Seventh day

Våle - a few km north of Krokom

98km (it annoys me a bit that I didn't reach 100)

Average speed of 15.8km/h

Rain, drizzle, gray clouds, intermittent sun from noon, now leaden clouds through which the sun is diffusely visible

Headwind all day

The evening yesterday looked beautiful with its gray clouds and almost no wind, but not very promising. Unfortunately, this promise was also kept and it started raining during the night. The rain also brought stronger winds. This had an effect that I hadn't expected. I had set up my tent very close to the water. Maybe 1.5-2m away. I didn't really notice the tiny waves in the evening, but when they got a bit bigger at night, I felt like they would reach my tent at any moment. That made me sleep a bit restlessly. When I heard the rain on the tent in the morning and saw that it was uniformly gray outside, I had little motivation to get up and pack. After half an hour of lying around and reading, I became impatient. So I got ready. Try packing a tent somewhat dry (shaken out) and clean if you have to do it all alone and in wet sand. That sand really stuck everywhere. Oh well, I wanted to get going. Yesterday evening, the last few kilometers seemed very uncertain to me. I had poor control of the bike. At first, I thought it was because of the additional weight of the freshly filled water bag, but the reason was more the rough gravel road. You had to concentrate very hard and it wasn't fun. Oh yeah, the cold came with the rain too. Yesterday my thermometer showed 24 degrees at times, now it's 10. Since I ride in sandals every day, my feet quickly became icy cold. My sandals were already wet anyway, as I had to walk through wet grass in the morning. To complete all the good things, the wind also changed direction and (as already mentioned) picked up. Cold, rain, headwind, soft gravel, an average speed of 10 or 12 km/h: my motivation was put to the test. Of course, I made much slower progress than I thought. Instead of taking about 2 hours to Östersund, it took 3 1/2 hours. As with the first rain, I isolated myself, listened to music, and tried to forget how long it took me for each kilometer.

Östersund was the second largest city I came to after Gävle. There I immediately bought a replacement for the lost lock, but didn't make any other major stops. Maybe I wanted to defy the wind (which was still blowing steadily in my direction). Kilometer by kilometer, I crawled further north, cursed again when I had to climb at least 150 meters to the Östersund airport, but was rewarded with a great view of the lake landscape and snow-covered (!) mountains in the west.

I rode through unspectacular landscape until I reached Krokom. There, when I was leaning over my map again, I met an old man who spoke perfect English. He gave me many tips on how to get to Norway particularly well and on beautiful routes. Unfortunately, none of his place names meant anything to me, and I had already selected a route. He also described the way to the next sports shop so that I could finally get a replacement for Jos Angel. In the store (surely 15 minutes had passed), I met him again. I think he came after me on purpose. He had given me the wrong directions. It's much better if I take the 340 north. I thought it was very nice that this had occupied him so much (that would also have been my original plan). Now I was motivated again and really wanted to cover a few more kilometers. But then, a few kilometers past Krokom, I saw the bathing place with a large meadow and a picnic set. Because We uwas there, I had a warm meal for the second time in a week, and now I'm going to do some laundry: myself and my clothes. I can't stand the smell of myself anymore. And I think the next rain is coming. It doesn't look good in the west.

I have now cycled a few kilometers to the north, and it's interesting to see how I'm traveling back in time of the year. Today, for example, I passed fields of blooming dandelions. They have long since faded in Stockholm.

After a week, I'm feeling better than I thought. Although my right knee has been hurting since my first rainy tour, it's getting better slowly. I'm not riding fast, but long. 7 or more hours a day in motion is standard. My butt is doing quite well. Of course, I can feel it, but despite everything, it's the best saddle I've ever had. I haven't had any leg muscle soreness so far, and I doubt that there will be any. Being alone is also okay. I'm constantly doing something. Even if it's just cycling.