Wandering and Wondering

Hey! (I love the Swedish way to say Hallo! My typical conversation with a Sweidsh guy starting with "Hey!", or, if I want to be more friendly "Hey-Hey!", as they say; having then reached about a third of my Swedish vocabulary, I normally switch to a more humble and nearly ashamed "Do you speak English?", always reveiving an "Of course" as reply...  I have actually done a list, and I reached about 70 Swedish words which I learnt, but I still find rather difficult to have an effective conversation combining together words like "bicycle-camping-room-bread-Italy" etc...)

So,... Hey !!

Arrived to Luleå, largest city in the North Sweden, after the long crossing of Eastern Sweden. As expected, the more North I go, the emptier the Country is getting. "German/Indian Reserves" are now a far memory, no need here. And again, I had very interesting experiences, sceneries and meetings (like the two Buddhist monks on walking on the Road this morning, with their huge rucksacks...unfortunately we couldn't properly communicate, it would have been interesting to know their story; I tried to corrupt their religious ascetiscm and mysticiscm offering water and chocolate, one just accepted the bottle of water) and Sweden confirmed to be an exciting Country! Swedish are clearly in love with any Outdoor activity, from hiking to running, sailing, swimming, fishing, kayaking, golfing...I've met so many persons who run or were traininig for marathons. Not much going on on cycling, though. Indeed, I tried to let these marathon runners understand that for someone able to hit the 3-hour target on a Marathon, what I'm doing is really nothing, in terms of physical experience; which I'm really convinced is true. The only required ingredient is just pure determination. With that, anybody can do something like this, and perhaps faster! Like what Walter is doing, one of the guys I've met on the road. Walter is from Leipzig, Germany, and cycling on a tight schedule (200 km/day!) to North Cape, to be back from Finland. We cycled together for half day, from the camping where we stayed in Sundsvall to the area of "Hoga Kusten" (the "High Coast", one of the parts I enjoyed most so far, for its wilderness in between huge forests, mountains and fjords), but unfortunately his method doesn't allow him diversions from major roads (specifically, the busy bloody E4!), and I couldn't convert him to the "Wandering and Wondering phylososphy"! But...if you are reading, let me launch you this provocation ;-)  and ask you what I was thinking while struggling on the steep desert gravel roads of the Hoga Kusten, with those beautiful forests suddenly opening on lakes and fjords...after your North Cape trip is concluded, what will you really remember, apart asphalt, trucks on the E4, noise and the Sybilla kiosks (my "must" for cheap coffees on the road)? Running on the highway E4 to me means missing the fun part of the Travel (while keeping only the tough one), which is the exploration and knowledge of the areas and regions where I get to. I've met the day after our meeting another (German) cyclist, using the same method: 200km/day on major roads only...Anyway, different people, different heads, I won't judge. Finally, congratulations anyway for the determination and level of fitness!

But the most touching meeting was with Ahmir, a young Eritrean guy who works in one of the campings I've been. Ahmir (the name is invented), that night told me that has been in Sweden for now two years, as a political refugee, after fighting for 8 years against the Etiopian troops (the conflict Eritrea/Etiopia is an old business, for the control of sea access that only the small Eritrea has). He can speak Swedish, he has been given a job, and despite the fact that he can't really get used to the cold winter weather (!), his life is now relatively stable and good...but he was touched when saying that he really misses his Country, his family, his young wife (and two kids!) still in Asmara...



On the more technical side of the trip, for who's interested...The ski-mask I wear is nearly a constant of my setup even in sunny days, to avoid me weeping all day...and making me look like probably quite odd.

La Sciura started to show some signs of tiredness and required some attention...On a gravel road the support of the headlight unwelded; not a problem here, thanks to the everlasting Northern light, but I'll have to fix it in Norway, as there are many tunnels in the mountain areas. I had to interchange the back tyre with the front one (which was fresher); the second batch of brakes is rapidly dying, and the cain started to give some signs of consumption (bike chains actually consume and stretch, giving a characteristic jump when peddling). Replacing the only chain now is not a good idea, as the other transmission parts are consumed as well and should all be replaced at some point. I'll keep going for the moment.

Finally, thanks to a Swedish flag found on the road, hung on a (found) broken fishing stick, the blue-and-yellow flag is flapping again behind me! Still amusingly, even up here, there's still the same "red-flag-with-bull" effect on horses

And now, ready to head more North! A bit more Sweden, then Finland and eventually Norway. At the moment I'm planning to reach the nearly unknown Gamvik little town/village, on a peninsula East to North Cape, which is actually more Northern than North Cape, and still on the continent (unlike Nordkapp, which is on an Island).