"The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there"
This was by far the hardest day. Leaving Mustvee behind is a beautiful stretch overlooking the lake. On a clear day it might just be possible to see the far bank, but it is big enough that waves lap the shore.
I dropped down a gear from my usual cruising speed to ease my aching legs into the journey. Cycling with a heavy weight - and not just my belly - on the back of the bike is an odd sensation. Rhythm becomes a lot more important, and acceleration is a lot slower although average speed is not much slower. I'm averaging just above 20 kilometres an hour moving speed, whereas I'd probably do about 25kph in Moscow on a short ride.
The road along the lake has lots of cute wooden houses and a bunch of places to stay. The area could be really good for tourism, but the season appears to be quite short.
Sadly the route leads away from the lake and into some exposed hills. For miles there is nothing to see except what once must have been farmland, but doesn't seem to be used for much now. The girl running the hostel in Tartu later explained to me that EU regulations decimated much of Estonian farming. The wind picked up again and there really wasn't a lot to see until arriving in Kallaste, where the signposts took me off road and down to the lake again. It was only here that something clicked. Some of the little paths Eurovelo takes in are simply to comply with the principles of having somewhere to stay within a certain distance.
The aftereffects of the 120km ride the day before were really hitting home, and it was difficult to build up speed or rhythm, particular with the wind blowing into my face from the lake. Eventually I arrived at Alatskivi, where a sign said 40km to Tartu on the road or 79 by Eurovelo and Estonian cycle route 3. The road was the same one I'd been following for the last hour or so and there were barely any cars so I abandoned the ridiculous section and went straight along the road.
Despite feeling a little guilty about not doing all the Eurovelo - OK, that was never going to happen as it doesn't exist in Russia and apparently is pretty sketchy in Latvia - the kilometres slowly ticked away.
In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Pirsig talks about how the real zen is in the process of climbing the mountain. The man who sees the aim as solely getting to the top will neither get there, but also has the wrong attitude anyway.
Enjoying the moment also has to be done while in the saddle. Times can get tough particularly when the road stretches into the horizon and your back is arched trying to be as streamlined as possible. These are the times when being at one with the picture, the complete absence of people is important.
A tough ride up a steep hill and back on the highway 3 took me into Tartu, where I found the Big Ben Pub, which had a WiFi signal outside. I popped in for a coke and to look for a decent hostel, which I found in Looming.
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