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Where am I?:^mistymornings-->Cycletouring-->2007-->Scandinavia.-->Day 4

Day 4-2. Kärradal to Göteborg.

On leaving the centre we stopped as Damae wanted a couple of photos of the steps that people used to use to get up to the lake to catch the boat bus. Apparently the Swedish Railways were busy excavating the glacial till for many years as it contained lots of useful gravel. However bearing in mind that this pile of gravel is the only thing holding back all the water in the lake, pressure from locals eventually put a stop to the practice. Still it seemed like a rather small pile of sand and gravel holding back all of that water. The grass verges with a mix of different plants caught both our eyes with Damae snapping some lovely shots.

Within another half hour the scenery had changed back to rolling woodlands and pastures. At a bridge over a small river this amazing pink mansion appeared. Whilst I stayed on the road and took photos (I'd noticed the No Admittance sign only after Damae had already waltzed in) Damae herself took some close-ups whilst I looked at the bigger picture.

So with the trees sheltering us from the best the sun could do, we carried on. We were still fresh enough to be enjoying the views and the route, and a little further up there was another surprise. The route goes through a golf course, ending at the clubhouse. Naturally we managed to get lost, the road went straight on whilst the route actually took an unsigned left turn. We bumped into a Dutch guy who was about to make the same mistake and together realised, after a quick stop to consult of our maps, that it had to be the left turn.

Damae was now showing definite and vocal signs of fatigue despite having taken regular stops throughout the day. The heat was just too much sapping both our energies, and as a result the cycling and the landscape was becoming a bit monotonous. At the top of a short and steep climb, in the burning sun, close to Vallda (I think) we encountered a new kiosk miraculously placed at a point beyond which we were too tired and hungry to pass. Damae's complaints had been gaining strength and had reached a fever pitch in the last five kilometres. I figured that we needed to stop at a place with food and drinks to recover and rehydrate. This was the perfect spot.

Actually we both needed rest and refreshment, and in our tiredness dithered a little once in the snack bar. In the end both went for the 'Menu 4' which consisted of a veggie burger and chips and a can of pop. Our meals took a while to arrive but when they did they were served on a huge plate with a mountain of french fries enough to feed a complete Tour de France cycle team for a week. The pop had long disappeared before the mounds of food arrived so I wandered around and picked up some Swedish blackberry juice. They came in a curiously sized six hundred millilitre bottle and contained satisfying amounts of sugar.

Whilst Damae was summoning up the required (mental) energy to do the last stint I checked her rear wheel bearings. In the blazing sun I flipped her bike and removed the wheel before adjusting and re-fitting the wheel. All seemed fine but as I had replaced them a week earlier it seemed prudent to check them now after a short period of high stress running in.

Damae asked an older man, who had just cycled from Göteborg how long it took him. He said it had taken him around three hours to cover the thirty or so kilometres, I'd checked his bike out and given the lack of hill climbing gears I could well believe that.

There was now nothing delaying the inevitable and we decided we had to go. Luckily, Damae had perked up a lot which was good and we had both benefitted from the cool air in the kiosk. Starting with a section along the main road, the route, to our pleasant surprise turned out to be very easy cycling to the outskirts of Göteborg. Besides a couple of short climbs and some gentle long drags it was not that hilly. In the afternoon sun, the honey coloured wheat was drenched in honey coloured light.

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