Making the most of a nice hotel by getting a late start. Ate a hearty breakfast and was on the road by 10.
Actually in hindsight I don’t think it was a good idea because it’s so much hotter and my timings are all out by 2 hours (I explain later what I mean by that).
The morning ride was tough going and I really struggled to find the right pace. My Achilles was very sore and stiff for the first couple of hours which dropped my morale a little. Then I started having all the normal problems of indifferent sign posting, inattention and just plain mad map reading. Ended up going down dead ends and missing turns on at least 3 occasions in the morning session which combined with my Achilles and the fact the roads were terrible out me in a bit of a foul mood. Why the hell was I doing this I kept asking myself.
Once I got out of the forests the roads got a lot better and the map reading came a little more straightforward. I found the right pace for my ankle and the distance mileage started to mount up. Was a very pleasant second half to the morning rolling through endless farmland surrounded by arable crops of every description. Came to an area where they grow all the cucumbers and tomatoes that stretched for miles down a road that I swear was dead straight for 30KM.
Stopped for lunch at a cafe and this is where I paid the price for starting out late as they no longer were doing lunch. Had to make do with a pizza (that was actually very nice, either that or I was starving). The village had a war memorial which was the first I have seen with the graves of what looked to be Swedes who died fighting the Russians. I must look it up and see what it was all about, I wonder why the memorial is here.
The afternoon ride was hot with temperature bouncing around in the high 20’s. Had to stop frequently to apply suntan lotion as I sweating profusely.
Got lost again going around a little town which I then compounded by going the wrong way and ending up at an industrial harbour, not happy at all.
A day of ups and downs that ended up in Kristinestad which seems to be quite a popular tourist spot. The 2 main hotels are owned by the same guy who charges a fortune so settled for a reasonable priced room in a 1960’s style motel. Cheap, clean and with free internet I am not complaining.
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