Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Touring Guide from Bike Nerd

Knox Garnder, owner of the blog Bike Nerd, is home in Boston after his 2004 tour of Europe waiting for warmer weather when he will hit the road again aiming for Seattle.

He has put together a simple guide for us folks that havent dared to stay out for longer than a couple of hours and think touring is more complicated than it really is.

Check out his guide and don't miss his Europe Diary (in the July, August and September archives).

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Johan,

That is cool that someone in Sweden found my posting/guide and finds it helpful. Wow! I think that you've got a good path system there and lots of great places to see on your bike. Perhaps when it stops being winter you'll be able to get a good overnight trip somewhere.

I have question for you based on an early winter idea that I had here in Boston and my lack of knowledge about snow in Sweden.

Are there any long-distance or inter-urban Cross Country ski trails in Sweden that you could use to commute to work?

Do bike trails get converted to groomed XC ski trails in the winter?

It would seem like a good way to go to work (though I guess it is awfully dark) in Sweden. The snow is not consistent enough in Boston for this to be a reality here.

8:19 pm  
Blogger Johan Mörén said...

Hi Knox,

I live in the middle parts of Sweden and the winter here aren't as severe as up in the northern parts. In Stockholm we seldom have a complete snow coverage for more than a week at a time between november and march. The bike paths here are all plowed and salted during winter because a lot of people, including myself, go by bicycle all year round.

The ski trails are often done on golf courses or running trails and are basically loops so you can't use em for commuting.

When i lived in the northern parts of the country i knew a few people who commuted by ski on snow mobile trails and i think that is the most common way of doing it. It only works in the rural towns and villages though since it's prohibited to drive your snow mobile in the urban areas.

Here in Stockholm, when we have snow, the snow quality is very shifting. But you only have to travel 200 kilometers furter up north to get really good snow quality and coverage during the whole winter season.

I guess the quality of snow in Boston could be comapred to the snow here in Stockholm. I haven't visited Boston during the winter season (but i'm planning on doing so since i'm a huge Boston Bruins fan). But i visited Boston in the summer of 99 and found the climate to be very similar to the climate here in Stockholm.

The dark season is now over, thank god!. It's really depressing when it's pitch black when you go to work and the same on your way home from work. The only good thing about it, i guess, is that you enjoy the light so much more when it comes.

Regards,
Johan

9:51 am  

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