Our flight was around 2pm so we decided to meet around midday at the airport. I think I was first to arrive. For once I was around half an hour early. My wife and I went into the airport looking for any of the rest of the team. I bought some stuff from WHSmith before heading out to put my bike on a trolley. As I got to the car I had the sudden realisation that I had forgotten to brace the rear chainstays. The problem with this was that if the bike had something placed on top of it then it could potentially crack the frame. I didn't have anything to brace it with so I wedged one of my SPD shoes in and hoped for the best.
The flight itself was uneventful and we landed at what first appeared to be a farm. Many jokes about flat packing and Ikea ensued. The terminal building was pretty small and trying to maneuver the front door was a bit of a task. Anyway, Pete and Bob saw to the van that would be supporting us over the coming week. We managed to get all the bike boxes, bags and all of us in. With that we set off for the centre of Gothenburg.
With Pete driving we followed the satnav into Gothenburg past the Ullevi Stadium where IFK Gothenburg play. Once in the centre of town we parked up near a river and phoned Fred who is from Gothenburg. He arrived and showed us the way to the hostel where we were going to be staying the night, Slottsskogens Vandrarhem.
I'd only ever stayed in a hostel once before in Broadford on Skye so was expecting to be stuck in a room with a load of strangers. Not so. Because there were 7 of us staying the night there 5 of us had a room to ourselves. The room was very clean and we settled in quickly. We paid less than £20 a night which was well worth it. If you ever think of going to Gothenburg and you don't mind sharing then I would thoroughly recommend it.
Fred brought us some goodies courtesy of one of our sponsors. Stena were very generous and provided us with proper cycling gear; a helmet, two Gore cycling shirts and a couple of pairs of Pearl Izumi shorts. Top notch kit. On the long days ahead we were so glad to have good cycling shorts and the tops would help keep us cool.
After getting settled in we had to go down and get the bikes out of their travel boxes and assemble them. It's kind of nervewracking when you find a big gash in the side of your box. It makes you wonder if your bike is still in one piece. Luckily, everyone's bike was fine. I made a decision to split the chain as it was a little tangled inside the box. Boy did I regret that decision later on. Anyway, we all managed to get everything assembled and then we put the bikes away in the lockup provided by the hostel.
After washing up we got ready to head on out for food. Fred advised on on a street where we could find some cheap(ish) food. Sweden, in fact Scandinavia as a whole, is reknowned (perhaps sometimes unfairly) for being expensive. Whilst it is more expensive than the UK in general, if you are prepared to shop around a bit then you can find places which are pretty reasonable. We found an Italian place (I think was called Cicero). We all had a starter, main course, dessert and a couple of drinks for around £25 which is pretty good even in Glasgow in a half decent restaurant.
Fred arrived during dinner with his girlfriend and another friend. We had the obligatory photo call with us all wearing our North Marine Management t-shirts. Walking back to the hostel afterwards we got a lot of stares from people noticing our matching shirts. While in a 7-11 on the way home a complete stranger started chatting to me, asking where we were from.
Välkommen till Sverige!!!
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