Crasher goes North: Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Sunday 19th July 2015

I woke from a well needed good nights sleep. I was a bit cold during the night. But, I had slept right through. I climb out of my tent around 7am, and wander over to the washrooms for a shower. The showers were the posh rainforest type affairs like you tend to find in better quality hotels. I have never felt so clean. This was more glamping than camping!

There was free Wi-Fi all around the site, so while I was making breakfast I emailed my parents to confirm I was still alive and send them some photos. Greg was also up and about. He was busy checking Facebook for information on the progress of some of our fellow travelers. 

Today was supposed to be the day that a few of the others met up with us in Mora. One of the couples was taking the double ferry option I had considered. They had posted on Facebook that the exhaust silencer on their Caponord had self disstructed on a German autobahn. And, that they had also forgotten to pack the poles for their tent. Repairing their exhaust problem had delayed them enough to miss the second ferry.

The second couple had travelled down to the Italian alps for the Stella-Alpina rally just over a week ago. They were then hoping to meet up with us, and travel up to the Nordkapp. They had not updated their progress for a couple of days, so we had no idea if they were coming or not. Greg was a little annoyed at the lack of communication from these other couples. Should we hang around, or do we head towards our next destination?

Before we all left the UK, I compiled a list of everyone's mobile phone numbers. This would enable us all to get in touch if there were any problems. Greg and I both sent text messages and rang them throughout the day, but we got no response. They were updating Facebook. Why not just send a simple text to let us know what was happening?

I wasn't about to let things like that spoil the trip, so after breakfast I fancied a walk into town. Greg and I did a bit of exploring. Mora is a pretty little town. It is situated at the side of Lake Siljan. We stopped for the obligatory morning coffee and cake in a café down by the shore.

We sat there for a while watching the world go by. Everyone seemed to be very good looking. And, very sporty. Wizzing past on rollerblades, cycling, jogging, and even on Nordic skiing rollerblade things. It was like being on the set of a soap opera. I can only assume the Scandinavian hospitals have some kind of ugly baby cull to keep the bloodline pure.

We had a look around the town to burn off the cake calories. There was no litter anywhere and everyone was friendly.

There were lots of these brightly painted wooden horses all over town

We bought some things for dinner tonight from the local Co-Op, where the young lady on the till was absolutely stunning. I become a little distracted by her and manage to throw my change all over the floor!

So, before I can embarrass myself anymore we head back to the campsite in the direction of the church.

The church is quite large and located close to the campsite. Greg thought it was funny that I hadn't noticed it until now. It was partially hidden behind the tree next to my tent. Well that is the excuse I gave!

During the afternoon, I carried out a more permanent repair to the wiring on Greg's bike using some cable crimps he had managed to buy. Greg checked Facebook again, and made some tea. He was beginning to get annoyed again at the lack of communication. Yes, we could of ridden a few hundred kilometres of tomorrows journey, but I think the day off the bike has done us both some good.

There were a few more people roller-skiing around the campsite as we sit around soaking up the sun. Apparently there is a famous ski race held in Mora every year. I had noticed the finish line structure which is a permanent feature in the town, earlier during our walk.

We had a great evening meal of roast chicken, salad, and fresh bread that we had bought earlier. Greg was now resigned to the fact that the others were not coming to join us. We went for a walk down by the river before turning in for the night. The sun was beginning to set and looked amazing reflected in the surface of the slowly flowing river.

We have another long day of riding ahead of us tomorrow as we head north to Umea, where we will meet our friend Finn.