Fighting the Weather and Hills All Day

Conditions that prove challenging when cycling include rain, cold, hills, and, perhaps worst, a headwind. Put them all together and you have our bike day today (Wednesday). Our 55-mile ride north, from Soderhamn to Bergsjo, Sweden, was directly into a 15-mile-per-hour wind. The north wind brought cold air, so that today's temperature in the mid-50's was 10-15 degrees cooler than what we've had over the past few days. It rained almost all day, often heavily. Finally, today's ride was a roller coaster of ups and downs, rarely level, making our vertical climb for the day the second highest of our trip so far.

All in all, it was a challenging, uncomfortable day. We were relieved to reach our destination, a pleasant guest house in the in the small town of Bergsjo (population 1260). It was a joy to warm up via hot showers and lay out our wet clothes out to dry.

Heading out in the rain

Drenched within a few miles

A place to warm up in the mid-morning, 20 miles into our ride

Our day's destination: a guest house in Bergsjo, Sweden