Tour of Sweden – day 6
After yesterday’s epic ride, it was lights out at 10 pm. Clas and I slept straight through to 7:30 a.m. then found some nice trails to run 7+ miles out to the marshland beyond the old port and back.
The Scandic hotel breakfast buffets have been consistently excellent. There’s always scrambled eggs and the other day I switched from bacon to little Swedish meatballs. My body is craving protein to repair all the damage being done to it.
We departed for our “100K” ride to Bollnas at 10:30 am, hoping to get there in time for a swim before the pool closed early. It turns out today is the end of the bandy season and Bollnas is bandy mad. Bandy is a sport similar to hocky but played on a much bigger ice surface with sticks like field hockey sticks, a small, almost invisible hard rubber ball and goals the size of soccer nets. Apparently the goalies break their fingers a lot trying to stop the balls as they travel at 200kph.
Today we’re faced with a headwind and a diminished klunga (pack) with some riders in the van and some sitting in on the back not taking pulls after yesterday’s monster ride. This proceeds nicely for the first 2 hours when my bottles go dry.
Most rides start out a little tired and sore, but get better after the first “piss stop”, which apparently is a Swedish phrase. The nice thing about Sweden is that you’re pretty much free to take a whizz anywhere. I can tell from the stop that I’m severely dehydrated. The rest of the ride, I’m struggling, despite feeling so strong yesterday and even on this morning’s run and the first 2 hours of the ride.
At 59 miles we stop again, and I strip off my knee and arm warmers as the sun is shining brightly. Exactly 1 mile later, we get hit with a cold rain. It only lasts a few minutes, but it just seemed so unnecessary. Luckily, the van is riding with us, taking photos, and I snag a Red Bull and fresh water bottle. With 30K to go, the pace ramps up and before we know it, we’re at the hotel. In keeping with our Tour’s new tradition, we overshot our mileage again, clocking 71.25 miles in 3:24:00.
Jonas is rushing the fellows to get to the pool, but I’m feeling cautious after so nearly bonking, and take a nap instead. There will be plenty of time to swim on my first week back home when I plan on cutting back on the cycling to absorb all this work.
In the hotel restaurant, just below our rooms, is a local rock band rehearsing their local hit, the Bollnas bandy fight song. We’re informed there is to be a raucous party tonight, to celebrate the local bandy season coming to an end.
After my nap, I find Jonas and the others sunning themselves in front of the lobby. As we sit outside we enjoy a parade of cat owners and their pets. Seems there was a cat show in town, and the competitors are planning on spending the night at Scandic with the bandy revelers and the Tour of Sweden klunga.
I’m up in the room writing this with the Simpsons on TV in English. There’s plenty of English language TV on offer, including Family Guy. Just below my window is a lake that I’m planning on soaking my legs in now. The cold water helps with the inflammation.
