly to check my map when a police officer came up. He didn’t scold me for cycling on the expressway and was helpful in confirming my next turn.
At 14km, came to major road intersection where A1 headed north. I would follow this road on to Estonia. After a brief stretch of forest, it was wide open with a strong headwind. My speed dropped as I slowly cycled against the wind. Fortunately after a few kilometers, the road turned a bit and more importantly went into the forest. The road had a nice shoulder until 35km. From here no shoulders and still a fair amount of traffic.
First signs for Saulkrasti at 41km including a nice looking hotel. Went on for a bit to find the next hotel. Followed signs off to the beach and found a small hotel right on the beach. Has a bit of a feel of a family home that they happen to have a cafe in the basement and rent a room upstairs. Otherwise a nice quiet easy day. Back towards town is something posted as internet cafe so may see if I can send this from there.
44km today. 1884km across Europe. 3522km total.