Running with the wind...

My main exploration strategy while we have been here is to choose my ride by looking at the wind.  When we first arrived, it came primarily from the west and south, so I went west and south first (I like to go out into the wind and have a tailwind home).  It switched to the north and east a few weeks ago, so I ventured that direction.  Now the wind has shifted again, so I have revisited some of my previous haunts, but always getting a new take on them.  Three such places are Route to Longeso, Route 65 (toward Faaborg) and Route 35 toward Bogense.

Longeso (click image for more)

Longeso is a beautiful place, and a trip back out there is a nice trip.  I ventured a little further this time, swinging around the lake and finding a woodland chapel in among the trails.  I also found the Odense velodrome.  Details of interest - the forest is full of exotic American conifers.  No wonder it feels like home.  I found a bunch of very cool looking mushrooms.

brobyvaerk (click image for more)

Route 65 took be to the town of Brobyvaerk in the SW of Fyn.  What a beautiful little spot this is.  The church is nice, but even more so is the crossing of the Odense River.  Because there is some drop in the river here, there are water wheel mills.  The town got its name from the local Manor (Brobygaard) and the 17th century weapons factory that was built here.  A side note - I was eating lunch in town when a professional cyclist from Team CSC rode by.  A random occurence, but wild still.  Denmarks "own" team, and I saw one of the half-dozen Danes on it.

otterup (click image for more)

The route to Bogense (35) is mostly done through farmland.  Still, there are some things to see, including a surprise windmill that once ground grain.  No more, this is an outlet for biodiesel.  Later in the day I saw another beautifully restored mill outside the town of Lumby, between Odense and Otterup.  Speaking of which, there is not much in Otterup.  It is a bedroom community for Odense.