Tour de France training
Trip Start
Sep 09, 2010
1
20
46
Trip End
Ongoing
Orsa, Swedish Lakeland, Sweden
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Ended: Orsa, Sweden
Distance Travelled: 30km by bike. 15km uphill and 15km downhill
We're only just able to blog tonight – the energy required to move my fingers is challenging given our day’s excursion.
We went to the Orsa bear park, which has the world’s largest polar bear enclosure. Sounds impressive. The guide book told us that the bear park was 15km away, and our sat-nav confirmed this. In an effort to conserve fuel after yesterday’s palaver and with the sun shining (though there was still ample frost on the ground a a distinct chill in the air) we set off at 9.45am for the park, thinking it would take about an hour to get there. One hour later we’d travelled 6km, pretty much all gradual up hill, which becomes like a mirage after a while, every bend appears to be the top of the mountain and you think – it can’t keep going up….. it did.
Another hour later we were still on the road, walking occasionally when the gradient overwhelmed us and riding at others. Evie wasn’t handling this well. Initially, she could hear my panting with exertion (I don’t claim to be fit) "Stop it, stop it stop it!" she didn’t seem to appreciate the role of breathing in your life, particularly when riding up a hill. Then her fingers got a little cold and she became my very own police siren impersonation for about 5km, and then she fell asleep.
We were passed occasionally by campervans effortlessly striding up the hill – that could have been us, had it not been for our 'adventurous spirit’ and the need to get back into shape and show all our Australian friends we hadn’t become too soft and squishy in the land of pork pies.
After 2.5 hours we arrived at the top – I’m not completely convinced we couldn’t have walked quicker, and its easier when you’re not pushing a bike with a toddler on it! Needless to say there weren’t any bike racks at the top, Swedish people are too smart to try this excursion. We arrived hungry and expected a fantastic array of lunch options at our tourist destination. Being low season we had a choice of reindeer meat in pita bread or cheese in pita bread for vegetarians. We chose both for variety. There were donuts for dessert though.
The bear park was good except the star attraction, the polar bears were asleep, as was the leopard. The tigers and Kodiak bears were large and very close – being a couple of arms lengths away from a 3m bear or a full grown Siberian tiger is a pretty riveting experience. And there were two very cute and fluffy brown bear cubs. The park itself was large and hilly – just what we needed after our ride, especially when our princesses decided they’d had enough and persuaded us to carry them (mostly by lying on the ground wailing and refusing to budge). Evie wanted to stay and live in the igloo display – she felt it was more spacious and warm than the campervan.
Aahhhh the ride home – I managed the first half of this without having to pedal. I was overtaken by a red corvette, but only just! This is more what I had imagined for the trip and it was a fantastic end to the day. Evie even sang an unrecognisable song about 20 times on the way down, before I had to recite the Gruffalo story for her, fortunately I know this one by heart.
I think a masseuse service at all campsites should be mandated by law – either that or a jacuzzi at this point would be marvellous! Tomorrow, we’re back behind the wheel – I don’t think either of us would be able to walk if we tried.
Comments
Yadda, yadda, yadda .... quit complaining mate, I had to walk all the way to the Broadway today ...... and back ...
Where are you guys?? Haven't posted anything for a while, missing your daily updates, hope all is well...............x x x x x