Padise, Estonia

I am not the first injured runner to have sought solace in the bicycle. And that was one of my hopes for my five-day trip around Estonia - having lived in Moscow for a year, I wanted to do nothing but get out on the road, get out of my head, and do nothing but turn the pedals around for a few days.

I wouldn't be biking the way I was used to, of course. Minus pedals and cycle shoes, with the added weight of a touring bike and two loaded panniers, well, let's just say that I couldn't plan on average speeds and distances that I am accustomed to. But Estonia is a great place to bike. Very flat, very courteous drivers, and not too crowded. And cheap - I could rent a bike for a week, and even ship it back to Tallinn when I was done (and not have to get back there to return it). The chances were too much to pass up.

So it felt good to hit the road from Tallinn. I'd been in cities for so long, that just the chance of having a bit of silence around me for extended periods of time was great.

Was my hero for day one of my trip.

I had had a long first day of my trip - 70 km is a lot when you haven't been on a bike for a year - but I was feeling pretty good. Still, i was ready to be done with it all - my legs were hurting, I was running low on water, and I could envision the glass of white wine waiting for me on a table in a restaurant in Padise.

But then I hit it. The only bad ten kilometers of road I would come across on the entire trip. But not only was this road construction bad, it was impassable. For 10 km. The 10 km that stood between me and my destination for the night. And the only alternative routes would take me at least 30 km out of my way, which would mean cycling late into the night.

Fortunately, Pep and his van came along just then. He didn't speak English, my Estonian is not up to par, but with a bit of Russian he understood my problem and ferried me to the other side of the construction.

Which is good. Cause if he hadn't, I'd still be there.