Possibly the best morning of the tour so far. Woke up, crawled out of the tent into the dazzling sunlight, walked down to the waters edge and dived straight off the rocky shelf and into the deep calm waters. Not a soul around. Utterly magic.
Followed by a leisurely breakfast (even a brew of coffee), back at the tent while we dried off, feeling very happy.
Seeing how clean I was feeling, I treated myself to a new shirt and the stained old green rip curl one had its final use as a rag for cleaning the bike chains! Fully washed, fed and serviced, we were ready to ride.
Well, after a quick stop off at the water pump to fill our bottles before leaving the lake; then headed towards Kungsbacka.
The church bells were ringing out as we pulled into the town square. We had planned on finding a cosy coffee shop for some wifi and general relaxing...
But instead enjoyed munching a sandwich on a very comfy reclining wooden bench in the square instead.
It was hard to get going again after our early lunch. It was such a glorious day that we made the executive decision to bee-line straight for the coast, rather than taking the planned route, which followed a busy road around for several kilometres. We made a guess at where could be a good swimming area by looking at the map and were delighted with our choice when we arrived.
We pulled up at the tiny jetty, sweaty and tired. After watching an old couple arrive and get in off one of the jetties, we soon followed suit.
From the end of the jetty there was no hesitation today!
I’d say it was the warmest water that we’ve swum in all summer. Or maybe we were just overheating? It felt funny being in salt water again after this mornings swim.
Cooling down with a swim is so refreshing, it’s like pressing a re-start button inside you. Back on the land, it felt like the start of a new day, the sun felt pleasant rather than scorching and I could think clearly again after overheating. More importantly, I felt like I’d got plenty of energy again to keep peddling!
We had some more food before continuing onwards. We could have stopped anywhere, but wanted to get within striking distance of Gothenburg, so that we could have an easy day tomorrow and enjoy a bit of the city sights. We also needed to find a shop to buy dinner. I was hungry when we found one and while Clare selected some ingredients for the evening meal, I bought a hot roast chicken from the deli counter, went outside and devoured the lot. I must have looked like a bearded wild man as I sat in the sun hungrily gnawing on bones, barely stopping to draw breath until it was all gone! We pressed on with me feeling much better.
For a (nice) change, the place that we’d identified on the map as being a potentially good camp area, turned out to be just that! No search around needed today. A secluded flat area, picnic bench, nearby toilets and a great view of the bird reserve by the river. We got unpacked and fell asleep for a while before preparing a delicious falafel curry.
It’s our last night in the tent for a few days as we’re almost at the city of Gothenburg. We both agreed that the best bit about camping in Sweden is how you’re able to do it virtually anywhere. There’s no need to reserve a pitch, check in, show your passport, pay money, share facilities (no matter how good or bad they are) or even have anyone else on the pitch next to you. Proper camping. It’s been beautiful. Oh, and there was another nice sunset to enjoy...
Total Ride: 46.4km
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