Oland

I'm at home in Fagerhult for two days, down with a summer cold. I'm resting up to be fit to go to Stockholm on Wednesday. Time to catch up on the blog for sure.

Aki arrived from Finland on Tuesday. Is it really a year since he, Sami and I were leaning into a force 8 at the cape? By the way Sami, I hope that your motorcycle trip with your wife went brilliantly. If so, you have something I am very envious of indeed. That said Aki and I did OK with a years catching up over a beer or two, then planning the route for tomorrow.

We have three days only this trip. Neither of us could get a larger trip together this year. With time short we took the highway down to Kalmar. It was Aki who spotted the Moose, and it obligingly waitied for us to turn around and go back for a second long look. Not long enough to get the camera out though. We did Kalmar castle sort of. We did it in a bloke way. It costs a lot to get in, so we walked around looking from the outside, then spent the entrance money of drinks and food.

Finally onto the island of Oland and a ride South to find the Vandrarhem (hostel) we are booked into for the night. I'll say here and now Aki is an easy travelling companion, well organised and flexible. Between the two of us very little discussion is needed to plan what happens next, or who does what. It works out nicely without conversation. A relaxing meal and the inevitable beer, followed by a good nights sleep, set us up for what was to follow the next day.

What followed was one of those lousy biking weather days you get from time to time. Howling wind and steady rain coming in off the Baltic. To hell with it. We have this time and this time only, and Oland to explore. It's a big island and we take most of the day to do it in full wet weather gear. Never a complaint (is that true? Maybe we did a little). The moors and dry stone walls could be in the wilder corners of the British Isles. The Baltic is having much the same effect as the Atlantic back home. Mid afternoon we reach Byxelkrok with its gift shops and restaurants strung out along the shore. What follows is something all bikers have experienced. We are holed up in our cabin for several hours waiting for the rain to slow. We just got on with it, talking, reading, working with our GPS's on routes for tomorrow. The rain never slackened off and we got hungry, so inevitably we plunged out into the storm, got good and wet, and ultimately found a fantastic buffet dinner. The restaurant was large and staffed mainly with Asian workers. There was Korean Kim Chi on the menu which both of us are familiar with and enthusiastic about. Green mussels from the Pacific and prawns stir fried and we are well on our way to three plates of carefully chosen goodies. Buffets make their money when customers load their plates with carbs. We don't apparently. Another absolute soaking on the way back to the cabin.

It's hard to keep track of Aki and the Super Duke as the light strobes through the trees. The sun shines in near perfect summer weather as we enjoy the last few hours of this short but excellent trip. The cars hardly seem awake yet and are easy overtakes. The roads could have been curvier, and the weather better. We don't know the area, and divining the best motor cycling roads is not easy.

Three times this trip a Finn and a Brit riding together actually got comment, and smiles from the locals. People expect companions to be from the same place. We cross the continent for fun. That is what we do. Human Pan Europeans. We finished the trip with coffee and cakes in the square in the centre of Kalmar, then GPS' set we said our goodbyes and headed off in opposite directions, each to get on with whatever the next year has for us. See you next time Aki. Say HI to Sami when you see him. I WILL make Finland soon, but not this trip I guess.