Saltsjöbaden

Yesterday was my last day in Stockholm before going home today and then heading to Germany on Monday. So I decided to make my destination of the day Saltsjöbaden, as there's a map of the route there hanging on the wall outside the crew cafeteria on the ship. That map had taunted me for a couple of weeks and it was about time I got some vindication.

The road out to Saltsjöbaden is great for cycling. There isn't much of a shoulder to ride on but traffic's light and most drivers gave way more than enough for me to feel perfectly safe. As soon as you start heading out of Stockholm towards Nacka the landscape becomes a lot more hilly and the twisting roads out to Fisksätra and Saltsjöbaden offer plenty of inclines that can even be challenging if climbed at speed. I chose to conserve my strength on my way out, though, as I wasn't sure of the exact length of the route I'd chosen. Once I got all the way out to where the road ended, I snapped some shots of my bike in front of Grand Hotel Saltsjöbaden, a quite impressive building considering the location. I then continued along the Ring road via Neglinge and Tattby then back into Stockholm through Nacka.

A while before I got back into the city, I passed a guy keeping a decent pace on an old touring bike. He upped his speed a bit but remained 50-100 meters behind me. This went on past the Viking Line terminal, across the bridge at Slussen and until I stopped at a red light at city hall. When he finally caught up with me he asked me if I'd ever considered disc brakes. On my negative response he wished me a pleasent weekend and kept going in his own direction while I went up to Kungsgatan. Short interactions like these can really be uplifting, and on yesterday's ride I was fortunate enough to have another one. Coming back from downtown, at Slussen I caught up with a guy on a brand new Kona phd. About half way to the ship I pulled up beside him and there was mutual admiration of the bikes, at 30..33 km/h.

Now I'm on the train home to Turku. This will also be my mode of travel on monday, going to Helsinki to catch the ferry to Germany. Turns out I've managed to snap a spoke in my rear wheel, so I'll need to get a new one and get the wheel realigned. I could do it myself in an emergency, but the day I head on my first major tour I'm more than happy to pay a professional. I've already called ahead to Velotema, my fave bike shop in Turku, to make sure they could squeeze me into their already full service schedule. As long as I get the bike there first thing monday morning, they'll have it done by end of business. It will take more than a broken spoke to keep me from going on this tour.

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6.7.2007: 50,24 km, 1h58m55s, 25,35 kmh avg, 55,8 kmh max.