28 July 2014 (hot and sunny, afternoon thunderstorm) 36 km

Bridges go up, swivel and retract to make way for the boats

Yes….good morning readers…..exciting times here on the Road To Helsinki as we close in on the end of the trip…….What we are judging this morning is……..whether or not last nights sleep was the worst.

Now when we left you …..late on….a thousand million trains had come through this tiny dot in the middle of nowhere.  My theory is that it’s the’ Satan Train ‘ takin it’s passengers to hell and damnation…… and one of the places they pass……is ‘PURGATORY’…..!

Cause that is where we were last night. Last choo choo went through at 11.44pm…..and began again at 3.44pm……see…even the Devil needs a time out folks…..!  But he’s crafty…..cause he you lulls into a false sense of security…..Just when the trains have ceased on their trip to see the Anti Christ……he sends some of his trainees…..to visit…… lets call them……..Dickheads…

Their job is to make sure that whilst the Devil Train is refuelling…..you don’t get the sleep you are craving …..so they come on their whiney mopeds and in their cars with stereos blasting away down the driveway where you are parked….just to let you know……The Devils still got ya in his thoughts…..cause there ain’t no escapin when you’re a travel weary cyclist.

Up at 5.44am and over to the loo’s….. no point trying to sleep…..in the last hour we’ve had 10 trains through. Ju decided to get a cold shower whilst I waited with the gear. Took our packed stuff over the road by one of the locks, to eat breakfast. This particular lock bridge this morning wasn’t working and the owners of the four yachts already inside, weren’t too pleased.

For one…..they had been waiting to go for hours……two…..the sun, even at this time was blazing….. and three…..they weren’t sure when it would be fixed.  After eating, we rode quietly off down the cycle path on our way to Soderkoping [get this…..pronounced……SODERSHERPING ?]

It’s no use at all trying to understand the language….

Bike path once again dusty….but no problems with traffic at least. Some nice scenes… but even nicer boats. After approx.. 10km we crossed the canal and began following a very quiet road….also nice…

Pete crossing the canal

This turned into forest track which we both really enjoyed as even though we had a few little up and downs, it wasn’t just plodding and you had to negotiate the best way through the rocks and roots.  It was actually energising instead of draining.  Of course it probably helped that we were in the

Ju takes a break in the shade of the forest.

shade too.  There were also more downhills than ups, especially when we emerged onto little lanes that took us the rest of the way to where the canal path began again.  The canal path was very dry and dusty and although it was pleasant to have no traffic, it was quite boring.  Still, we wanted a quiet day and that’s what we got, arriving in Soderkoping at midday.  

Soderkoping

This church was built in 1566

Had an ice-cream first and then went for a tiki-tour round town before stopping in at Tourist Info to have a break from the heat and upload the blog.  Also managed to charge the computer while we were here and checked on future plans such as ferries to Finland and quiet cycling roads to

Stockholm.  Then it was supermarket time for a salad and a coke which we ate in the shade at a nearby park.  We toyed with the idea of cycling on further but there were no campgrounds on the horizon, thunderclouds were building and we were both tired.  So we cycled to the campground on the outskirts of town and booked in.  The thunderstorm hit so we waited it out in the kitchen and started the blog while charging the computer.

Found a boat for you Joan

Once the rain cleared, the humidity was still intense – so much for clearing the air.  So got the tent up then both went for cold showers as the canal looked too dirty to swim in – although that doesn’t seem to bother the Swedes!  Then we cycled back into town for another look around and to buy supplies for tonight’s dinner which included a couple of cold beers!

On returning to our campground we moved our picnic table into the shade where we proceeded to have dinner (just ham and tomato sandwiches – too hot to cook), and continue writing the blog and uploading the photos.  Had an early night but it was very warm – especially seeing as we’d set the tent up early.