Friday, July 9, 2010

The saga of the wheel

So the plans have changed since last post. We spent the night camping in a forest just off the road where we got obliterated by swarms of mosquitos. In the morning we walked the bikes to the nearest town about 3 km then a 10 minute ferry trip.
A fellow cycle tourist said we should speak to the boat marina owner as his English was very good and he was helpful.
When I mentioned my problem he got on his computer and found the closest bike shop. He then printed a map and said we could leave the bikes and panniers in the shed. To get to the bike shop we had to catch the ferry back across and get on a bus to Tumba a 45 minute bus ride. No problem, we jumped on the ferry again and made the bus after convincing the driver to let us on without a ticket (all buses are pre-paid). We arrived in town and located the bike shop and they had the quick release skewer.
By the time we got back to Skanssundet where we had left the bikes it was time to make camp. I asked a man staying at the caravan park if he knew of a good camping spot and he said if he was "free" like us he would camp on the shore opposite the caravan park and gave me directions.
The camping site was about 1km away so off we walked again. As soon as we got to the forest a huge cloud of mosquitos descended on us and we ran as quickly as we could with loaded bikes. We took a turn too early and ended up in a vast green field skirted by the thick pines of the forest.
We lay the bikes on the grass as I set to work fixing the bike and Miriam boiled the kettle. As soon as we had settled, the rain started and continued all night. Working quickly we got the tent up and made a makeshift shelter with the bikes, a tarp and some branches.
The bikes rear hub was stuffed and needed to be replaced. After working on it for an hour I got it to a state were it was rideable.
In the morning we rode back to the bike shop in Tumba. No one in the bike shop had much in the way of english skills but the guy showed us the hub and that was enough. The thread that connects the cassette of cogs to the hub was totally threadless! Luckily they had a replacement. It wasn't the strongest wheel but it would have to do.
After the drama of repairing the wheel we decided not to ride to Gothenburg and instead to the island of Gotland as the ferry was only 60 kms away.
 

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