NORTH SEA SUMMER

I landed in Sweden at 3.30 in the afternoon and set off southwards. My English friends from a few nights before had recommended a campsite near Tanumshede and I wanted to get there that night. It was further than I thought, but after the first few kilometres the roads were wide and empty and there were no hills.   It slowly dawned on me that I might not see another hill until I reached England.  The NSCR led through farmland – not a holiday home in sight that I could see, but the route was, for the first time, 20km inland from the coast, and no doubt that helped. It felt very empty compared to the part of Norway I’d just left, and the feeling was intensified when I saw four huge grey cranes rise up from a field by the roadside and flap slowly overhead. In the small town of Tanumshede I had trouble finding an ATM.  Norway’s minibank had become Sweden’s bankomat.   Then I had trouble finding the road to the campsite.  I no longer had the detailed map...

From Stenungsund I cycled east at first, over three massive bridges with magnificent views of sea and islands.   Then it was south along the coast for a while, before turning inland on a road into the hills.   The road followed a stream for a while, then went through forests and past lakes, before turning south on fast, empty roads. I reached the long valley that leads south towards Göteborg with its motorways and railways and ships, and I was just congratulating myself on the possibility of camping early and exploring the city when my rear gear cable snapped.   Roadside verge near Göteborg It was my own fault. I should have changed the cables for new ones before setting out – they’d already done thousands of miles before I started.   I’d been meaning to do it, but then I’d done a trial pack-up of the bike that was so good that I’d thought I might as well leave it packed, and so cable-changing went by the board. It had, of course, happened at the worst pos...