This March made me so sore…But the next morning things were already better. Cycling utilizes different muscles than walking so I could actually follow my plan to cycle towards Gothenburg
I decided that around 40km per day were enough, so I could see the landscape, and enjoy the ride.
We started with a really good breakfast at this nearby cafe, where we had been two days before. Martin needed to go to the railway station and find a train to Frankfurt, I brought him to the local station and then I started my tour North.
So I took the bike path North on the Danish side – this went along the coastline. This is route 9 and I just wanted to get to Helsingor – each bike trip I take takes me over some border – and this time it is the Danish-Swedish border
I still admired Danish / Copenhagen bike infrastructure. There were pathways for bikes and even for skaters. Yes it needs a lot of asphalt but they plant trees, too. And bikes have a prioity I’d wish for in car-country Germany. I found a Eurovelo pathway as well, leading to the border. In Danmark it was bike path 9.
I really really liked that I found a mammutmarch signage arrow on the floor – I was not really aware how far North we had been. Also I could still see the parking restrictions because of the Ironman race… How can a city like Copenhagen manage Pride, Ironman, Mammutmrch in one weekend? Well – they can.
Ice cream and a coffee on the way – this was at a campground and both were delicious.
Eventually I got to the ferry. We cyclists were allowed to the very front. And we all cheered for the last car leaving the ferry.
Then the ferry was ours and we made our way over the border.
We arrived in Helsingborg and I had already booked a hotel here. Parking my bike, I checked in, got chenged, did my daily mile and then also went for some food and some ingress. My goal was to get the black „unique capture“ badge – finally, and I thought I’d visit enough Swedish cities for that. I got me some delicious Italian food and went to bed early. I still had a bit of a sleep deficit to catch up with.
The next day I took a train to Falkenberg. From there I planned to ride fourty-ish km to Varberg or such. And for I already could see that the bike ways were very nicely separated and well rideable.
I was amazed at the infrastructure – again (free toilet at the station!) and enjoyed that my bike wasn’t crammed into many others but that the car had space for all the bikes. Also amazing that I payed just 11 Euro for the whole 150-ish km. I’d gone farther, had I understood that I could get the ticket a bit later, and then use the full two hours it was paid for. This seems to be a country using tax money well. Like Danmark seems to be as well.
I got out of the train, hit the restroom and then started riding North along the coast.
Usually I take a break around half my planned distance and there was a nice picnic table and a yound woman sat there with her bike, having a picnic. Turns out she’s a Belgian triathlete who had just finished a half Ironman. Too funny, we got into talking. Surrounded by this cat who was snuggling whereever it could. Also the young lady was alone on the road, riding, bikepacking, enjoying Scandinavia, and I coukld tell her that also on the Danish side of her way, the bike routes are marked well. So we chatted a bit, then both went our way. Kitty stayed.
The pathway is the Kattegattleden, and it has to do something with cats. But the next favorite animal was the hippopotamus – because the Bed and Breakfast I visited nevt, in Varberg, was full of those.
The owner was a collector of easily recognizable figurines of hippopotami, there were some in my room, a glass shelf outside and also the house was full of those.
I did my daily mile through Varberg, slowly my limbs were getting non-sore. They had a huge Cold-Bath which was built on stilts. Eventually I have to get back there – this looks like a really good spa type of vacation spot.
Getting to sleep I was fighting with the cold I had started one week before the Mammutmarch. And yes, one should not do heavy strain stuff while having a cold but the March weekend it was gone and only when I got into the finish the cough started again. This night I made me some tea and eventually my cough died down and I could sleep.
