 Hey Aljupa and welcome to my big Swedish adventure. I'm riding the length of Sweden from north to south. In the previous episode, I thought I might get away without getting rained on. What happened? Nope. I saved a cute little frog from getting smushed on a road, wandered around a beautiful forest, and ended up in a cabin by a stunning lake. Oh, I just woke up and my face isn't puffy, which makes me think that I am allergic to my sleeping bag or something. Who knows? Anyway, I slept really well. And look, it's not raining right now. And I know I keep saying this, but when I was an exchange student, I loved my Swedish blankets so much that I brought it home. And this is very similar. It's one of those big down blankets with a duvet cover over it. So cozy. How's this for a good breakfast? I went to the little store yesterday afternoon and got some yogurts. Oh yeah, much better than an energy bar. It's pretty cool to think that I've simplified life so much that this is really all I need when I'm on a bike trip. Clothes, little bit of electronics, a bag for water, and some comfortable shoes. Oh, that feels good. You don't realize how much you miss something until it's gone for a little bit. Thank you, sun. I mean, it doesn't look like a clear day by any means, but at least right now is good. Look at this battle-worn Swedish flag. I just put these shoes on and boy, were they wet. There was really no point in drying out my socks because I just soaked them. Thank you, super cozy Swedish cabin for drying me out and warming up my life. All right, everything seems to be packed up and ready. Am I ready is the question? Yes, I'm ready. I didn't even look at the weather forecast today. I've been doing that the last couple of days and it just stresses me out. So I'm just going out into it and whatever happens happens, of course. All right, bike. You don't seem to be getting any lighter. I really love this place. I'd love to come back here sometime and just hang out in the Swedish woods. This is a great little area. I'm really thankful that I met this woman Mimi who rents this place out. I met her right in the thick of the storm. Woo, it's nippy. Of course, it's nippy. It's been raining for 36 straight hours pretty much. Today I'm heading to, I don't know, somewhere south, maybe 80 to 100 miles. I have to get there on Thursday, Malmo. Today is Monday. I have four days for an average of 85 miles a day to get there. My family's waiting for me. Can't be late. Here we go. No crashes, no flaties, no whammies. And please, no more rain. Hey, look at these cuties. Hey guys. At this big black slug. I think it's on a piece of poop. It looks like a piece of poop itself. Yeah, buddy. Pretty cool. The rain brings out all sorts of slimy creatures. And again, I'm grateful that I'm not starting the day out, getting rained on. And I felt a little sun on my face. It's long gone now. That might be the only sun I feel today, but man, that felt good. Vitamin D. You know, I was chatting with bike touring Mike this morning and he said, it's been sunny and hot up in Norland ever since we left each other. Man, maybe I should have stayed up north even though there's a lot of mosquitoes. I could use some of that sunshine. He's enjoying it though. That's good. And from what everybody's told me, Sweden needs this rain. It's been really dry and hot for the past month. So I might be a little uncomfortable, but the rest of the country is rejoicing. Blue sky over there. I can't believe it. Blue sky. Woo. Most of the clouds are still gray and dark, but hey, a little bit of blue sky gives me hope. So I'm riding by the road and I see something that puts a big smile on my face. Look at that. There's a troll up there. Sitting in the barn. Looking down on everybody just freaking them out. Hello there. I'm really enjoying this road. It's along a lake. It's beautiful. Low traffic. It's a nice Monday morning. At least it's just kind of drizzly right now. It's not like that heavy rain. Morning cows. Get out of the rain. It's coming. It's coming. It's going to cover. I love how cows just stare at you. Hey, buddy. Hi there. You know, this sounds weird, but I've come to enjoy the sound of the rain pitter patting on my rain jacket. It's a nice, just a nice sound. It's got a nice rhythm to it. You know, I don't want to do this for the next nine hours, but for right now, it's kind of cozy. Okay. It's going to take long. Now the sound of rain on my jacket is pissing me off. You know, there's something to learn in every situation. And I've always learned the most about myself during tough times. And in moments like this, I just put my head down. And I just power through. And I get to have the opportunity to push through something uncomfortable. And I don't get to do that every single day. So this is a gift, really. Crazy to say that, but this is a gift. This is a magical little area right here. I'm liking it. Back on dirt. Back into school again. Forest. Rain stopped. Joy. Oh, joy. So I'm going up, going up a bit of an uphill here. And I haven't talked a lot about the uphill in Sweden because there isn't a whole lot, which is kind of nice. Of course, there's rolling hills and if you get near the border of Norway, there's mountains, but for the most part of this ride I've been on has been pretty mild as far as elevation gain. Just a couple of little hills throughout the day. I think I average maybe 4,000 feet of elevation a day, which really isn't that bad, especially if our guy coming from Colorado where I go out my door and they go up a big mountain. And the good thing about these hills, they warm you up. I want to show you something here. These are sign markers for hiking trails. And there's networks of long distance hiking trails all over Sweden. And as you've seen, there's shelters and places to camp and fire rings and stuff. And all the trails look like this. They look like they lead to magical places. Kind of reminds me of the Appalachian Trail. I'm not going to take the trail right now, obviously, but someday I'd love to come back and do one of these hiking trails. I mean, look at this. It's magical. Imagine walking through this all day. And look what I found in the grass here. Wild strawberries. Yum. Here's a little piece of magic. Mmm. Ooh, that's sweet. And tart. Ah, thank you forest. You know, I love bikepacking because you get to explore the world at a slow pace. But hiking, that's even slower. And I think with hiking, you're more in nature than on a bike even. And hiking, you really have to have your food and water stuff dialed in because, you know, there might be many, many miles between towns. Whereas on a bike, if you're out of food and you're like, okay, towns 20 miles away, I can charge to town and get there. But when you're hiking, man, you could maybe max do 25, 30 miles a day. So I think there's a lot of hitchhiking involved in the through hiking community to get from town to town and get resupplies. Maybe someday I'll do more long distance hiking. I've done a bit in Nepal and I hike all the time. J-hikes in Colorado and Boulder. But for now, I'm a bike guy. I love riding. I love the speed. And I love my sore butt. Another thing I like about riding bikes, or I should say I love about riding bikes, is just fun. When I think back to some of my best childhood memories, it's when I learned how to ride a bike and screaming down hills and going fast, wind in your hair, wind in your face. There's nothing better, right? With hiking, you don't really get that same thrill. I'm ducking for a bit of cover under these trees and look at this beautiful old church right there. It's a good spot to hang out for a little bit. Yeah, the rain has let up a bit. It's still raining, but not as hard as it was earlier. It's very manageable and maybe I'm just getting used to it. This must be what it's like to live like in England and be a cyclist because you just deal rain all the time, right? I'm not used to it. I'm a Colorado boy, sunshine, dry days, almost every day. I am now riding on the outskirts of a town called Urebro. This is a pretty big Swedish city. And once again, awesome bike paths everywhere to get me safely through town. It's amazing how many of these city bike paths go through nature. You wouldn't guess we're in a big city right now. You know what will brighten up this day besides this beautiful little creek? A chocolate ball! It is chocolate ball time and chocolate balls make everything better. Check it out. I want to show you something interesting and funny. Even the electrical boxes are painted in the same color as all the houses. I've seen this color on every electric box all the way down Sweden. It looks kind of classy. It fits in better with the forest colors. Not only do we have rain today, but we have quite a bit of wind. This is my first windy day. Just add it. Add it to the list of challenges. Whatever. I got my chocolate ball. I'm good. I am thankful for these big trees. Walking all of the wind. Yeah. So much easier to pedal without headwind. Who would have thunk it? I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. Here we go. I had to get off my bike to show you this. I was riding by and I was like, man, that is cool. Look at that. You can only get there by boat. Talk about, imagine that little piece of paradise. Your own little island with a dock. It always feels good to stop and chill for a second. Always. You know, I get into my zone and I just put my head down and pedal, pedal, pedal. Sometimes I forget to enjoy my surroundings and stop and get off my bike. I mean, that's why I came to Sweden, right? When you ride your bike all day, you get to look at cool things all day. And there's a lot of subtle magic out there that you might miss if you're in a car or just not paying attention. But if you're sitting on a bike seat for 10 hours a day, you notice all the cool little things. I've ridden about 100 miles and I feel good. By that I mean, I feel like I'm done for the day. So I'm going to ride a little bit more. I think I saw on the map there's a shelter up here. Hopefully it's true because I'm ready to get off the bike. So on my map it says there's a wind shelter. I'm the blue dot. It's over here. I don't really see a trail. You think there'd be an easier way to get to this shelter, right? It's a little silly. So I bailed on the shelter. That trail just got super muddy and I was like, I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this so I kept going and then I was riding by this house right here and this gentleman, Magnus, was out in the yard watering and I asked him if there was a place near here to put my tent up under a roof. We talked for a bit. He asked me a bunch of questions. What are you doing here, of course? Like everybody asks. And he's like, we have a little stuga. So I get to stay here tonight and it is super cute. Check it out. Look at that thing. Look at that. Straight out of a fairy tale. Are you ready to see this? Cuteness. This is a score. That's so awesome. And now I'm sitting here with my new friends, Bergita and Magnus and we have some really good food here. Smorgos, va? Tita for smorgosen. Hello, Magnus. Hello, Bergita. Hello, hello. They are my host family for the night here in Sweden and I am so incredibly thankful. Surprise. Big surprise. It is now time for the evening news and it is cozy. There's the weather. There's the rain. And now they're talking about all the damage the big wind has done. I do not think I could have found a cozier little cabin. They know how to do it up here in Sweden. I almost feel like I'm in a playhouse. I mean, this place is tiny, but it's so well done and I'm so glad that I met Magnus. He was just out doing yard work and then we had dinner. We ate smorgos and then we, you know, sat next to the fire and watched the news and chatted and got to know one another. And this was the whole point of the trip to go from Sweden top to bottom and just get to know the country and get to know the people. And every day I've been able to do that and I'm incredibly grateful. No doubt. Today was a long day, 100 miles. Got really wet in the morning, but it chilled out as the day went on and then the winds kicked up but I just kept on moving and it was another beautiful day. I can finally look at the map and say, hey, I'm getting there because for so long, it seemed impossibly far. Malmo was just so far away. But I'm getting there little by little and that's the beauty of a bicycle and just pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal. And now I'm going to sleep on my cozy little bed with a tummy full of yummy sandwiches and cheese and crackers and stuff. And I'm happy. Y'all get glad. Good night. I am waiting out the rain in a candy store, a candy factory. I feel like I'm in the middle of a Willy Wonka movie. This is awesome. Hello there and thank you for making it to the very end of this video. You get a high five. I am here to say, hey, thank you for watching my videos. But also, if my videos bring value to your life, if you love them with all your heart and soul or even just a little bit of your heart and soul, please consider joining my Patreon. You will help keep this channel alive. But you will also get stuff. You will get early release videos with no ads, which is very cool. And I sometimes do Zoom calls with my patrons. You will have direct access to me through Patreon to ask me any question you want. And like I said, you're keeping this channel alive. And also, hey, I wrote a book. It's called The Long Way Home. It's about my very first adventure from Honduras to Colorado. And it talks a lot about how it inspired me to live an interesting life to say the least. My mom loves it, so maybe you'll love it too. I will link all this down below. But more than anything, thank you so much for watching my videos. You are awesome. Now it's time for you to get off that couch and get out there.