kitzblitz' long and hard ride

Södertälje 600 km.

I decided pretty soon after Barkarby 600 km two weeks ago that it would be OK to fit in another 600 km prior to Sverigetempot. Good to practise routines and good training. So I rode Södertälje 600 km over the weekend. I already knew beforehand that there would be poor KBCK participation due to a number of legitimate reasons like being too old (nypan), too fat (Danne) or too hungover (most of the others). Unfortunately bigmollo couldn't make it either due to sore Achilles tendons from the Barkarby ride. And too fat and presumably hungover as well ;-) So the opportunities for ridiculous childish talk and pranks on the ride would probably be limited, which is always a shame, as this can be the most memorable aspect of an adventure like this!

Ready to go! Waiting for the train to Södertälje in Älvsjö at 5.20 am.

20 of us left the start at 6.15 and after 27 km there is a ferry. It was blowing a gale (over 10 m/s) and we were pretty close to averaging 41 km/h to catch the first ferry, but we weren't really trying, and ended up having to wait 20 mins for the next one. But nobody complained  while waiting in the great sunshine.

Wind.

As expected the strong wind was head- or sidewind for the first about 150 km to Eskilstuna and some of the sections were pretty tough. But great legs and fantastic scenery on a clear sunny day kept me happy.

Guess which side the wind is coming from?!

En korv med ben, tack!

We turned southwestish in Eskilstuna and had tailwind for about 200 km; vroooom :-) Some of the scenery was just pure magic. And, despite the advantageous wind, the pace in our group was not as high as it could have been with a few more ambitious, strong riders, so I had many opportunities to play around and take photos:

One of many "our group from behind" photos.

Swedish colours.

A randonneur skyline. One of the cloudier pictures of the day.

At about the halfway point in Ödeshög (well actually 360 km) we met many who had just ridden Vätternrundan which passed through the same area. I met Mikko, whom I knew from previous Conti Test Team rides together. He knew that the guys who had ridden today, with the aim of finishing in under 7 hours, had come in in 6:59!!!! I got so excited and happy for them! I know how much they have put into this and how many years they have tried and only just missed out on sub-7 hours (twice with me in the team). This kept me happy for many more hours of the ride! For me it is important having distracting thoughts to make you smile or chuckle while riding :-)

Happy as Larry.

During the week I had been considering leaving the others and riding off the front by myself on this ride. Mainly as training to ride such a distance solo. But, although we didn't have a particularly fast group, the stops were short and efficient, so it would have felt a bit pathetic to leave a control only a minute or two before the others, with the definite possibility that they would catch me only a few km's later. So I stayed with the lead group the whole distance. And it is nicer, especially during the tough night section, to have company! I rode with Stefan whom I had ridden with a few times previously (e.g. Barkarby 400 km) and another rider ditto, who's name I have unfortunately missed, and a new companion I also didn't catch the name of. Isn't it amazing, that you accompany eachother for a whole day, discuss riding, life, the universe and everything and help eachother through all the rough patches, and laugh about the magic sections. And in the end you don't even know eachother's names?!

Heroin plantation, Swedish style.

It is difficult to find something to complain about on a day like this!

After another picturesque section following Ödeshög, the roads turned boring, the sun set and it got unexpectedly cold, unexpectedly quickly. We stopped to put on all the layers we had, but a few hours later the temperature had sunk to 0.8 degrees. And it stayed like this for the toughest, fatigue section of the ride between Norrköping and Nyköping from about 1 am - 3 am. My legs and body felt great on the bike, but my hands got cold and I started feeling sleepy. It did help that the Swedish summer night never really got dark, which was enhanced by an impressive full moon. So when the sun rose early, the situaton quickly improved. The most positive part was that having knee warmers avoided the muscle problems I had two weeks ago. What a great invention! What a great relief! During this cold, tougher period I 1. didn't think of taking photos and 2. couldn't have with long gloves and frozen fingers. So you have to make do with sparkling sunshine pictures for today :-)

Three of us finished together (one of our "incognito" companions decided to ride at his own pace the last 75 km), with myself having to take more and more responsibility at the front when legs were getting tired. We finished in 24:15 hours, but as is often the case once you have come through one of these adventures, the time in the end effect doesn't even matter.

A standard, post-brevet look. On the train home.

Thanks for a fantastic day everybody I rode with and especially to Åsa and Henrik for this picturesque route that surely must offer some of the most amazing scenery in Sweden! Thanks also to Norvelo for all the help the last few weeks fixing the Pearl.

And thanks, you two; you did well!

Now I have some days for recovery, planning things to take with me and checking the Sweden-Pearl; only 11 days to Sverigempot!

/Toni