ooh, me sweaty nads !!

We were excited because it was our final leg of the trip, but this excitement was somewhat dampened by the rain falling as we left Trosa (which means trousers or panties by the way), rain which followed us most of the day! We only had three dry days on the entire trip!



Despite the rain we made good progress to our first stop at a ferry crossing. Approaching the crossing the wind was really strong, slowing us down and bringing with it driving rain. Another fine day! We were cold and soaked, so we sheltered in the little shop/snack bar while we waited for the ferry, in fact it was nice and warm so we let one ferry go and sheltered for another half an hour, the girl behind the counter laughing at my terrible attempts at Swedish - you try saying ' kokt korv ' ( a hot dog) without getting a smile - its pronounced cookt.

A tiny spell of sunshine after the ferry was followed by more rain, and slowly we started to see more and more signs of civilisation - tower blocks and shopping centers. In fact one at Tumba we saw twice as we somehow took a detour and ended up back where we started 20 mins earlier!

As we were cycling slowly up a hill we both heard another one on my spokes break - this was getting worrying, would the bike make the journey! (It was either weakened whilst cycling when the others were broken, had been overtightened when the buckle was fixed, or I had a whole bunch of duff spokes!)

We were following cycle paths into Stockholm, which were a little bit confusing, which led us through lots of housing estates and parks. Now I sort of expected nice sunny tree lined avenues and riverside paths as we rode into Stockholm, not cycling through the equivalent of the arse end of Neasden in the rain! And then there was the thunder storm and the hail. We waited those out and carried on through the housing estates.

Slowly the areas got a bit nicer, and busier. It was a bit of a shock as we started to get into central Stockholm in the rush hour, after more than 2 weeks in the quiet countryside and small towns! The bike lanes were full of people, some doing some serious speeds with not much room to spare!


We eventually made it to the river, and then on ito the main square in Gamla Stan, the historic old town. We had pictures taken in front of the castle, sort of equivalent to Trafalger Square or Buck House. We had finally made it, through lots of wind and rain, but we were now firmly in Stockholm!

Then we headed out on the short trip to where Stefan lives. The only way Ben knew how to get there was through a busy shopping street, like a pedestrianised Oxford Street, packed full of people. It was a very interesting ride, weaving in and out of the all the people, only just missing them.( I took a small video on my phone but the phone crashed and lost it)

We got to the park where Stephan had arranged to meet us, and he wasn't there! A quick phone call told us he was running late, so we went for a beer! Just as we set off down a steep slope, made slippery with moss and leaves, my phone rang. As I answered it my front brakes locked up and the front wheel slid away on the moss. After 800 miles I took my first serious fall, almost knocking Ben over as well (causing him to bruise some delicate areas!).

I landed very heavily on my shoulder/side as I rolled over, but managed to save the phone (Thanks Paul - or Noddy as he is also known). I did think at first that I might have broken a rib or two, as it was one hell of a whack, but I think the whole area is just well bruised. I did a few stretches to check this out, lots of pain, but nothing serious I think ?



We limped off and had a beer nearby, and then went back to the park, where we were greeted by Stephan and his family, Gunilla and their two little blonde girls Signe and Ragna. They had made some banners and had Champagne and beer waiting for us, which was very touching. It felt as if we had properly arrived!

We went back to Stefans recording studio nearby (where Ben and I are staying) to drop off our stuff, and heard a couple of songs that Stephan had composed for us in a drunken moment. Very entertaining indeed!


Then we headed back to Stephan's apartment block, where we had more beers and a sauna, in fact beers in the sauna. It had only been built 2 weeks previous so we were very lucky, and it was just what we needed. Up to the apartment for some gorgeous food cooked by Stephan, and some wine and beer and good company. We had a fine evening.








Went back to the studio for a little more beer and some appalling attempts by Ben and I to sing Rocky Racoon (an old Beatles favourite of ours) which have been recorded. We finally crashed out at about 3 am. I found it impossible to turn over in bed onto my bruised side, and it is definitely no fun when I cough today, but just bruising ( I hope).