Started around 7:20, already over 20°C. Had a very light breakfast (and one more strapped to the front of the bike – almost forgot it in the fridge…). Surprisingly, a bike with almost 35 kg of total load still rolls smoothly and comfortably! But I can already say it’s too much weight for longer daily stages. The plan today was Falkenberg or maybe Halmstad.
First stop was getting on Älvsnabben at Lindholmen, heading out of the city via Linnégatan and then the Säröbanan.
How I managed to take several wrong turns already in Särö is beyond me. Breakfast stop was on the wall by Släp Church – I’d been riding just over two hours… Cold pancakes with blueberry jam and homegrown carrots.
It’s hot… and only getting hotter.
Rolled through Kungsbacka to see if I could find a bike shop – even though I’d packed and prepped the bike for over a week, I’d forgotten a bell. Still a long way to go, and not worth risking, and it was after 10. But, no luck, so I kept heading south without a bell.
That’s when I started following the Kattegattleden more deliberately – though the signage left some to be desired. Why not mark the signs with North/South, for example? Took several wrong turns (and I wasn’t the only one), but eventually got back on track. Met a Danish group a few times – they had taken the train from Helsingborg to Kungsbacka that morning and just started the route south. Eventually, I left them behind.
A bit south of Stråvalla beach I paused for a bit. About time for lunch, but I didn’t want a full stop yet… Sat by the roadside, drank water, ate an energy bar, and stared out at the sea.
Someone else had clearly made an unscheduled stop here too.
Something I thought I’d lost – but heard on and off today… crickets.
Lunch was at Väröbacka Inn. A few cyclists already there… The place was nice and I got a decent refill of both energy and water. Unfortunately, the food on the lunch buffet wasn’t great… At this point it was already pretty clear the ride would end in Varberg. The last 20 km into town, I had to stop every three kilometers to take off my left shoe. SPD shoes are not for me – no matter the pedal type. Even if they’re comfortable to walk in…
If you try to do your best there is no failure.
– Mike Farrell
So I tried the Öresund trains back home… got the last bike spot. Worked fine, but wouldn’t have been fun if it had been full… More cyclists here too. A couple had ridden from Mölndal to Halmstad. He was an experienced rider – she wasn’t (yet), but she’ll get there. 🙂
I didn’t make it very far… but I’ll go much further next time. That’s my goal for next year: long-distance cycling. I really liked this one single day…
Different shoes and pedals, less weight on both me and the bike, and a bit more training – that should do the trick.
Oh right… headwind all the way. Not that it mattered at this speed…
Last time I biked to Varberg, it was a round trip in much less time – with more than double the average speed. Big difference between riding a bike… and riding a bike.