Third day

Söderfors - Axmar Bruk 

110km

16.2 average speed

Strong headwind and heavy rain until noon, sun and very strong headwind in the afternoon 

Why do weather reports have to be so precise? And why am I not learning anything? The day started at half past five with low-hanging grey clouds. Quietly, without waking Matthias, I started my morning tasks: washing, packing, stowing. Since I left a right mess in the evening, it took me a while to get everything in the bags. I also made a lot of effort today and covered the last layer in each bag with a plastic bag. I feared the worst and the clouds seemed to agree with me. Meanwhile, Matthias was awake, but he seemed a bit distant (maybe he was still tired). I had a quick breakfast (the first goal should be Gävle, which was 30-40km away) and then I set off. I was not really out of Söderfors yet when it started to rain (it had already been windy). Because it was also very cold (13 degrees), I rode with three layers. T-shirt, fleece jacket, and rain jacket. Shortly afterwards, the rain pants followed. I only did without the gaiters (I was barefoot in sandals). Only a wide country road led to Gävle and it was torture. The wind was so strong that I could only move forward at 15km/h. The rain had increased and due to the headwind, it felt even stronger. Because I had to exert myself quite a bit, I quickly started to sweat in the rain gear. To avoid completely swimming in my own sweat, I opened the rain and fleece jacket a bit in the front. As a result, after a few km, I got wet from the rain in the back and front. I didn't see much either. It was gray and sometimes the clouds were so low that I got into the fog. In addition, my glasses were always fully soaked. Those of you who wear glasses surely know that. I just hoped that the truck drivers always recognized me in time (good thing my saddlebags are orange and my rain jacket is light blue). Despite all the adversities, my mood was good. At first, I sang a little, then I ran out of breath. Later, I shut myself off and listened to podcasts. After 2 1/2 hours, I reached Gävle and headed straight for a supermarket. Most important point: underwear (now I didn't even have a dry one anymore). They had a model, but so what. I have long since moved beyond the luxury of choosing. Outside in the parking lot, I wanted to quickly stuff the new clothes into my saddlebag in pouring rain. In the process, one fell down and of course into a pile of dog poop (with underwear I have no luck)

Next point: Get a spare valve. If I'm already carrying two spare tubes, they should work. Although Gävle was a fairly large city, I couldn't find a store. In a sports shop on the outskirts, I was sent back into the center. The store turned out to be a furniture, kitchen accessories, and everything-possible store. Nevertheless, I immediately found the right valves.

Getting out of the city was difficult (as it is from any larger city when traveling by bike). I spontaneously decided to ride the peninsula north of Gävle instead of continuing on the heavily trafficked highway. That meant a detour of at least 20km. The weather report the day before was very precise. 'Rain will decrease in the late morning and the wind will increase'. And that's exactly what happened. When I reached the northern end of the peninsula, there was even a blue strip on the horizon. I was happy that my things were slowly drying out and cursed because the increasingly strong wind was coming from the north. By now, I was back on the highway and only stopped at Hagalund at a larger lake. The weather had completely changed. The wind had almost reached storm strength (I estimate 6, gusts of 7), but the sky was radiant blue. 

I think the strongest wind was during my break by the lake. Not only that I had to fight against the wind, the constant noise also bothered me a bit. Besides the rustling of the trees (actually a pleasant sound), the wind was constantly whistling in my ears. After a few hours, I just wished for some peace and quiet. As long as I was going through forests, the wind was slowed down by the trees. On clearings, I felt like prey (the wind was the hunter). I tried to cross the clearing without gusts of wind, but I could already see from the bending branches that the next gust of wind would attack me and slow me down massively. Then it took a while until I accelerated the heavy bike again, just to be attacked again. It was an exhausting way to make progress. And yet, by half past four, I covered more km than the day before with a lot of tailwind. Two people take a lot more breaks.

Now the morning with its bad weather seems light years away. I have a beautiful campsite (okay, the tent is on a parking lot) on a peninsula in the Baltic Sea, halfway between Gävle and Söderhamn (Axmar Bruk). I'm sitting on a weathered boat dock and it's so warm that I can let two suns shine on my pale chest (the second is a reflection in the water). The wind has almost stopped and I will now enjoy the sun, the peaceful atmosphere, the chirping, simply the wonderful evening for a while.