 Hey Alleyupa! We've finally arrived at the end of my wonderful adventure through Sweden. I began my journey up north, above the Arctic Circle, and over the course of 15 days, I've pedaled 1,300 miles to the southern tip where I once lived as a bright-eyed exchange student 25 years ago. My goal was to explore areas of Sweden that I'd never seen before, while reconnecting with the people and culture of my beloved Sweden. It's been an honor to show you Sweden from my perspective, and share with you all the reasons why I love this beautiful country. Except for the mosquitoes. I never want to see them again. I don't even care about the rain anymore. It's the mosquitoes. Thank you for following along. As with all my adventures, my mission is to show the best of humanity and nature, and hopefully inspire you to get outside and challenge yourself. If you'd like to help keep this channel thriving, please consider supporting me on Patreon. I will put a link in the description for more information. Okay, let's get to it. My Swedish family is waiting for me, and you're gonna love them. Good morning. I've been lying here listening to the sounds of rain on my tent, which is usually a very cozy sound, but not when you want to get up and pack things up and ride your bike. Also, my ride, I got something in it yesterday, and it's not happy. Oh, but I'm so excited. So excited. Today's my last day. Time to get up. It's chilly. Oh, come on, son. You were so beautiful last night. Look what I just found. A beat-up banana. Perfect for breakfast. Thank you, flat piece of ground. I got a big smile on my face because I'm gonna finish today in about 65 miles. What an adventure. There's my Swedish flag. We're all packed up. My alarm just went off. I woke up a little early today. It's only 6.15. Thank you, Billy Idol. Okay, now let's go. I need to start moving and warm up. But I'm excited. I'm so excited. My final day in Sweden. It's been amazing. No crashes, no flaties, no whammies. I'm so grateful for this adventure. And I'm also excited to be done. I can have two of those emotions at the same time. Moose crossing. I was really hoping for some sunshine on my last day, but it doesn't look like it. But I guess it's fitting that I'm starting off in the rain on my final day. Rain has been my nemesis on this ride, but also my teacher. This Swedish rain has taught me about patience, humility, and just overcoming discomfort. You know, it might be raining now, but I'm still living off the magic from yesterday evening. That was so awesome. Those were some of the best hours I've ever had on a bicycle. It felt so good. And the sun was streaming through. That was really special. This is a magical little bike path I'm on right now. And the rain and mist kind of makes it feel even more mystical and magical. It allows my mind to wander and think. And I'm thinking right now about how grateful I am for this experience that I get to be pedaling my bike in Sweden. Even on a rainy day, this is really a highlight of my life. Something I was looking forward to for so long. And I'm going to remember it forever. And the birds are still singing. They're cheering me on. We don't have days like this in Colorado very often, so this is pretty special to have a foggy, misty day. It is so lush and green in here. I feel like I'm in a jungle. And these trees are protecting me from the rain. Thank you, trees. So I just got a bit of a pick-me-up. My Swedish sister Sophia just wrote and said, she's going to come out and meet me for the final 25 miles. Bless her heart for coming out in this weather. She's a trooper. And I really owe a huge part of my experience in Sweden to Sophia. She was my age. We went to high school together. She introduced me to all her friends. She helped me learn Swedish. We were like two best buds. And we're still really close. I consider her family. Not blood family, but family, you know? When Rotary set me up to be an exchange student with her family, I always tell people it was destiny. They're the most warm and kind people I've ever met. So I am very excited to see her in just a few hours. And we can ride in the rain together. That'll make it easier. My friends, you know what flag that is? That's the flag of southern Sweden, the province of Skåne. I'm home. Oh, it's so good to see that. You know, southern Sweden gets made fun of a lot by pretty much the rest of Sweden. The accent down here is much different than the accent like in Stockholm and up further north. And people up there always joke that they can't even understand the people down here. They say that they sound like Danish or something. But I am a proud Skånepog! Skånish boy. And it feels good to see that flag and be back in the flatlands of Skåne. I guess you could kind of equate the southern accent down here to the southern accent we have in the United States, where people think you're a little bit country, you know? And that's how it is here too. It always seems like people up north make fun of people down south. Whatever country you're in. See this guy right here? That's Nils Holgersson. And there's a very famous story here in Sweden called Nils Holgersson's Undvara Resa Genom Sverige. And it's a wonderful trip through Sweden. And I've been thinking of that character as I've been riding on my own Undvara Resa Genom Sverige. My own wonderful ride through Sweden. The story is wonderful. They have all these different adventures just like I have been having. So seeing that puts a big smile on my face for sure. Check it out! My first single track of the trip! Right through some farm fields! Oh man! This might be my favorite part of the entire trip. Tunnel of green! Just taking it all in and enjoying every last bit of Sweden. Check out my cute heart mug with some warm tea. Of course I got a chocolate ball and just a tomato cheese sandwich. Skål! You always got to start with the sweet stuff. Mmm! I'm going to wait here for my sister Sofia. She's on her way. Sofia is on her bike right now. She's going to be here in a matter of minutes. And I really can't believe this is real. This is real life. I've ridden all the way down to the bottom of Sweden. And now I get to do the victory lap with my beloved Swedish sister Sofia. Oh my god! Did it hurt? No, not anymore. I ate a chocolate ball. Are you ready my friend? My sister? I really like that. Sofia is also a Spanish teacher. Yeah, sometimes. We speak a little Spanish too. Okay, okay. Let's go then! We're going to her home in a town called Loma. Yeah, it's like a pocket. It's like a pocket. Can you see what I'm saying? She's got great energy. We're on our way! We're cycling together. I can't believe it! It's really happening! Summer time! Hey! Hey, summer time! Give me your hand. Give me your hand. Give me everything you want. And everything you can. But it doesn't seem like summer today. No, we're cycling towards the sun. Yeah, we're going towards the sea. Yeah! Go, Sofia! Go, go! Go, Sofia! Oh, this is so fun. It feels like old times. It feels like... It's when I lived here. It feels like no time has passed. Oh, it was cool. It feels like we're 18 again. It's a little windy. But we don't care. We're just talking and catching up. Life is good! Life is good! Live well! The sky looks scary, but... We'll see what's amending. Festis, oh, Sofia is so sweet. She brought Swedish drinks, juices. Yes. And she made some sandwiches for us. Oh, you're the best, Sofia. And much later, we'll take this. What? Canel bulan! Due snel. Here comes the rain. Doo doo doo doo. I was hoping we'd be done with the rain, but as every day, the rain's never done with us. We're taking another break. I'm eating all of Sofia's cinnamon rolls. Thank you, Sofia. Due snel. And the sun is out. We're on a bike path. We're getting closer. Oh, it feels so good. We're fighting the wind today. This might be the last one. Oh, the first Malmo sign. I've seen on this entire trip. Alla visa masca sveri klapa nu. Hey, hey. Alla visa masca sveri klapa nu. Hey, hey. All right. I've been carrying this flag for a long time. Found it on the side of the road, way up in Norland. I should probably take it out and let it fly. We're only a handful of kilometers away. It feels absolutely incredible. Here I am on the streets of Kyrgyzstan. I'm back in Sweden. Getting so, so close. We're almost there. And it feels so good. Incredible. We're coming into Loma. And I can see Malmo up in the distance. And the Öresunds Bridge that goes from Malmo to Denmark. When I was here in 1998, they were building it. It was finished in the year 2000. And I came back that year and ran the Big Half Marathon from Denmark to Sweden across the bridge. And we are so close, Sophia. I looked down and I saw that the flag was gone. And I've written back a good bit. And I see it stuck on this thorny bush, just waving in the wind. This bush just grabbed it right out from under me. This flag's been through a lot. It's got to get all the way there. The sun came out for us. Sulin, frinoid dog. Look at these cute kids waiting for me. Hey, son. And this is my sweet Swedish mom, Annika. My sweet son, Riot. Oh, she's the best. She took such good care of me when I lived here, right? Yes, we did. We had a good time, yes. Yes, we did. This is my Swedish dad, Jordan. Hello, everybody. I'm not the biker type. I'm a walking type. Yes, and he thinks his American son is crazy, right? No, not crazy, but he's unique. This is Carl, my little brother, Lily Brur Kalle. How are you doing, bud? I'm good, good. I'm so glad that you're here. Yeah, me too. I'm glad you're here. Yeah, I'm glad we're all here. It makes it feel so good. Right here is my big brother, Gustav. Yes, right? That's true. And that's true. And he inspired me to run long races. My first ever marathon was with Gustav and Copenhagen. Copenhagen, yes. And I was faster than Riot that time. It was good to have done that. I'm not sure how that chance... Yeah. At this moment, bud. I had been faster than you. Yeah, he beat me. That hurt, that hurt bad. But it was a good race. It was a good race. We had a lot of fun. Yes, we did. And check it out. He wore his special shirt just for me. For the taco fest. Oh, yeah. And this lovely lady right here is Therese. And she was my first love. My first, like, real girlfriend. And we're still good friends. She's great. And this guy right here is my good friend, Matias. Hello. Hello. You speaking this right? I do, I do. Skool. Now it is time for dinner. And you know what it is? You know what they're doing for me? All right. We got a whole plate of beans. It's a taco fest. Sofia. What a dean idea at hot taco fest. It's my Ryan's. We know Ryan loves taco bell. And you're going to get a taco at the Mellerups. Taco at the Mellerups. Oh, here comes the fun drink. Look at this. They even got non-alcoholic Carlsberg for me. Very dangerous. Look out. You can eat a lot, Ryan. You've cycled really long. Oh, that's right, Gustav. Look at this. Oh, man. I'm so excited. I've been waiting for this. Look at all these wonderful humans here. Life is good. I just want to say that I love Sweden. And as I've said many times, it was stupid that I came to Sweden. I came to the Mellerup family. And Sweden will always have a big place in my heart. And thank you for everything. Thank you to the black birds. And hello, Sweden. He landed by the corner. But he came down in a parallel. Ryan, we want to congratulate you. A percentage for your good effort. Actually, I don't want to show Sweden the whole world through my YouTube videos. Okay. Oh, thank you, Kevin. Are you happy? God damn, you're good, it says. This celebration, this glorious, fun-filled evening is exactly what motivated me to pedal as hard as I could when I was lying in my tent on those cold, rainy nights. I owe so much to this wonderful family for opening my eyes to the world outside of Boulder, for loving their crazy American son as one of their own, and for inspiring my curiosity for travel and adventure. It was indeed destiny that brought me to Sweden into this amazing family. Oh, yeah, men, I do feel. Oh, I do feel. I've been off my bike for 30 hours, and I feel really good. My body is happy with that. I didn't realize how tired I was. I was going pretty hard, and it's been so fun to connect with my family and just be here and not get on my bike every morning. I got to the finish line, I earned it, and now I'm just enjoying the glow of the post-adventure high. You know, when I start these things, you never know what's going to happen. I never know if I'm going to get to the finish line. So many things can go wrong and get injured, your bike can break, or some other crazy whammy can get you. So while I love these rides for sure, there's also a little bit of stress involved because you're like, okay, here we go again. Every time I wake up in the morning, I know I'm going to have a great day, but you never know what's going to happen out there. And the weather in Sweden sure threw a lot of curveballs at me. I wasn't ready to be this wet. I don't think I've ever dealt with this much rain on a tour ever, but because of it, I had to really dig deep. You know, being cold and wet is uncomfortable for me. I don't like it. I'm a Colorado boy, but I'm just so incredibly grateful for this experience and all the wonderful people I met. Sweden showed up big time, all the people along the way. I couldn't have done this alone. I couldn't have. And it's the random strangers who came out and helped and Mikkel up north. And it just feels so good to be embraced by an adopted country. You know, I came here when I was 18. I knew nothing about Sweden and when I left when I was 19, I was absolutely in love with this country and I still am. And it will always hold a very special place in my heart. Jag älskar svärja, verkligen. I love this country so much. Thank you all for watching. Wow, this was a good one. Like and subscribe. You know, that's what people do here on YouTube, I guess. If you could share my channel, that would be awesome. It really helps me out. And if you want to keep my channel alive through the financial form, try Patreon. You can get early videos, ad-free videos. I do live chats every now and then. It's pretty fun. And you can do it for as low as three bucks a month. Mate, that's a price of not even one chocolate ball. Anyway, thank you so much for being with me and joining me on this journey. Each and every one of you means so much to me. This is a dream job. This is a dream situation. And I'm so happy to share the world with you. And now I will see you down the road, somewhere else. Hej då, svärja. Goodbye, Sweden. Thank you for another incredible experience. I'll be back.