Spoiler, I did not make it to Riga. Which was 185km away. In order to attempt this, I managed to leave at 9 in the morning. Then, I had a big push with the idea to take my first break at 90km.
There in a small city in the middle of lituania, I see a bikepacker with a very light set up on the side of the road. I go see him, he is French, Eloi, he left 3 months ago, from Spain, then went to Istanbul, now going to Nordkapp, he averages 130km+ a day A real beast. We decide to ride together, we spend some time talking and let’s me know he is sleeping in a warm shower (hosting app) in a city in Latvia. I message them too, and they accept my request. I will not sleep in Riga tonight and end following Eloi for about 50km to the host. We stopped for a beer and pizza (mostly for me, I did not take a real break today, almost no eating during a total of 135km) we waited for the 7pm meeting time before getting greeted with a huge dinner. Aija, her husband, and their 4 children are lovely, we talk, drink a bit of beer, and eat a lot of great food. They do a lot of sport, ice swimming, orientation races (24hours long). A great time. Tomorrow is small for me, and big for Eloi, we will ride until Riga together.
Eloi studies civil engineering in France and wants to become a farmer. Does Judo, cycling, and many other sports. Max day on the bike 205km, aiming for a new record of 300km before Nordkapp. Today, he did 165km at 26kph average. I did 135km at 23.5kph. We have a very different bike setup, which transforms the traveling experience.
Good for you. That sounds like a fun day