The route

I woke up just when it started raining. I packed my tent as fast as I could while it was still dry. I cooked my breakfast, put on the rain gear and off we went. I rode to Utena in the rain. I was a bit unsure about the directions for the day, so I thought about deciding later. In Utena, I decided to continue the main road to Moletai, which was of course not very interesting but very wet. I had stayed in Moletai three years ago, so I had some idea of the place. Now I just passed through, buying lunch at the local Maxima. I was pretty hungry already, so I just went under a covered bus stop to have the snack. It was chilly, so I just ate quickly and continued to get warm again.

I had a vague idea about maybe trying to reach Trakai’s campsite where I had been to two years ago. Then, at some random bus stop by the road, I started to calculate the remaining kilometers. It didn’t look too good, as it was already 16:30, and the calculations showed almost 60 km remaining. I decided to look for other options, so I quickly went to see what booking.com had to offer. I found a sodyba, home accommodation in Maisiangala. I didn’t feel like going to Vilnius as the cycling route from North is pretty, but with some hills. There is a cycling path along the river, easy to ride, once you get there. And navigating in Vilnius after a long day in the rain wasn’t what I was looking for.

So, I was relieved after having secured myself a place for the night. Once I got to the place, however, it turned out that they had not noticed my booking. The sodyba was run by an elderly couple, only speakin Russian. But we sorted it out. They have cottages in the backyard with a pond for swimming. I got a spare room at the house.