Day 6: 7/27/24

 Day 6/First full day of the VBT trip

Walter has been developing chest congestion and last night he started blowing his nose. Funny how COVID has changed how we look at respiratory infections. Before COVID, we'd just say "I have a cold" and leave it at that. Now, we worry about it being COVID, although most of us are fully vaccinated.

I figured it would just be a matter of time before I caught whatever Walter has. We wore masks to breakfast and Walter self-isolated when we ate.

There was another guy on the tour who was also showing symptoms of an infection of some sort and he showed up at breakfast wearing a surgical mask. During our morning briefing, both Walter and he disclosed to the group that they were sick and what did we want them to do. Besides the "we've already booked your ticket home" jokes, most people just shrugged. They other guy did a COVID test today and was negative.

But I am now carrying masks around and we're mostly eating outside. I am trying not to draft Walter too closely, although being outside with wind is probably the least likely place to get an infection.

One interesting thing about the breakfast at this hotel is that it is in the lobby. That means it is open to all guests. This is only one of the three tables.

Despite having a "warm up ride" which is designed to get our bikes tuned to our liking and making sure all our gear is working properly, there are still things that need to be ironed out. I forgot about my induction headphones and was excited to use them. They sit outside your ears so you can hear whatever your phone is streaming on bluetooth and still be able to hear sounds around you. Since RidewithGPS provides turn-by-turn instructions, it is hard to hear them above the wind noise. They are game-changers! 

I asked for a second bottle cage so I could carry my usual hydration: one bottle of Scratch (energy drink) and one bottle of plain water. The Scratch is sweet (and salty) and it's not terribly good for your teeth, so I drink water after drinking Scratch. That also doubles my rate of hydration.

Here's my bike finally ready to go. Fuji Granfondo with Shimano 105.

Today's ride took us out to the tip of a peninsula, riding north along the coast. There was a strong crosswind.

At the rest stop, we were at a park where vendors were just starting to set up. We used the bathroom (google translate says that SJOFARTS means SJOFARTS). 

One of the vendors was south asian and selling dumplings. I wanted to find out more, but it was time to leave.

We passed a functioning windmill.

One of the nice things about RidewithGPS is that a route can contain notes in addition to directions, and the software told us where to stop to get a nice view of the windmill.

Here's the morning ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/11993345254

We arrived at a little restaurant in the middle of nowhere where we were served by a half dozen blonde teenagers.

The traditional open-faced sandwiches either had meat or cheese or both, so I went with vegan chocolate cake and snacks from the van.

On this trip, we seem to be the fastest riders in the group. We were the first ones to arrive at the lunch stop and the first ones to finish in the afternoon.

The trip back was much faster than the trip out. We got to the same park where the van had parked for our first rest stop, but we got there before the van. By this time the park had filled up and there were lots of stands open for business and activities. 

I visited the dumpling stand again, but there was a long line.

I watched the equestrian jumping event for a while

And for the U10 category...

There was a band.

But it was time to go. Besides, we had to pee and there was a long line so it was time to find a green door.

We mostly rode on dedicated bike paths.

Here are the stats for the afternoon: https://www.strava.com/activities/11993345588

And stats for the day: https://www.strava.com/activities/11993229836 

We got back before any other riders and before the van, so we locked up our bikes, took showers, and went out in search of food (mostly for me since I had pretty much skipped lunch).

On our walk the night before, the guides said this restaurant had pretty good burgers, including a vegan burger. A vegan burger sounded good to me and they served beer, so Mike was happy.

Apparently, there is nothing Swedish about "Bastard Burgers." But they were good. I had another version of an NA beer.

A woman carrying a garbage bag came in while I was waiting for our food, agitated about something. When she left, I asked the girl at the register what she was talking about. She guessed that the woman was mentally ill and she confirmed that in Sweden, there are services for mental illness (and homelessness) that are free. But they have to voluntarily self-admit.

This was in the men's bathroom, so it probably wasn't what was bothering the mentally ill woman.

We walked to a spot for an after-lunch beer that was next to a playground. I had never seen one of these before.

Draw your own conclusions.

We walked up to the castle that we viewed from the street the day before.

This is from the first level.

This is from the second level.

Mike went into the tower and got even higher.

Walter and I went back to the hotel where VBT had arranged for a tour of a licorice vendor. 

I hate licorice. Walter doesn't care for it either. I thought it might be a nice opportunity to hang out with some of the other riders since we will probably never be with them on bikes.

Here's the owner. He discussed how he grows and processes it into various products, not all of which are candy. We started with licorice beer, licorice jerky, licorice ice cream bars, and finally licorice candy. 

I learned that good licorice is nothing like licorice candy in the US. But I still would not go out of my way to look for licorice products.

We walked along the marina for a place for dinner and found a nice spot in the sun that even had a vegan pasta dish. 

Here's evidence that the food was good.