Some thoughts from the time I passed riding my aluminium horse through Pippi’s land. If Greta Thunberg is saying that our house is on fire you should know that this metaphor isn’t so far from the reality, and not only in Sweden. Last summer there were approximately 50 big wildfires all over Sweden that affected more then 250 km². The first ones of the year already broke out again. As I cycled through the forrests , which are dominated by pines, I noticed the typical forrest smell of high summer. In other words they are already as dry as a dessert. Last year it was , like in many other regions in Europe and the world, extremely warm and dry. A good period of sun now only adds to this vicious cycle since there is not much water to evaporate and so it heats up and dries out even more which results in bigger risk on fires. This added to all the trash I see next to the roads, on some beaches, in the forests made me a bit cynical towards the urgent change we need to avoid the critical tipping point. Luckily there’s inspirational individuals and movements that spark up the hope a bit again.
<span style=”font-size: inherit;”>More on the bright side: it has been great cycling wheater for my 7 days of consecutive riding (550 km done in 7 days between Stockholm and Göteborg). Great for outdoor sleeping without tent which I absolutely adore but a bit to sunny for my pale white winter skin so I suffered from some sunburn on noses, wrists and my ties. My new cycling padded shorts (which add a great deal of comfort to these long times in the saddle) made a clear tan mark.</span>
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I’m recovering a bit with 2 resting days in Goteborg where I visited a nice little exposition on cycling culture. By looking at the bathroom you might guess that I ended up again at the home of other enthusiastic bicycle travellers via warmshowers. Tomorrow I will head with a ferry towards the north of Denmark where I will ride the north and west coast on EuroVello marked bicycle routes. Not sure yet if I will make the D-tour to Copenhagen. To be continued …