Fred came up the street with his bike and a bag mounted on the handlebars. We packed the van and then after breakfast headed to a park just along from the hostel where we were being met by a couple of photographers from Stena for an article to appear in their magazine. Once the pics were all taken we headed down to the start line where we were met by a number of people including Fred's parents, his girlfriend and her father as well as a number of others.
My gears were making a bit of a noise so I took a look at what was causing it. At first I thought that the chain had got damagaed in transit but it then transpired that I had misrouted the chain around the rear derailleur unit. I had to split the chain again and then reroute the chain properly this time. Unfortunately during the course of splitting the chain the little bar which joins the links together came out and it was proving an absolute nightmare to put back in. This was getting really frustrating as we wanted to head off on our journey. Mauro came to the rescue and we removed another link in such a way that we were able to rejoin the two ends of the chain together and finally get on the way. My hands weren't exactly clean after this but at least it meant that we could get started. Shawn had some issues with his forks as well which meant that when he applied the brakes his forks would twist.
We finally set out on our journey through the Saturday morning streets of Gothenburg. My bike still had a little sting in the tail though. Every so often my gears would slip. While cycling along the harbour I had to stop outside the Opera house and see what was causing the problem. I noticed that every so often the chain wasn't going through the rear mech. properly. What had happened was that the link that we had put it earlier was stiff and wouldn't flex. Mauro loosened the link and I oiled the chain. Thankfully that was the end of my problems.
We headed off out of the city and towards Kungälv. At first we went along the cycle track but we then had to go along a section of the E6, the main road which links Gothenburg to Oslo some 180 miles (290 km) away. When we arrived in Kungälv Fred took us to the Göteborg biscuit factory where we bought a supply that would hopefully last us all week. We loaded the van again and then headed off.
I've been to Sweden a couple of times before but never had the chance to get out into the country. If you have never seen the Swedish countryside then you do not know what you are missing. It is an incredibly beautiful country which rivals anywhere I have ever seen both back home and abroad. You go around bends and lakes magically appear at the side of the road surrounded by trees. Closer to the ocean there are vast expanses of seemingly land locked sea with hundreds of little rocky islands rising up out of the water. It's very easy to imagine the scene hundreds of years ago with Viking longboats navigating these bays. Sweden is very much a seafaring nation and with this kind of scenery it's easy to understand why.
Our next stop was at a shopping centre in the town of Stenungsund. We'd been cycling for some 5 hours and so we were in dire need of some nourishment. I managed to buy a notebook in a supermarket so that I could make notes at night on what we had been up to during the day. I had some Swedish meatballs... well you know I had to at least once.
After lunch we set off again for Lyr. We crossed more bridges afforing us amazing views of the coast. We also hit many hills which, although not as steep as the one from Dunoon to Colintraive, were very very long. These are the type you just have to grit your teeth on and will yourself up. Luckily there were some fantastic descents too.
We crossed the Tjörnbron bridge which connects Stenungsund on the mainland to the island of Tjörn, the last leg to Lyr. The bridge has an unfortunate history in that it was a replacement for the Almö which was struck by a tanker in 1981. Unfortunately this happened in the dark and a number of cars ended up going over the edge of the demolished bridge into the water killing their occupants. According to Fred a lorry driver saw a car suddenly disappear over the edge and stopped any more traffic from disappearing.
We stopped off at a supermarket and bought some food as we decided that we would have a barbecue when we reached Lyr. On the approach to the ferry which would take us to Lyr another cyclist heading in the opposite direction came up to us and asked, "Are you from Scotland?". His name was Svein and had apparently been in contact with Tom regarding routes in Sweden and Norway. Tom at first hadn't a clue who he was but then when we told him that he was the guy he had emailed it all fell into place.
The ferry on to Lyr is in a beautiful channel between the two islands (Lyr and Tjörn). You could practically throw a stone across the channel but luckily for us there was a ferry. Many ferries in Sweden are free and funded by the Swedish government. After crossing on to the island we headed for our first stop at Fred's parents' holiday house.
Some of the guys headed down to the sea for a swim while the rest of us sat back in comfy chairs on the decking and relaxed. Svein came along and joined us and later on Fred and Bob made us a sumptious meal of pasta, salad and barbecued sausage & steak. The sky was completely clear and there was no light pollution from street lamps that we are so used to in large cities. It's amazing what you can see on a completely clear night. I saw my first shooting star which was an amazing event. There is a saying that "sad is the man who loses the ability to see the world through the eyes of a child". That night I certainly did view the night sky thus. We were also able to see satellites tracking across the night sky. They looked like tiny pin pricks of lights moving sometimes at rapid speed across the horizon.
Such a perfect end to a perfect day.
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