Cycling to Stockholm
Before launching into the cycle tour from Gotland in my previous post up past Stockholm to the port of Kapellskär I wanted to give you a quick overview of the the tour so far. We left Cornwall on the 20th May, and spent 32 days cycling in Ireland. We then cut across the UK to Rotterdam in the Netherlands and started heading north to join Eurovelo 10. This post takes us to the 27th July, so 68 days of cycling later we’re in Stockholm!
We caught a ferry from Visby in Gotland to Nynäshamn, about 60km south of Stockholm. Going via Gotland meant we had the excitement of cycling around the island but also saved cycling roughly 400km up the Swedish coast.
On the cycle up to Stockholm I finally spotted a deer antler lying beside the road. A friend in Copenhagen had shown us his huge branching pair of antlers so since then I had really wanted to find some myself. The one I found was nowhere near as impressive but it was exciting to find it none the less. I decided not to keep it in the end and left it in a bus stop for someone to find.
Sweden is also home to about 300,000 moose during summer so it was pretty likely we would spot one. In the end we saw one in the distance, surrounded by a field of wheat.
About 16km from Stockholm we were desperately looking for somewhere to camp when we spot a water tower surrounded by trees on top of a hill. Having not seen anywhere else that looked good, and going in to an increasingly populated area, we decided to follow the narrow track up to the watertower and try and find somewhere hidden away. The water tower itself was fenced off and surrounded by dodgy looking caravans, so we pushed our bikes into the woods and found a spot out of sight.
In Stockholm we finally managed to find someone to repair our broken tent poles. We somehow found an adress online and then narrowed it down to a large block of flats in the center of the city. We were thoroughly confused but in the end worked out the repair shop was underneath the flats in a large garage. We followed him inside and watched as he measured the poles and found the best alternative to repair it with.
From Stockholm we decided to cycle another two days up the coast and catch the ferry to the Aland Islands, and then across to Finland.
The cycle tour so far:
England – Cornwall to Wales
Ireland – Winding Westwards
Ireland – Starting the Wild Atlantic Way
Ireland – The Wild Atlantic
Ireland – Causeway Coastal Route
England – Stopover in the Peaks
Netherlands – Bicycle touring through the Netherlands
Germany – Hamburg and Lubeck
Denmark – Reaching the Baltic Sea
Denmark – Exploring Copenhagen
Sweden – Cycling Southern Sweden
Sweden – Destination: Gotland
Sweden – Cycling to Stockholm