Pus mountain part II

 

Here, a prime ingredient in Johan's celebrated Varberg stew: Lingonberries from the farmers market at the Varberg square. A more refined group of people would have complemented the meal with some nice read wine; we went for Jaegermeister.

 

September by the ocean, and high moat walls makes for windy conditions.

 

On our last day in Varberg, we decided to bike a ways along the coast so as not to seem like absolute crap cyclists. Some detours took us out into the countryside, where we enjoyed the view including cows and lots of white sacs filled with composting grass (cows go nuts for it according to a good source of mine). Next year I think we'll do Varberg again, but actually bike back and forth. Or go even further south.

The varberg feasting

 

During last years vacation, I and Amelia bicycled to Varberg from Gothenburg. The trip was very enjoyable, but when we got there we turned back and went home on the train. This year, we decided that it would be fun to explore the town a bit more, and that we should make it an outing together with Johan and Susann. Since we were lazy, we cut out the biking to Varberg bit and took the train the whole way instead but still brought our bikes.

 

We had booked a hostel room inside the Varberg fortress (built in the fourteenth century). Yes, the rooms had been a prison at one time but we found them to our liking, and we could cook as hostels come with kitchens (Johan made a great winter stew). Around the fortress runs a moat with cannons on top to keep the wily danish away.

 

Inside, we lodged in bunk beds, and pretended we were at summer camp.

 

The inside of the fortress was big enough to house a number of private residences in addition to the old buildings, plus a colony of rabbits that their run of the lush grass.

A traditional coffee ride, Saltholmen stylee

 

In offseason, it is traditional for sprinters to go on coffee rides to burn at least one or two calories, as they are on a heavy regiment of cake eating and gym. Being an honorary sprinter, I accompanied the real sprinter and our friend Sus on a noodling ride out to Saltholmen by the ocean. Saltholmen has many points of interest, such as a candy shack ("kiosk") that also sells thai food, and a nude beach. Very exotic. We headed to the cafe nestled in some trees. Incidentally, this is where we took Johan on the maiden voyage of his road bike a couple of years ago. Unfortunately he could not come on the days expedition due to a cruel working life, otherwise the deja vu would have been perfect.

 

Eating and drinking ensued, while we enjoyed the weather.

 

However, as we had come this close to the ocean, it was imperative to see some water. Around the corner is a marina/bath site. Refreshed with coffee, water and tofu icecrea cones we headed out.

 

Bike lock up! Although the sun makes it look warm, the water in september is really really cold. This did not dissuade some teenagers from jumping in the water, hollering wildly. I guess whatever floats your boat. We stayed warm, and enjoyed the flora and fauna instead.

Vacation bike rides

 

So there we were, back where it all began in Gothenburg. Our vacation had taken off, and it was time to kick back and enjoy the remnants of swedish summer. Well, there was not much summer left unfortunately, but we did get some solid fall.

 

One of the first things we needed to do was to go on a bike ride with Susann's new bicycle club. When she and Johan visited in May, we got her set up with a road bike that fit her, and when she got back to sweden she got really into biking. Moreover, she started hanging out at Veloform and eventually joined the Komet club roleur. The club has two important rules: You need to look good when biking, and every ride needs to have coffee or beer somewhere along the route. Nice!

We decided to go on a ride midday on one of the first days in Sweden, so not that many club members could be there. However, two brave souls showed up for a ride to Hen Island. The ride was very nice, and included a ferry ride out to the island.

 

The day was overcast, which gave a typical Swedish west coast winter feel to the scenery. Luckily it was not that windy. Rule two was met by a coffee and politically incorrect pastry at the Hen Island cafe.

 

We ended our ride back at Veloform, where Anders was keeping the customers entertained and supplied with coffee. At the end of our stay, he took the plunge to get an espresso machine. Next time we are looking forward to real coffee when discussing bikes and hanging out!