My introduction to bikepacking (Part 4) - A test run

Having discovered that we were starting to get our s&%# together and finally getting some sort of an understanding of what bikepacking would entail, the next step before our upcoming summer adventure was testing the group dynamics. Would we be compatible riding together? Would we get along? Would we need to cancel the whole trip?

To do this, we decided on a two day trip to Lake Vattern where we would visit Emil's parents and link up with our daughter as well. It would be a trip of close to 300km over two days with our full gear. Not an easy trip by any means, but certainly a distance we were capable of.

Let's get it started ...

We started fairly early, departing from Stockholm at around 8AM, traveling a familiar route to Södertälje that mostly consisted of paved roads. Not the most exciting of routes to start with, but at least it gave us some time to gel as a group and see how our pacing would work.

The morning went fine and we enjoyed an easy first few hours before taking an early food break. Good, we can all agree we like to eat! After a short break we were back on the bikes and now at least on some friendly bike paths and gravel trails. There was a climb early on that showed us how strong Emil would be, and the fact that he liked challenges. He was fairly new to long distance biking so we sat back and observed, riding the pace we were used to and waiting to see if his youthful exuberance would cause him to bonk later in the day. As we got further from Sodertalje, the route became a lot more rural and we navigated onto quiet back roads that I had found using a specific Swedish gravel road map. There were still main roads mixed in here and there, but only because we were limited to two days for the trip and we needed to be somewhat direct. Before long we reached the town of Gnesta and had a proper lunch of pizza and fries ( too much pizza and fries). That feeling of overeating caused a bit too much discomfort for the afternoon and it was a lesson I would try not to repeat again. We pedaled a few more hours after lunch and found that we could ride at a good pace together and generally get along as a group quite well.

The first test

I had planned a camp spot on the route using my tried and true method of google maps and satellite images (more detail can be found in our book) but in this case we ended up in a pretty remote area that felt more like a game reserve than a camping spot. There were a few dead ends and many hike-a-bikes before we realized we had to retrace our steps and get back to the main route. We attempted to set up camp in a less than ideal spot before finally deciding to just keep pedaling and look for something better. Rebecca and I have been indecisive for years, always looking for something better and most of the time it works out, but for others it can be a bit frustrating. In his first encounter with this, Emil rolled with the punches and we all decided to travel on.

Finding a spot to rest

It was getting a bit late, but fortunately we were in Sweden in the summer. This means long days of sunlight. This can be good and bad. Good that you always have that extra bit of daylight to travel in. Bad in that you have that extra bit of daylight to travel in, which means you sometimes push yourselves further than you want to go. In this case it was a little bit of both, as we pushed on and eventually found a campground that would serve as a good rest spot for the night. We arrived at close to 9PM, tired and hungry. We had completed our first bikepacking century and had traveled 101 miles(160 km). Emil didn't bonk and proved to be strong throughout the day.

Day 2

Day 2 started with a a beautiful view from the tent and a warm shower at the campground. The sun was shining and our legs felt quite good. After covering so much distance the first day, the ride to the summer house would be much less of a journey.

The roads were much more fun as the route was 90% gravel with very few houses, people, and most importantly, food. We had food with us, but for this trip we had planned on stopping for lunch at one of those fantastic Swedish cafes you find almost anywhere. What we didn't expect was that the area would be so remote and that there would be almost nothing around. The day wore on and it was soon becoming afternoon with no food in sight. A can of baked beans fell off of Emil's bike and broke open. I readily volunteered to eat them rather than throw the whole can away, but the others scoffed at the idea and prayed we would find something better. I was not sure their decision was a wise one, especially as we saw nothing on the map and the roads were as remote as we had seen.

The Oasis

We cycled on, all of us hungrier by the minute, a bit too depleted from the day before and just hoping to find a small corner store. Suddenly, after riding through farm after farm, we came to a signpost that pointed to some sort of a bed and breakfast (Vita Krala) . It looked like they had lunch but we weren't sure they would be serving at this time of day in such a remote location. Luckily for us, we arrived to find the hosts to be incredibly friendly and super accommodating. We were weary travelers and their hospitality was the perfect match for our hungry stomachs. They made us meals that matched our tastes, meat for the carnivore Emil and a delightful vegetarian meal for Rebecca and me. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and at one point I said, the only thing that could make this better is a gin an tonic. Not ten seconds later, one of the other guests rounded the corner carrying their freshly poured gin and tonic. Somehow, I held off on asking for my own and we made the decision to get going towards our final goal

Gourmet in the country

Fat, full and happy

We loved Vita Krala so much we contemplated staying for dinner and staying overnight but our families awaited and would not be happy with us if we chose to stay. Instead we thanked the wonderful owners and slowly eased our way down the shady countryside gravel roads with huge smiles on our faces. The rest of the day was easy and mostly a relaxed cruise. We had those tired late in the day laughs as we passed through towns with names like Rönneshytta making jokes and enjoying the beautiful weather. As we neared our final destination we took one last stop for an ice cream in the municipality of Askersund and enjoyed a delicious treat by the lake.

The end Lake Vattern

It was only a 30 minute ride from Askersund to our final stop at the summer house of Emil's parents on Lake Vattern and we enjoyed the last bit of our ride before arriving to our waiting families and a fantastic dinner they had prepared. The night would be filled with lots of stories and laughs, sharing stories of our adventure and excitedly talking about the planning upcoming trip. We had survived the trip together and we were now ready to tackle the next big adventure. 30 days together is a long time, but we were excited for the next step.