Mtb, Fornstigen, Sweden

Saturday ride with my brother on Fornstigen on Lovön.. Hard to get tired of this very varied trail.. Cloudy skies but no rain, about 5 C, pretty muddy and slippery on some sections that required some extra effort.. Slow pace with a couple of stops along the way, lunch at the regular half-way rock.. Back at the cars at 1 pm..

Mtb, Öland, Sweden (March 23rd)

Third ride of three during Eastern 2008 when we stayed in Byxelkrok on Northern Öland.. We parked the car at Homrevet and followed the White Prick's Trail north bound past the end of the narrow rail and up along the east coast of the island.. Zig-zagging between the sea and further inland in the forrest, great mixed trails up to Trollskogen.. A rest break on the pebble and sand beach, and then we headed back south again, finishing some three hours after starting..

Mtb, Öland, Sweden, (March 22nd)

Second ride of three during Eastern 2008.. Went out solo this time, from Byxelkrok north bound along the west coast up to the light house Tall Eric and back again.. Quite windy and a few degrees below zero, pretty grim with the clothes I had on.. Grinded my way up against the wind with lowest gear possible on snow-covered pebble-beach.. At times I could barely keep my balance in the stronger gusts.. On the way back it was great fun to hammer along the sea in full speed with the wind pushing me forward, making it worth the effort of the first leg..

Mtb, Öland, Sweden (March 21st)

First Eastern Ride of three on Northern Öland, started with GF on Böda Sands Camping and we followed the White Prick's Trail north bound to Homrevet and back again.. One or two degrees above zero, the fresh snow gradually became heavier to ride on.. Fairly windy, so it was nice to stay in the shelter of the forrest up on a ridge most of the time..

Amphibious Mtb, Sickla, Sweden

Out on Sicklaskiftet again, might as well focus on the best area that is just around the corner from where I'll be living only for a few more weeks.. Joined by GF today who took some pictures when I tested the bike's amphibious abilities which was great fun but rather chilly for the feet afterwards, it was just above freezing point with some snow-stained rain at the end of the ride..

Mtb, Sicklaskiftet, Sweden (Sunday 9th)

Another 2-hour session on Sicklaskiftet, mostly on the central and northern side.. A lot wetter than yesterday so more slippery and a lot more mud, but still I had a better flow and fewer near-crashes.. Finished with grinding to the top of Hammarbybacken again..

Mtb, Sicklaskiftet, Sweden

Spent about 2 hours zig-zagging around on the numerous trails on Sicklaskiftet.. It was a mixed bag of surfaces ranging all the way from completely dry on sunny spots, to slippery stones and roots, deep mud holes, to ice-covered rocks and water puddles.. Despite (or because of?) a lazy pace I had a couple of proper skids that tested the spd exit reflexes.. Finished off with pedaling up to the top of Hammarbybacken to get some leg burn and heart rate going..

Bouldering, Kärsön, Sweden

Went to Kärsön for bouldering, first time there in a long time.. First picture: IT-geek and outdoor-geek! :-) Forgot to print the route chart before the weekend, so I checked online betweek climbs.. Without a spotter (I'm too heavy to land on my GF), no crash pad, and the rock being rather slippery after rain the night before, I stuck to the easier routes and was done some 40 minutes after starting.. The bystander in a tree (a squirrel) probably (correctly) concluded "I'm way better than that odd fellow in a baby-blue hat!"..

Bouldering, South of Hellas, Sweden

A few kilometres south of Hellasgården, along Sörmlandsledens first section, there is a fairly large rock side that I wanted to try out.. So I went there with my GF on mountainbikes and she took some pictures while I had a go at it.. Some parts of it have decent potential for a couple of boulder problems and possibly top-rope climbing with rope secured in trees above the rock side.. A number of loose stones that could be easily wripped off the rock.. If the floor was cleaned up a bit from branches, stones etc and the rock was properly brushed to remove all the moss, it could be a decent little climbing area.. However, it is located in a nature reserve, so it's probably not very legal and a bad idea..

Mtb, Fornstigen, Lovön, Sweden

A Sunday ride in fairly relaxed pace (Altough I was worn out the second half) with 5 guys from the Happymtb forum.. Parts of the 18 km trail had sticky mud that sucked a lot of energy, but it was nice to be out on a new bike in good company, I guess the form will return eventually.. Spring would be nice too..

Mountainbiking, Sörmlandsleden 4-3, Sweden

A fairly short ride with GF on Sörmlandsleden, section 4 and about half of section 3 and then back again.. Mostly to try out the new mountainbike before longer and faster rides.. It works fine, just need some tuning of the fork.. This section is fast and easy, and part of it goes through a community, other parts next to highways, so not very scenic.. Back at the car after about 2.15 hours, including a lunch break at a gas station..