Stevns Klint is a white cliff of chalk and limestone, some fifteen kilometres long, on the east coast of Zealand, south of Copenhagen, and it holds one of the most important records of a global catastrophe. About sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid struck the Earth near what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, causing a mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs and much of life on Earth. In the cliff, a thin, dark layer of clay, called the fish clay, marks that moment, and it contains high levels of iridium, a metal rare on Earth but common in asteroids. This layer was a key piece of evidence for the impact theory, and the cliff was listed by UNESCO in 2014.
The cliff is also beautiful. Its layers of white chalk and yellowish limestone rise above a narrow beach of stones and fossils, and you can walk along the top or down on the shore. At Højerup, an old church stands right at the edge, and in 1928 part of the cliff collapsed, taking the chancel into the sea. The church has been reinforced and is a popular stop. Further north, the Cold War fortress of Stevnsfort, built inside the cliff to guard the entrance to the Baltic, is now a museum, with tunnels, guns and missiles.
The riding is gentle and flat, with straight roads through farmland and villages, and views of the sea. The wind can be strong, especially along the coast, and the weather changes quickly. Traffic is light, but watch for cyclists and tractors. The roads along the coast are narrow in places, and some have cobbles or gravel near the villages. Rødvig, a small harbour town nearby, has a few cafés and a beach.
Store Heddinge, five kilometres away, is a small town with a supermarket and a few shops, but for fuel and more services, head to Køge, about twenty-six kilometres north. Try smørrebrød, open sandwiches on rye bread, or fresh fish from the harbour at Rødvig. On a sunny day, a picnic on the cliff top, looking out over the Baltic, is hard to beat.