1 August 2014 (hot and sunny) 18 km

Leaving Sweden

After waking three times in the night to check if the alarms (one on the TV and one on my watch – they don’t do wake-up calls in this hotel), I finally woke by myself at 5.05am and waited for my watch alarm to go off at 5.15am – it didn’t.  At 5.25am I got up for a shower and at 5.30am the TV alarm went off.  Showered, packed and ready to go, we loaded our luggage on the bikes before heading to reception to receive our takeaway breakfast.  Apparently they have 100 different options for breakfast when you are sitting down to eat, slightly more than the two options we were given to take away – a roll and a drink of juice.  Do they not realise we eat and drink a lot while we’re cycling?  Cycled down to the ferry terminal and waited an hour before we were finally able to cycle up the ramp and into the bottom of this ship that has three car decks and eleven decks above that.  This seems to be a very popular route as we passed several other ships of a similar size on our eleven hour journey.

Goodbye Stockholm, Sweden

Watched our departure from Stockholm on the top deck before adjourning to the tenth floor for coffee and a muffin while loading yesterday’s photos onto the computer.  We then moved to a seat where we could charge both camera and computer and checked messages and edited photos.  This saw the need for a second cup of coffee and a Danish.  Before we knew it, lunchtime was here so we helped ourselves to the buffet lunch and managed to skype Brody for a short time before the internet connection died.  This was during a stopover at Abo where some people got off and a very noisy bunch of passengers got on.  Have no idea where Abo is but there was a distinct difference in the atmosphere of the ship before and after Abo – it was much more peaceful before!

Views from onboard the Viking Grace

It took us a long time to clear land leaving Sweden and it wasn’t that long before we were surrounded by islands again around Abo and towards Turku.  Our time aboard this ferry cum cruise ship consisted of us wandering outside to take photos or soak up some sun, looking around the ship, eating (which we did a fair amount of), and updating the blog and photographs. 

A guy came and sat opposite us and started talking to us in what I assumed was Finnish or Swedish.  I was about to say “Sorry, we only speak English”, when Pete amazed me by starting to reply to the guy.  I would have been more impressed if he’d replied in the same language but he used English and the stranger appeared to understand and a conversation was started.  I then realised he was actually Scottish and had been speaking English the whole time with a very thick Glaswegian accent.  A very interesting guy who has spent the last four years designing a sleeping pillow in the shape of a scarf which he demonstrated to us.  He’s taken it through from day one through the ergonomic design, marketing, funding etc and has come up with a product that is really innovative.  They are currently operating out of eight airports in the UK, so watch out for this name…. trtl.

Turku Castle, Finland

Disembarked at 8pm Finnish time, grabbed some Euros from the ATM, rattled off some shots of Turku castle while the light was good and then cycled the 10kms out to the campground on a lovely leafy undulating cycle track.  The only downside to this enjoyable ride were the huge and frequent clouds of midges which did disperse while we were putting the tent up.  So here we are on the final leg of our journey and tomorrow we will see what Finland has in store for us.

Fantastic Opportunity!!!!

Do you think you could fit the bill…..

Must be willing to get up at 5.30 – 6.00am every morning

You will hear noises of various kinds …during the night….or in the early hours [not inc. farting ]

Pack away 15kg of gear then a sodden tent and fly sheet

Be able to ride between 8 and 12 hours per day in wind [usually headwind, rain and searing heat ]

Cook and eat mackerel in tomato sauce with macaroni for tea most nights [if you’re lucky ]

If you’re not…. It’s bread and jam

Cover between 80 – 110 km per day….. hills are compulsory

Traffic and driving standards vary in most countries [ usually from bad to worse ]

No make-up is available or even desirable when you’re sweating that much

Water is your main fluid intake…..although milk in your tea is possible

Must be willing to forego showers and other such formalities for days on end

Must enjoy sleeping on hard ground…..every night

Bugs..Mosquito’s  Midgies and Flys are constant cycling companions….get used to it

Chafing….rough skin ….saddle soreness….sore backs…knees are par for the course

Helps if you enjoy Pete’s selection of 70’s music [can be the same song sung over …and over….for days ]

Not sure Julia would have applied for this if it had been presented to her 28 years ago……but this is what my wife and best friend has taken on over the years…..and I love her for it.

We have cycled on   ‘the road less travelled’ from the U.K…..France….Belgium….Holland….Germany….Denmark…..Sweden and into Finland ….with our final destination …Helsinki only 9 days cycling away

She is the only one I would wish to have by my side on these trips and I am extremely proud of her.