www.worldon2wheels.com 2010 » Sweden

stockholm sweden

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:27:31 +0000

Stockholm in snow

It took me some time to decide whether going back home was ever a good idea. At first, leaving Sweden I was determined to leave, complete the full lap and then return. Meeting Georgia I changed my mind, in fact already before entering Georgia, at the mere thought of Georgia I decided that this was a place to stay a while and a time to return home for some weeks.

I went through some rough talks with myself about this return trip. I was not sure if it would completely ruin my will to continue or rather strengthen it. When i realized i was quite in love with Georgia and that I was really a Georgian man in a Swedish mans body it was quite clearly not a problem anymore and I booked a ticket home.

The initial culture chock, in head first action, right in to the christmas rush in downtown Stockholm after not sleeping all night and arriving 7 hours later than the itinerary indicated i should, was brutal. I’m still somewhat shattered, more from lac of sleep but still.

It is cold in Stockholm, really cold and the streets are cowered in real white snow and people who walk side by side to keep an up-right balance. It is love to be home, it is a visit in the homeland while Tbilisi feels like my proper home-where-i-roam.

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Morning in Kungsbacka

admin — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:37:04 +0000

kust

The morning sun is lifting my spirits high. After the short ride yesterday from northern Göteborg where I was bathing in sun and tailwind life seems better than ever. At about three in the afternoon I stooped for lunch in kungsbacka. The main square was bathing in sunlight and I picniced a spot in the sun. The wind was quite strong but apart from stealing my bread and my book it was a nice wind somehow delivering the message of spring.

Today I will head down the coast to Falkenberg and then tomorrow on to Helsingborg and leave Sweden on Friday morning by the ferry.

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In the snow

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:48:04 +0000

in Swedish @ Outside and different @ RES

Setting of from Stockholm, aiming at Göteborg some 500 km away I did the mistake of thinking I could break it in three days. Crazy. First it took me some 6 hours just to get to Södertälje, some 50 km away, realizing on the way that cities with suburbs are not built for bicycles.

Road between Stockholm and Södertälje, mostly icy, but with mud to fill out.

Pitching my tent that evening i realized, I was not making it in three days. Not by a long shot. I had done some 130 km that day but saving time on eating as I did that first day out of Stockholm was a bad mistake. I fell into a deep sleep to wake up with aches and a fierce feeling of hunger.

The next day, as I packed up my gear the first snowflakes came falling. At first it was just cold snow but as the day progressed it became more heavy and wet. I stopped for lunch at a restaurant, not caring for a picnic in the snow and it just stopped for five minutes to return, full on again as I came out. I don’t mind the snow, but is do find it scary to ride the roads when the visibility is low. The cars and trucks don’t seem to slow down and it means I have to stay just more attentive.

I reached Örebro as the snow came down hard on me and I could stay indoors for the night, drying my gear and relaying on some good food to strengthen my body.

10km before Örebro

The morning after I kept trying to find my way and as my map was out of date a myriad of new roads appeared before me and hitting the wrong one a couple of time made me irritated. I had some lunch and felt more up to coping with the situation. On that evening, third one after leaving Stockholm, with some 180 km left to go to gothenburg I figured that I would try to get there in one push. Ha ha, I made another 50km before I stumbled into an empty road side restroom which i decided would be my warmed up shelter for the night.

As I constantly kept waking up during the night, from the cold/flu I had started to experience and from the feeling that at any time Securitas could show up and kick me out, I did not get a proper night. As I came out that morning, fourth day, blue sky, longing for a coffee, I realized that I would be in Göteborg that evening and I felt real good.

The day was showing me it’s best sides, a bit of sun, a bit of tailwind and well, coffee. In Lilla Edet I stooped to make some phone calls, with some 50 km still to go and bad weather approaching from the west I did not want to stay too long. Just thinking that made it start snowing. I believe. It got worse, quickly, and I kept pushing on for some 30 km until the snow came down along with rain and the road turned into a road construction area. Due to the snow I had removed my spectacles as they only lowered the visibility, I had fixed some diodes on the bike to stay visible but i got lost in the construction area and ended up on a highway. There was not much space left for a biker, nigher on the road nor in the hearts of my fellow travelers. They kept punching their cars to do 90 or more on the road. I felt small, and when the gears on the bike gave up for the massive amount of snow that had cluttered to them I had to stop and walk. A highway with no shoulder is no place to be at rush hour in a blizzard. I got a lift for some kilometers and ended up pushing my bike the last bit through the snow to my friends house.

snowfall outside Lilla Edet, just before the shit hit the spokes

[caption id="attachment_264" align="alignright" width="199" caption="Bike after a day out"][/caption]

stockholm sweden It took me some time to decide whether going back...

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First day out

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:12:04 +0000

I woke up this morning, ten minutes before SVT (Swedish Public Television) was knocking at my door. Feeling a bit lightheaded I tried to answer some questions before taking off. Light snow came falling as I left my family waving, waving back I finally realized that I was on my way.

The first bit was easy, riding on the shoulders of shear luck pushed through Dalarna. Though I was slow I kept going and did not think much more about that, keeping in mind that I have been inactive for some weeks, waving at some people who honked me with their car horns along the way.

Around five in the afternoon I had to stop for the third time to gather some energy. I talked a bit to a girl who was working in a gas station, we realized that we were not alike on the wanting-to-travel issue but she offered me a second cup of coffee and I was happy. I called a friend/family in Uppsala to see if I could stay the night.

No problems so I decided to go the last 45k in the dak with the aid of two small diodes on my bike. I won’t do that again for a while. too much traffic and the buggers meeting me did not mind turning their headlights off very often. I arrived around nine in Uppsala to find that the front wheel break had been pushing the front wheel, making it half way braked probably through my whole trip. Ha ha!

I would like to recommend Groa i Wassbo for people biking in Dalarna or anyone else for that matter, It is a beautiful organic green house café, right between Falun and Borlänge with “Sverigeleden” passing right by, “Fika” is excellent by any standards and they have a 10% discount for people on bicycle! Wohoo – check it out!

SVT:

Heading to bed!

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