Day #6 of Cycling in Sweden...

Today was unusual as we had two extra riders, both of whom cycle regularly to work in London, and only cycled 23 miles. We started out by crossing north to the coast for a swim. We then made the mistake of following some advice from a teenager and ending up pushing our bikes 1.25 miles through a single track (there’s definitely no mountain bikers in this crowd). Finally made it to the trailhead to hike to an ultra cool art installation, known as the micronation of Ladonia, made of tons of wood that looked like something Dr. Suess might make while on drugs. I would have liked to continue to explore, but we were on a tight schedule to meet Mat for lunch. After lunch, we cycled to the beach at Molle on the west coast. Then we made our way back to Camilla’s cottage, where we celebrated our accomplishment with French champagne, prawns and salmon. As our rewards, I gave Camilla, Marianne and myself matching necklaces made out of recycled bike tires by a Swedish artist.

Day #5 of Cycling in Sweden...

We packed up the car so Camilla could drive to her cottage in Hoganas (near the western coast) and pick up her sister, Natasha, and her friend, Lizzie. Marianne and I set off for what we anticipated to be an immensely hilly ride. Lucky for me, it was mostly rolling hills which were quite manageable. We were thankful that we packed a lunch as we didn’t pass a single shop or cafe. Was bummed we didn’t see any moose. Got excited when I saw some deer up until the time I noticed the fence around them. After 40.5 miles reached Bjuv. Met a few local drunks at the town pizza joint while waiting for Camilla’s university buddy, Mat (with one “t”) to take us back to his place. The other ladies joined us for a delicious homemade dinner of salad, fish soup and tiramisu.

Day #4 of Cycling in Sweden...

Today was the easiest ride of the trip as we were mostly on small country roads and never on gravel for the 43 mile trip to Lund, a large city which was once the historical center of Denmark. Had an awesome vegetarian lunch, then got some culture at the Open Air Museum above and the cathedral with a cool underground crypt shown on the right. Stopped for a beer at a golf course on the return route at the perfect time as we managed to avert a storm passing overhead. After another quick dip in the lake (I lasted less than 30 seconds!), we had a nice chat with an elderly Dutch couple also cycling around Sweden. Finished the evening with a dinner in the garden, which was lovely.

Day #3 of Cycling in Sweden...

After breakfast, we packed up the car to head to Gamlo Bo, a village along Ringsjon Lake (about 1.5 hours inland). Rode along another dreadful highway, then spent much of the day riding around lakes on gravel roads with lots of steep hills. Only rode 37.25 miles, but as it was extra hot and humid, I didn’t feel too guilty about walking at times. We made it back to the hotel in time for a quick jump in the lake before a huge electrical storm hit; I thought the water was freezing, so didn’t stay in long. Ironically, had to put on our rain coats for the only time during the trip so we could avoid getting soaked walking to dinner.

Day #2 of Cycling in Sweden...

Not all bike routes are created equally, as we quickly discovered. We were shocked to learn the map designated a 55-mph highway without a shoulder as an official bike path. I was near tears as I struggled up hills with big rigs behind me that couldn’t pass because the road was too narrow. After about 5 miles, we pulled into a small town and I pleaded with Marianne, our map reader extraordinaire, to find another route north to the city of Arhus. She was my hero as she found gravel roads that allowed us to bypass the rest of the highway. Along the way we passed by this lovely privately-owned castle. Had a delicious herring lunch in the patio of an art gallery, followed by monster-sized ice cream. Visited an old church, then headed back south where we had our funniest encounter of the week. An old lady saw us debating about what direction to go and she convinced us to push our bikes though the sand for a mile just to discover that if we crossed the river she suggested, we wouldn’t connect to a path on the other side either. After lots of laughs, we finally got back on the right path and made it to the Havang Dolmen, the 5000-year-old burial chamber shown above.

1st Day of Cycling in Sweden...

The most challenging part of our first day’s ride was getting out/in to Kivik over the giant hill surrounding this coastal city. It stunk to already be off my bike and walking just 15 minutes into the ride; however, didn’t feel guilty on the return trip at all. Otherwise, most of the 89K (55 miles) was rolling hills as we went along the coast south to the beach at Sandhammaren along the southeastern tip of Sweden. We’d worked up an appetite by the time we stopped in the cute town of Simrishamn for a delicious lunch of smoked salmon sandwiches on 1/2 baguette (the largest baguettes we’ve ever seen!) I’m not a fan of cold water, so I didn’t join Camilla and Marianne for a swim in the Baltic Sea.

We took an inland route on the way back north through miles of farmland (kept thinking of “amber waves of grain,” but couldn’t remember the words to America the Beautiful). We stopped for a tour of Glimmingehus, a castle built for a Danish knight in 1506, and got a bonus of some great chocolate cake. Made it back to Kivik in plenty of time to watch the sunset.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle...

On June 27th, two Brits, one American, 3 touring bikes and a case of wine were crammed into a funny car called a Kangoo to start a week-long cycling adventure in the province of Skane in southern Sweden. The goal was to help Camilla celebrate her 40th birthday by cycling 400K. We spent several months training in the dunes along the coast of Holland. Camilla worked hard to come up with a plan that would work for 6 women so that we would have a sag wagon to carry our luggage. Unfortunately, 3 of the women dropped out at the last minute, so it was down to Camilla, Marianne and me spending 2 nights at each location instead of changing hotels daily. We took turns driving on the German Autobahn to the overnight ferry. After a short drive, we dropped off our stuff at our first hotel in Kivik (on the southeastern coast) and started our adventure.

Keeping Holland Above Water...

In preparation for my upcoming cycling vacation in Sweden, Jimmy and I managed to go on a long ride when the girls were both busy on a Saturday afternoon. On our way to Gouda for lunch, we happened upon a water pump station that had an Open House. The staff were thrilled to give us Engels a tour. It was amazing to discover that one side of the station was 21 feet below sea level and the other side was several feet above. It’s good to know those pumps are around the country to keep the water under control.

Fractured Fairy Tales...

Unlike previous years, this year the 3rd grade performed a musical for their annual play. Ashlynn was fortunate to have several lines as one of the Three Little Pigs featured in Roald Dahl’s Little Red Riding Hood. Ashlynn was surprised that this play was chosen as it was a bit violent when Little Red pulled a pistol from her knickers and blew the wolf away. Just another one of those Not in America moments.

Dolphins in Holland...

While Jimmy was on a long business trip, we had some school friends stay with us for a week while they were between houses. The weather was beautiful over the 4-day holiday weekend, so we went to the beach one day and took a day-trip to Dolphinarium on another. We had a great day seeing shows with dolphins, seals and walruses. I was especially impressed with this show that was in a very natural setting with 10 dolphins.

All Smiles...

...but we were actually sad to have to leave. On our last morning, we managed to get a harriette to take a few family photos. All us girls are wearing our new bracelets to scare away the Evil Eye. Had a great time in Turkey and hope to go back to discover more that it has to offer.

Stars of the Eurohash 2011 Bid...

Months ago, Neptunus recruited me and the girls to help make a PowerPoint presentation to help promote Holland as a host for Eurohash in 2011. Veronica and Ashlynn did the initial work, then taught me how to use the program. Click here to see the finished product. Before the Red Dress Party began, it was time to make the bid. Neptunus wore his infamous Neptune costume and spoke about the details. Jimmy and the girls then got up and did a quick skit about beer. I was worried that the crowd might not appreciate the humor, but they loved it. You can see Veronica in yellow as Holland won 90% of the votes to be the next host of Eurohash. Afterwards, we changed into our red dresses and danced, but failed to get any photos. Unfortunately, we had to skip the trail on Sunday as the time conflicted with our flight. Although we didn’t actually hash much, we had a great time.

Hashing in Turkey...

Eurohash officially started on Friday evening with a party, which we skipped. The girls begged us to leave them behind at the resort while we went off to run the hash on Saturday. Being the responsible parents we are, we told them to stay out of the sea and not to eat too much ice cream. Jimmy left on an early bus to do the Ballbreaker trail through the hot rugged terrain of a national park about an hour away. I took a later bus to do the medium trail, which was basically a flat, shorter version through the same terrain. I was disappointed not to see any ruins, but was entertained by a discussion with a Belgian harriette that enlightened me about a San Diego harrier that attended our wedding. Good gossip always helps make the trail seem shorter.