Day of the detour

Nice and sunny it was the next day - and finally, I found out what 'Loppis' (or was it 'Luppis'?) meant. It was a sign I was every 5 kilometers or so and first I thought it was some kind of fruits. As it turned out, so one book store owner explained, it means 'all kinds of shit'. Well, in civilized terms it means second-hand stuff, the sale of which really seems to be 'in' in Sweden. This shop owner sold me a used Sweden map for 20 Krones (partically peanuts) and this was to be one of the many many maps I had acquired (purchased/received) on this trip. I had some 4 maps back in the Czech Republic, about 10 more, even some larges one about the north of the country in Germany and countless others in Sweden. Considering the route was unplanned and I did not really care where I went for, the Eur 100 or more that I buried into maps was quite an investment.

Anyhow, this book shop owner was surprised I had never heard of the Goeta Canal and he gave me directions to it. To save me some typing, why don't you Wiki it, let's just say it runs hundreds of kilometers, connecting not only the two large lakes Vaettern and Vaenern, but also Stockholm on the east with Gothenburg in the west. It has 58 locks and was done some 200 years ago, completely by hand - a technical marvel, some have declared it the 8th wonder of the world (they must have been from Sweden). But satire aside, it is really a beautiful part of the country and against my better judgment, I decided to ride westwards towards the lake Vaenern alongside the canal - it has an unpaved bike path, just a small detour. I can declare I did not regret it. You see a lot of other people either walking, their bikes, their kayaks or magnificent yachts gliding through the locks, with young caretakers looking after the safety, always open for a chat. I met three older guys on their sailing boat from Rostock and envied the nice trip, although I was having the time of my own.

After some rest and a very expensive and less delicious doener kebab, I was again heading north, yet again on the road number 26, with a lot more traffic than before and again some clouds to be worried about. What happened next was to be one of the most disappointing during this trip. I decided to turn to road 204, heading towards the town of Karlkoga. The other road, number 26, was in the direction of Karlstad. I think you now know what happened...Well, the 204 kept going uphill for about 15 kilometers, but every bit of it was worth it. It went alongside a nice lake (Skagern), then through some plateau, then uphill again - even though it was tiring, it was a beautiful area. Then came that bloody road, I even stopped to take a little break and was thinking about riding the to the next road sign, about 100 meters away. You see, in Sweden they indicate just the names at the intersections, then after a bit you get the distance to the next town. I was wondering about the number of kilometers to the next place, it was about 10 km longer than on my map, but who am I to argue about 10 km's, that seemed so immaterial. It was so that after more uphill, then a steep downhill I was back to the bloody major road 26. The result is dire: I had covered 25 kilometers, about 15 of that uphill - only to find myself 7.5 (yes, seven and a half) kilometers further north than before. This hurt, hurt, hurt, was extremely demotivating. I even tried to hitch-hike my way back to the intersection, but no car turned into that small road. I am still mad at myself.

It was another 20 km or so to yet another city starting with a 'k', Kristinehamn. I did not like the city from the far, with its high-rise buildings, so I decided to turn to a 'nearby' camping place, back to the lake Vaenern. This was yet another 10 km, and it was past 10 pm that I arrived, completely wasted. I was definitely about the 100 mile mark that day - with the little detour of mine...

I was somewhat compensated at the campground. It was a nice evening and I put my tent right next to the lake. They even had a washing machine/drier, so I went in for a nice little swim in the - not darkness, mind you, we were quite far up north - lightness? no, that's not a word, in the nice evening. With all my clothes drying in the belly of a machine, I promised myself not to do lost detours again.