Cycling Scandinavia 2016

1st day cycling was a mix of comical incompetence and big payoffs.

We left the hotel at 1, going the wrong way 3 times before finally finding our way out an hour later.

I fell off within the first hour, damaging myself and the bike (neither beyond repair)

After that it looked up (in all senses) as we climbed a mountain beside river rapids in a canyon.

I Inadvertently herded 30 reindeer, as they panicked at the site of me and ran beside my bike, looking for a way of the road.

Just as energy was giving out, a Cafe sign appeared on the horizon and there we met a Ukrainian student so interested in our British-ness (go figure) made us Ukrainian stew and fresh coffee for free (a cafetiere, no less!)

Now, after a camping cooker dinner, we have our first night of camping - tuck in beside a closed winter lodge.

Good stuff!Читать далее

Waking up in Pitea, to the soothing sound of factory machinery, we didn't hang around long before heading to the bus station withheld aim of catching the earliest bus South to Umea, or even Sundsvall,

Unfortunately, the morning busses weren't able to take bikes (for reasons that weren't exactly clear - "it's Saturday" the bus driver told us with a smile).

So we were left in the derelict bus station withheld whole day to kill before the evening bus arrived, which could take us (and our bikes) as far as Umea.

Luckily, the high street was a lot nicer and it wasn't a hardship to be killing time in the sunshine. We got lunch, had coffee, balanced our spending and did some writing.

By evening we were ready again at the bus station, passing the time while waiting for the bus by watching the local drug dealer do his business across the street. The bus arrived in spite of all the signs suggesting it wouldn't, and we were on our way to Umea for 9:30pm.

Since ourarrival was so late, we were pretty certain that the campsite we were heading to would be closed to new arrivals. Our plan was to camp anyway, and hopefully make cheeky use of their facilities. So we set off through an evening fog, along cycle routes that took us past a University and 30 minutes out of town.

On arrival, it looked like we were out of luck, as all the facilities were controlled by ID cards (which we couldn't get as late arrivals). But, luckily, some other guests had left their cards lying around after leaving. So we were able to camp properly and not even pay for it! Can't complain, really...Читать далее