July 21: Sweden — Still Glad to Be on the Road
Hello Sweden! I’m super excited to be in yet another country and to continue the adventure of a lifetime. This evening in my motel room, while trying to soak up the excess liquid on the inside of my waterproof boots, I reflected on the good parts of what was otherwise a challenging day.
Today was one of those days that started out frigid and raining hard and stayed that way. Because the outside air was so much colder than my breath and the rain was so intense, it was a real struggle to see. I kept my visor partially up and repeated swiped across my goggles to clean the fog off but with the rain coming down so hard I could only partially make out the road in front of me.
As I headed west on route 93 and then south on route E8 from Enontekio, Finland, I found myself again surrounded by thick evergreen trees. Continuing, I passed a variety of smaller rivers and lakes before passing the border into Sweden and then shortly after that crossed over the Arctic Circle for the second time this week. In this case the event was marked by a little sign and a small monument with a globe on top. I smiled to myself, thinking that if I kept going south long enough, I was bound to run into sun and warmer temperatures at some point.
As I got closer to the Gulf of Bothnia it seemed to me that the landscape became lusher, with thick light green colored meadows and more rolling hills. A variety of farms appeared on both sides of the road and cities became more closely spaced apart. I had misjudged how frequently gas stations would be available and was grateful to finally come across one many miles after my low fuel warning light had come on.
At this point I was feeling the water squishing in my boots and was exhausted from trying to stay safe on the road. I decided to cheer myself up by thinking of some benefits of the rain. The first thing that came to mind was that today was a perfect opportunity to test out which items of my gear were truly waterproof. My Rev-It jacket and pants and Mosko Moto bags passed with flying colors. The $300 Forma adventure boots and Ascend dry bag did not, as evidenced by the water pooling on the insides of both.
I also reflected on how grateful I am to have the resources to spend the night in a motel rather than camping in this wet weather. I have a great deal of admiration for my fellow bikers that camp in any conditions. While it is true that my budget hotel does not have a working heating system, the check in person was kind enough to bring a blow dryer to me from his house so that I could dry my socks, boots, and bottom of my pants legs before I leave again tomorrow.
Another advantage of the rain is that it helps me to appreciate the sun more. At the very end of my ride today the rain slowed down for a few minutes, and I could see a sliver of blue sky off in the distance. I was grateful to have the chance to get a decent picture of me and the Adventure Baby before turning in for the night. At the end of the day, there is no where else I’d rather be during summer than on the road.
