2017 - Scandinavia by Bicycle

We loved our tour in Scandinavia and the people we travelled with couldn't have been better. A big thank you to Mick, Kate, Ken and Maree. Greg always wanted to show Wendy where he'd toured years ago and have a look at some other places in the region so this is why were in Scandinavia. However, if you are considering doing a cycling tour in these countries here are a few pointers: 1. It is expensive, VERY EXPENSIVE, so do your sums carefully before you go. Greg was there in 2006 and didn't notice it that much; maybe because it was a "boys tour" and they weren't that fussy about where they stayed or ate. If you are camping and cooking your own meals, then it wouldn't be much more expensive than other parts of Europe. However, if you're staying in hotels and eating in restaurants be aware it will cost you. Examples, equivalent to in US$, hotels US$200 per night, glass of house wine US$10, main course at a normal restaurant US$26, cup of coffee US$5.  2...

Start time: 2am Stop time: 5am Weather: Qld, so it was perfect!! Drive: 283km Wendy rang the parking mob after clearing Customs and 15 minutes later they were there to pick us up. A nice chatty bloke then drove up to the parking station where our ute was parked. Loaded it up and away we drove to the Hippo Farm. Greg managed to stay awake and drive the whole 300 km. But soon crashed once inside. It was just so nice to be home.

Start time: 1:30am (Dubai) Stop time: 12:30am (Brisbane) Weather: fine and hot (35deg) in Dubai Met up with Mick and Kate after walking off the plane and sadly said our goodbyes while walking to the transfer area. They had wisely decided to overnight in Dubai both ways to break up the long trip.  Took ages to get from where we disembarked in Dubai to the Emirates Lounge near our departure gate C15 (a new lounge for us). Had time for a bite to eat and something to drink and then off to our gate. Wendy and Greg boarded through the First Class line due to Wendy's FF Gold status. We were all loaded and ready to fly but the airport was very busy so we had to wait in a queue for about 20 minutes. The plane was absolutely chock-a-block full and as it was a fairly old 777-300, it was very tight and uncomfortable, made worse by a rough ride especially closer to Singapore and the tall chap who overflowed into Greg's seating area. The aircon was set either too hot or it couldn't...

Start time: 7am (Copenhagen) Stop time: 12 midnight (Dubai) Weather: some clouds and sun, 14 to 20deg (doesn't matter as we aren't riding)   We did not have to be at the airport till 12midday so no hurry with breakfast again this morning. Took us about an hour to clean (must be very clean for Oz Quarantine) and box the two bikes. We have a well drilled system and seeing we're using the same boxes and packaging it's dead easy. Greg has reinforced two QANTAS bike boxes and glued high impact foam inside to protect the vital "organs" of the bikes.  We then finished our packing in the room. This time we brought a small wheely suitcase each to make it easy to move around. Of course, all this only works if you fly in and out of the same airport and use the same hotel. Getting to the airport with a fairly large box each, in addition to a piece of luggage each can be problematic. Wendy asked the reception to book the same maxi cab (4 bike boxes, luggage and fou...

Cycle: 33 km - Total so far: 1,568 km Start time: 9:30am Stop time: 4pm Weather: cloudy with some early showers, 14 to 19deg   We were looking forward to riding around Copenhagen on the bikes today but it's hard to get enthusiastic about sight-seeing when you wake up to the sound of rain on the windows. So, we took our time over breakfast and did some admin while the weather kept improving. Finally, the sun came out. So, on the bikes we hopped and away we rode, out past the airport this time. We were chasing a view of the Oresund Bridge / tunnel between Sweden and Denmark. It's a bridge from Malmo, Denmark and then becomes a tunnel under the sea to Sweden, coming up near the airport. We suspect it's done that way so it doesn't interfere with the very busy shipping lane. And the bridge would have to be so high to accommodate the really big ships it wouldn't have been practical. As the bridge is a few km off the coast the pics were a bit ordinary.    After doin...

Cycle: 55 km - Total so far: 1,535 km Start time: 8am Stop time: 2:30pm Weather: fine and sunny early in the morning then drizzle period; a storm five minutes after stopping for lunch at a marina  Another late start due to an 8am breakfast; the Swedes certainly like their sleep-ins. Rode away from the hotel at 8:45am and all downhill to the ferry terminal only 1.7km away. Ferries every 30 minutes on the weekend so no need to book here. Caught the 9:30am ferry which was the bigger ship and were in Helsingor, Denmark 21 minutes later spot on time. Straight onto a lovely Danish bicycle path and found our way onto the coastal route. There was only one section of about 12 km where we had to mix it with the cars but due to the low speed limit, 30km/h it wasn't a danger. We were entertained most of the way by 100s of Ironman cyclists riding in the opposite direction. We could have burned them off if they'd been riding in the same direction. (In our dreams). We were lucky the e...