Bjärred, Sweden -- Day 5
Well, the day has finally come to take our trusty tandems apart. Other than minor adjustments, squeaky brakes, and the rack screws coming out, they were flawless -- 1911 miles, 162:51 hours of pedaling, and 62,500 ft of climbing over 44 riding days. Not too shabby.
I actually started on the bikes the night before, after our fantastic dinner with Björn and Annica. At almost 9:00, after the drinking songs and schnapps, I was in need of a strong cup of coffee, anticipating a late night. Björn obliged and then offered a shot of punsch to go with it. I'm a big fan of sweet alcoholic drinks, so I thought it was great, though it may have slightly counteracted the coffee.
Björn was very kind and kept me company in the garage as I went through the slow process of pulling off the racks, seats, handlebars, pedals, chains, front cranks, wheels, brake disks, etc. Fortunately, the PGA championship was in progress and Björn was able to watch on his phone. Henrik Stenson, a local Swedish player who had just won the Open Championship, who was only a couple strokes behind the leader. Naturally, a beer was in order, so we each downed a couple New Castles over the next few hours. By a little after midnight, I was feeling pretty good and had completely dismantled and packed up the yellow bike. Unfortunately, Henrik's efforts were not quite as successful, and he would not be in the winner's circle this year (or where ever golf champions go).
This morning, after a quick breakfast, I started work on the green bike, while Meg and Annica walked down to the beach with the kids. Their stay was short-lived, however, as it started to rain 15 minutes after their arrival. Nevertheless, the kids all kept themselves busy and entertained for the day with various activities -- card games, board games, and a fun outdoor game tossing wooden blocks around outside called Kubb.
Meg and I had gotten sticker shock from the price to ship our bikes back home. The best we'd seen up to then was about kr7700 ($920), so when we finally got a quote back for only kr3600 ($430), we were stoked. By late afternoon, we finally had the paperwork filled out and printed, and the four suitcases and one cardboard box buckled, taped, and labeled.
I actually started on the bikes the night before, after our fantastic dinner with Björn and Annica. At almost 9:00, after the drinking songs and schnapps, I was in need of a strong cup of coffee, anticipating a late night. Björn obliged and then offered a shot of punsch to go with it. I'm a big fan of sweet alcoholic drinks, so I thought it was great, though it may have slightly counteracted the coffee.
Björn was very kind and kept me company in the garage as I went through the slow process of pulling off the racks, seats, handlebars, pedals, chains, front cranks, wheels, brake disks, etc. Fortunately, the PGA championship was in progress and Björn was able to watch on his phone. Henrik Stenson, a local Swedish player who had just won the Open Championship, who was only a couple strokes behind the leader. Naturally, a beer was in order, so we each downed a couple New Castles over the next few hours. By a little after midnight, I was feeling pretty good and had completely dismantled and packed up the yellow bike. Unfortunately, Henrik's efforts were not quite as successful, and he would not be in the winner's circle this year (or where ever golf champions go).
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| Neighbors horses |
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| View out back to Lund |
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| Emily playing Kubb |
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| View out front to Malmö |
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| All packed up |
We had an awesome taco dinner -- something Meg, the kids, and I have been craving for weeks --played a few matches of ping pong, and wrapped it up by all crowding onto the couch upstairs to watch a slideshow of all the activities over the last few days. It has been a ton of fun and a perfect transition from bikes to backpacks for the next phase.
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| Malmö in the distance and the "Turning Torso" building |
I love Kubb Brad & I play in Elcho, when we win we yell something like a Viking war call that gets more & more silly as the day goes on
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