June 14: Day 44, Sunne-Tyfors
I was staying at the FärgLabbets Bed and Breakfast, and it had everything I needed to prepare breakfast. Knives, cutting boards, even a coffee plunger. I ate everything in sight, as usual: cereal with banana and yoghurt, a pastry, and a croissant. I picked up all of this from the co-op supermarket last night, except for the cereal which I've been carrying since Denmark.
I'd discovered the coffee machine a bit after 9 last night, and hadn't had a coffee that day, and maybe enthusiastically making a coffee then wasn't the best idea? Well, I regret nothing.
Anyway, I got on the road a bit late. The next town was Munkfors, where I'd arrive about lunchtime: but it looked too small to have good lunch options so I dropped into the Co-op supermarket again to get a lunch salad and some fruit.
One other issue is that the place I'm staying tonight is in the middle of nowhere, and I need to bring and make dinner. And breakfast. I went for a safe an easy option, and got pasta and pasta sauce. I'm taking them in a pannier, wrapped up in my jersey for extra insulation. I also need some breakfast things like milk: but I'll get those in Hagfors which is the last town, there's three hours of cycling after that - which is not great, but it's better than trying to keep milk chilled all through a hot day.
The first part of the route was on a cyclepath! Beside a road, but after the last few days my standards have adjusted and I now think this is great. I happily followed it for a few kilometers; then it passed a parked digger, turned into a construction site, and then it ended. Oh well. Back on the road then.
From left to right: breakfast pastry and coffee among my stuff; the table was small. Tranquil river and bridge on the way out of town. That’s the ridge to be climbed in the distance. The end of the cycle lane.
The morning had a 200m climb. It was on a road though, which mean it never got too steep. The whole area is forest - and forested mountain views are always good. It's also cooler among trees, which helps on hot days like today...
I fell in step with two other cyclists who were doing a two-week tour that ended today. They were camping, and averaging 60km per day - I appreciate the advantage from sleeping indoors! When we got to the top I offered to take a photo of them riding together, and they took some pictures of me as well.
Riding solo makes pictures more complicated. You've seen plenty of pictures of the road; these are easy because the phone can be unclipped and reclipped to the handlebar mount one-handed, and I've got a lot of practice at that. Riding selfies likewise. But only if the road is smooth and there's no traffic - if you were wondering why those are the only pictures I post, that's why.
The next level of effort is to stop. That only happens if the view is especially good.
From left to right: two takes of me riding towards the camera. Selfie on the downhill. Nice view, with cloud shadow doing something good.
The most effort is to stop, take out the camera tripod, frame it, set a timer, put myself in the picture, redo it all a few times. You haven't seen many pictures like this because it can easily take 10-15 minutes to get a good result... It'd be so much easier if there was someone else with me, of course!
So I've been trying another option with the tripod: just record a video of me riding past and then pick a good frame. It's much quicker; I can get a result in about 5 minutes, but the only pictures it gives are "cyclist rides into the distance" or "cyclist rides towards the camera with a picturesque background". The third type with "cyclist stopped in the road, side on to the camera" is probably not worth the extra time!
From left to right: here’s some stills from the video of me cycling past the camera.
One nice thing is that after the downhill, the route joined a rail trail! They don't announce them, but the gentle gradients, slow curves and the way nearby roads and houses are adapted to it is unmistakable. I do wish my route used these more often... I'm flexible, I would happily follow one of these if it was heading vaguely north. This one ended at Uddeholm (it wasn't that my route diverged, it actually ended) and I had to go mix it up with gravel roads, winding backstreets, and tenuous connections.
From left to right: bridge entering Munkfors. Could this be a rail trail? If there’s any doubt, later on I crossed this bridge.
The next town was Hagfors, which is the last town I visit today. I needed to pick up some last things for dinner but Google Maps said there was a good cafe in town, so that obviously needs to happen first. We don't need the milk heating up while I get caffeinated! This was indeed a good cafe: I couldn't decide between two delicacies so I got 'em both. I ordered a coffee but then noticed they have iced coffee on the menu (it was in Swedish, it took me a while) and even better, I was able to change my order.
At the supermarket I picked up breakfast things, including milk ... might as well get some yoghurt as well, a bit of extra mass at 4C will help keep it cold for the next three hours. Maybe something frozen as well? The cheapest smallest box of frozen berries were 250g of blueberries for 2.5eur. I wrapped it all up in the jersey in the pannier; the pasta stuff wasn't feeling cold which isn't good, but it's all sealed so it'll probably be OK.
The final section is largely on state roads: no cyclepaths, but not much traffic. I tuck myself on the far right, cars and trucks go past but they can cross all the way into the other lane. Lakes are everywhere in this part of the world, and the road regularly goes past or over them. There's hills, but since it's a state road the gradients are low - just like a rail trail. So it's quick; I get to the end quite a bit faster than the Komoot estimate.
I arrive at 1800. The place I'm staying is remote, it's surrounded by trees and there's no other buildings in sight. The owner doesn't live on-site, he has to come to let me in. I'm renting an entire apartment, but paying the price of a B&B room in town. Adding in the price of the two meals I'm providing means it works out to be quite a good deal.
From left to right: breakfast shopping. Cold stuff stacked and wrapped up in a pannier. One of the many, many lakes I passed today. The road at a quiet moment. The place I’m staying tonight.
The milk and yoghurt are still cold! So dinner and breakfast will work out. I get everything put away, unpack my gear, have a shower and get changed.
Now I need to plan out the route and book accommodation for the next few days ... but I think I'll avoid any cheap but remote options this time.
What I’m listening to: Life in Mono / Mono: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWoC2c5syxQ
