Lessons from my 1st Tour (Stockholm – Oslo)

Last month I embarked on my first multi-night bicycle tour in the Nordics. My plan was to take a ferry from my home Helsinki to Stockholm Sweden, and then cycle across Sweden to Norway in a relatively straight course. In Norway I'd meet up with an internet friend couple, then go back to Swedish west coast to see another internet friend, and then head back home. On my way to Norway I would use only my bike, but on the way back I'd allow myself to use public transportation at my leisure. My goal was 60 km minimum distance covered per day, and my highest estimate for possible average was 100 km (the actual avg distance per day turned out to be roughly in the middle, around 80 km). My original destination in Norway was Moss and after that Oslo, but unfortunately I was barely not able to reach this destination due to getting ill. Despite this setback, I thoroughly enjoyed this journey, and I'm already planning my next one! In this post I will write down a summary of the trip and discuss how my prep and gear performed.

Summary of the Trip:

I had been prepping for the trip months in advance, and my clothing and other gear were quite set. Few days before the 10th of June, when I was set to leave, the forecast was looking dim. I decided to pack an extra merino shirt and rain cap right before stepping out my apartment. This was a prudent choice, since the weather in Sweden turned out to be terrible. After a few lighter showers on my way from Stockholm to Mariefred in day 1, I got caught in an insane storm. Heavy rain, lightning passing over me, and occasional hail too! I was drenched and had to take cover. Rest of the day was slow progress, with me trying to stay as warm as I could, but eventually I did reach Mariefred.

The next day and two I paid more attention to the weather map, and was able to slowly dry out my kit, with my trainers taking the longest. The cold weather was testing my limits however, since nights saw temperatures as low as 6 degrees C. Despite putting on my merino clothes and even tugging my down jacket inside the sleeping bag, I was feeling cold. I decided to book a hotel room in Örebro to stay warm, wash my clothes, and get a proper rest.

Spending my 3rd night in a hotel was absolutely blissful. I felt heavy as a stone, and the accumulated fatigue put me to sleep almost instantly. After a proper rest, washed kit, and having bought a warmer sleeping bag in Örebro, I was ready to continue.

My progress was good up until I hit the small town of Grums on the north-western shore of lake Vänern. I failed to read the weather map correctly, and ended up having to take cover from heavy rain from 18 to 23:30 or so, with last couple hours outside. At this time my pollen allergy was also starting to seriously kick my ass. My throat was especially terribly sore and itchy. I was able to find a suitable camping spot around midnight, but being surrounded by hay everywhere, my allergic reactions didn't get any better.

The next day I made it to Säffle around noon to eat. I was feeling absolutely terrible – the low point of the entire trip. I decided that sleeping outdoors with the pollen around me was not an option, and booked it to Bengtsfors. This portion of the trip had the biggest descends, but despite getting soaked by rain, I pressed forwards. Wet road, big descends and ascends, tired legs, but I made it in time. Inside the accommodation a realization set in – my throat wasn't destroyed just because of hay allergy, but because I had caught a virus. I was able to hit the showers, wash my kit from all the pollen, but it was apparent that I could not keep cycling towards Moss, despite being only 130 kms away from it. That evening I was feeling very feverish, and had a bad headache. The next day my friends drove to pick me up, so Bengtsfors ended up being my final destination of my cycling trip after seven days. I spent the next whole week just resting and slowly recovering.

Lessons:

1) Read the weather maps carefully. Avoid rain like the plague. While a windbreaker + merino shirt can withstand most rain in everyday use, touring is different. The tempo is slower, and thus less body heat is generated. There isn't necessarily a warm shower waiting for me at the end of the day.

2) Take a lot of breaks (ideally indoors). This ties to the first point. Rain showers coming up ahead? Take a break. Feel like eating something? Take a break. Bum starting to get sore? Take a break. Bottles could be topped up? Take a break. If my goal is to cycle around 60-100 km a day, the amount of hours I need to spend on top of the saddle is just a small portion of the whole day. Breaks are never wasted time, since resting is essential. There is no reason to cycle when the situation isn't opportune.

3) Hotel nights are fantastic. While I can sleep in a tent, the level of recovery is not as good as when I get to sleep in a proper bed in a climate controlled room. I will not hesitate to use hotels in the future. Two consecutive nights would be ideal in order to see sights without having to worry about my bike being stolen.

4) Better safe than sorry. My sleeping bag was not warm enough for the cold nights, and this lack in preparation resulted in me carrying two sleeping bags for the most of the journey. That's 700g additional weight and a lot of unnecessary volume, negating a lot of gear optimization.

Gear overperformers:

1) Windbreaker and merino clothes. There was rarely a moment I didn't use the windbreaker while cycling. Temperate weather, coasting, and cold winds meant that temperature regulation played an even bigger role than I anticipated. Without my jacket, I was constantly shuffling between feeling warm and chilly (sun was warm, but air temps were cold). Most of the time the baselayer under my jacket was also one of my two merino shirts. It was simply too cold to use my cycling jerseys most of the time, even during the temperature "peaks" of the days (around 18 degrees or so on average).

2) Hiplock Z-LOK. I was using this thing constantly to either secure my bike or its front wheel, to keep my bike in place, and sometimes to quickly secure my backpack to my rear rack. This thing is super light, convenient to use, and gives enough protection for quick stops in cafes or shops. Really lovely timesaver.

3) Long sleeved clothes. Clothes that cover as much as your body as possible have great benefits. Less need for sun lotion, and less trouble with mosquitoes (provided the clothes don't hug your skin), which are everywhere in the Nordics. I'm considering 3/4 length bibs for my future tours, since the knee area is where my skin is the most exposed to light.

4) Fast charging charger and battery bank. I did a small practice tour last year in Finland, and it taught me the importance of watts and amps when it comes to charging my phone. On that trip I had to spend hours and hours in random locations to reload my devices. This year I was better prepared with a powerful charger and a battery bank that both loads and reloads fast. This made all the difference, and I was not slowed down by my electronics anymore.

5) Deuter's toiletry bag. I bought a new, more compartmentalized bag for this journey, and it was totally worth it. Keeping all of the small items in perfect order made my life much easier.

Gear underperformers:

1) Cycling jerseys. As mentioned before, I could barely use these, and could have done with just one or none at all.

2) Mosquito repellent. Despite battling against mosquitoes almost every day, I didn't use it once. My windbreaker (which conveniently I was already wearing almost always) and the mosquito hat were enough to give me cover to set up my tent. My ankles were my weak spot, but it didn't warrant me to grab my repellent and apply it.