Stevns Klint and Roskilde Cathedral

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Stevns Klint

   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.

   Read the complete Stevns Klint write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Stevns Klint is where the day begins. Next is Borgring.

2. 2. Borgring

   In 2014, archaeologists using laser scanning of the landscape noticed a faint circle in a field near Køge, on the Danish island of Zealand, about forty kilometres south-west of Copenhagen. Excavations confirmed what they had hoped: it was a Viking ring fortress, one of a small group of perfectly circular fortresses built in Denmark in the late tenth century, probably under King Harald Bluetooth. It was named Borgring, and it was the first new ring fortress to be found in Denmark in over sixty years.

   Read the complete Borgring write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Borgring comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roskilde Cathedral.

3. 3. Roskilde Cathedral

   Roskilde Cathedral is where Denmark keeps its kings. Since the fifteenth century, almost every Danish monarch has been buried here, and the chapels and crypts hold around forty kings and queens, from medieval stone tombs to ornate baroque sarcophagi and modern designs. The cathedral itself, begun in the late twelfth century under Bishop Absalon, the warrior-churchman who also founded Copenhagen, was one of the first big brick Gothic churches in Scandinavia, and it set the style for church building across the region. UNESCO listed it in 1995. Inside, look for the clock with the figure of St George slaying the dragon, which strikes the hour, and the pillar where royal visitors have marked their height.

   Read the complete Roskilde Cathedral write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach Roskilde Cathedral. Next is back through Borgring.

4. 4. back through Borgring

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Borgring write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Borgring, late in the day. Next is Stevns Klint.

5. 5. Stevns Klint

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Stevns Klint write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Stevns Klint. That is the ride.