NORTH SEA SUMMER

The North Sea south of Kvernavik The campsite in Stavanger was in a public park, so dog-walkers strolled among the tents and motorhomes. It rained all night, leaving the motorhomes stuck deep in the mud and my tent surrounded by water. Luckily everything was dry inside, and the sun came out so the tent was dry outside too, by the time I set off. I followed cycle paths to Kvernavik, where I rejoined the official route, and then turned south into a very cold breeze. The route hugged the coast, and there were some interesting surprises, which I leave you to discover. Today was the day I decided that, sometimes, the road was preferable to following the route where it used gravel tracks. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the section through Hå, but further south there was a very bumpy bit that involved a lot of opening and closing of gates. After a couple of kilometres of that I took to the road.   Romantic, but bumpy I get the feeling that the official NSCR seeks out enti...

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...