Mandal.13 June. day 24

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hello every one of you,
Thank you all for your greetings and encouragement. It was only today that i saw your comments for the first time and was very touched by the amount of messages you have sent, keep it up!
My trip is running very much to plan and i feel confident that i,ll beat the hills to come although the toughest are still ahead . I,d like to give you a rundown on the route since arriving in Goteborg on the 2nd.June. After touring goteborg city, (which was,nt planned, Claudia and i were in search of a youth hostel and my Navigator sent us in circles) we reached the hostel which, i assume was previosly a barracks with long corridors to search through till we found our rooms. headed downtown to buy a suitable map. Looking back ,i,d say the Nordseeradweg guide from Stein Verlag is good enough to get through Sweden well ,which can,t be said for the cycle route signposting .Oh Yes there were signposts but they were so faded that the arrows were rarely to be seen! But enough complaints. I enjoyed the countryside with its big valleys surrounding mountains and forests. The Swedes, i felt, were friendlier than the Danes,(and again the Norwegen more helpful than all previous folk)Biking was quite often on busy roads with just a paintmarking bordering a very narrow path but the motorists were cautious and i survived to write these lines.There are some really beautiful streches along the way and the crossing of the Stenungs Sound was one off the most impressive.On the second last day in Sweden Claudia,Paul (an Englishman cycling to the North Cape) and i were invited by a Norwegen lady to a beer on her doorstep which was extended to a meal in which we all threw in our food and cooked together and finally a sleeping place for the night. (Thanks Anne ,Your a Darling).Claudia and i parted on this occasion as i wanted to camp wild (she did,nt,what a pity!Good luck girl)as i did on the following evening.found a field shielded by forest against the strong wind and got washed with the ten liter water sack i had filled at a nearby filling station,Bloody heavy stuff is water,
followed by a nice hot meal, settled down to a good sleep which was only interupted by the calls of an elk which seemed to be in a courting mood, i,ll never know if the poor devil was succesful.Thats it for now, its lovely knowing you are all there. I,ll be leaving Norway on the 26.June, heading for the Shetlands and hope to get in another report probably from Bergen where i hope to spend a few days. By for now Des

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Comments

[Mel]

Hi
Your trip thus far sounds amazing!!! Very jealous that you are going to the Shetlands next. Hope your are taking pictures!! Keep up the good work xx

[Jo]

Hold on, we're not coming...
Hi Des, thank you for your humorous reports, they'll keep us laughing all the time. Du bist, no doubt about that, in deinem Element. Wir freuen uns für dich. Alle paar Tage gucken wir in den blog ( whatever that is) um zu sehen, wie es dir geht und wie weit du bist. ( No pressure on you!) Wir grüßen dich, love Jo and Alfred

[des denning]

hello
Hi Des, well done on your expedition, let me know when you get to scotland and I'll pop up with the bike and join you for a couple of days.

[hans]

Hi Des, habe gerade mit Freude deinen letzten Bericht gelesen. Zwischendurch werden wir ja auch von Isa auf dem Laufenden gehalten und erfreuen uns deiner Abenteuer. Super, dass alles so gut klappt und auch das Wetter mitspielt - von deinen Kämpfen mit Sturm und Regen mal abgesehen. Also bleibt gut im Sattel - wir denken an Dich. Hans und Bea