Thank you!

Every part of our life comes to an end. Some things ends, other things starts. I’ve been writing this blog for many many years and I honestly miss the weightweenie part more than you can imagine. Instead of buying to many light parts to blog about most parts I buy feel necessary nowadays as I ride more and internetshop less. Not as geeky blog as I wish for and it feels like there is too much on the internet to have time to catch up.

I know you readers got less and less and so has my motivation.

So I’m moving on with the riding and sharing my life on Instagram. And news through Facebook and Twitter. And trying to be like a role model I got and live more irl.

Last post and the end of my blog.

Thank you to you all my readers! 

2017-

Time to look back and see the ups and downs of this year. What to learn from the sad and what to remember as good.

The big things seems to start with Racemile Showdown in the end of January, this year not so cold but really icy as seen on the picture above. My Sequoia came to it’s perfect use with 42mm studded tires:)

A weekend with friends and a big Thank You to Hagen for arranging 😀

Then came a spring with a not so fast Sequoia which didn’t seem to give me any extra leg muscles. Instead it became a dropping time on Le Peloton with a too low handlebar and I felt slow…

It may have seen like many people on the picture here but my thoughts has been Le Peloton is loosing people to other things. Like Morningspins:

Without finding the speed on my roadbike I found it on my superlight Epic ht mtb and cut my PR at Långa Billingeracet with around 20min 🙂

The fastest bike I’ve ever had and super agile. Unfortunately it didn’t have an rear damper and I seem to have been older making my back hurt after like 40-50km Marathon racing. Felt fast uphill, it felt really good downhill singletracks but on on flat singletrack with roots and rocks it felt like I was standing still.

So I ate ice-cream instead:

And I tried to ride with fast people, SUMO style:

Manage to do a Randonneur with these great people in awesome pace 🙂

And according to Strava the one I was riding most with in 2017 is Emil who’s super fast:

A thing I didn’t think was I was going to do Vätternrundan once again. Riding around a boring lake on boring roads with stressed people. But Stefan convinced me to apply and what a team. Known and unknown people having fun going fast for almost 300km 😀

I never thought I would do it at 7h27min, and remembering it as fun. Riding with Henrik, getting to know Glenn, seeing how simple everything seems for Calle and Fredrik. Everything together with Jukka and Karl keeping things together. And the biggest effort by Erik for making it all possible and making us have a calm knowing everything is in control and skipping the stress so many people got for Vätternrundan. Skoda Cycling Team is not just a team effort, it’s like being a pro with everyone trusting you 🙂

The summer passed and the next big event came.

Race Across Skåne. Another friend like Hagen arranging a top notch event. Waking up in Malmö that day not feeling on top was a bit sad as I really longed for being in top shape that day. Got dropped sitting totally wrong in the crosswind pretty early, feeling like on a spring Le Peloton but at a 190km race instead of 40km training. Ending up with meeting my good friend Emil who saved the day. Cruised on this wheel feeling shit the rest of the route:

We had a crash in a group and it started raining. Everything felt just bad so at the last stop I got an ice-cream…

It’s always fun with an ice-cream, always 😀

The day after I felt worse, driving to my mum instead of doing an recovery spin with the rest. Got fever but manage to get good until our adventure trip. Me, Emil and Emile went to Norberg with gravelbikes and target to explore some new roads in the middle of nowhere. I felt slow after my illness but I love new roads and places. I found a straight fast road on a sunny day outside Norberg, or the road maybe found me…

The end of the summer after a stupid crash. But the start of knowing I got so many kind friends always there to help out. So thankful for everyone making my recovery easier. I missed Rapha 12 Hills and many many kilometers of sunny cycling but it could have been worse.

I got back on a bike outside 😀 Have been feeling slow all autumn but I’m riding and no matter of speed cycling is a beautiful sport. And with help from Specialized Nordic and Specialized Concept Store Stockholm I’m more motivated than ever. Got the dreambike which I’m hoping to ride everywhere, all the time and with a smile (when the salt is gone from the roads)

Travelled to Girona for some sun and met some cool people:

So 15437km later the year ends and I’m still not tired of cycling. The best way to explore our beautiful world and meet nice different people from all over the world.

For 2018 I want to go to new places, new countries. Want to enjoy every moment no matter if I ride in sunny Italy or just commuting to work a rainy grey day. Want to be a good friend. Want to watch some proper roadracing and maybe even meet Annemiek van Vleuten. Want to be an ambassador of our beautiful stylish sport without judging people. Because style is important 😀 

So welcome 2018 and good luck having more fun! Let’s enjoy every moment 🙂

Lussespins

In Sweden we celebrate St Lucia the 13th of December, today so to speak and what suits better then to do it with a Morningspin around Djurgården ending with eating lussekatter at Vahallabageriet which they only bake this day.

Klas didn’t just arrange, fix glögg and took the picture here above, he also was the only one doing a proper instalap:

-6° C made it a slow story, for me even slower as I don’t seem to work as good in the cold… But we all got around 2 laps and got lussekatter. A great start as usual of a working day 😀

Map and stats: Strava

Le Peloton #174 and The Road Book

Today it came, think it’s the best photobook I got so far. Pictures and some short highlights from this years Women’s road racing. Super pictures by Balint Hamvas (the man behind Cyclephotos) and Sean Robinson. It’s been a big year with many exciting races and some new rockets starting to shine. No matter if you know every women pro cyclists or doesn’t have a clue, if you like road racing and beautiful pictures on stylish cyclists I can recommend you to get your own copy: Velofocus

Not so pro, and not so warm was my morning today, doing Le Peloton, with others:

Sure, it was just 3 of the 8 starting (Stuart missing on the pictures) riding together but we got to ride our bikes for an hour and ending with a cozy breakfast talking about victories and cheese. 😀

Map and stats of my changed shortest loop, was so icy at some places so took the asphalt back: Strava

great Great Britain and advertisement

In our world of heavy advertisement, ambassadors and companies paying people to write and take picture on rides with their superbike it’s easy to be blind. It has become so much more than just an poster with a cool cyclist looking pro and a slogan like ”Stiffer, stronger, lighter and even more aero”. It has become a chase of feelings, love stories and people getting payed in parts or money to think in a certain way.

Life is getting harder to know, requires more knowledge what is real and what’s not.

Sometimes you just don’t give a shit and no matter how much 3T is paying Magnus Bäckstedt to skid like here or ride cobbles on the Exploro bike with some locals just to get a good story.

Placed people and bikes are also people and bikes. A ride is a ride no matter how many cameras you use and what purpose it has. Modern advertisement can look good like this. Can honestly say that I don’t understand the Diverge video with Sagan jumping and skidding as much as Thereabouts 2 or Deux North Diverge video. Or Thereabouts 3 with Scott bikes. As long as it looks like real biking I can like when companies like 3T making awesome stories with their Exploro. Or whatever company making videos and stories about their bikes, or clothes. Rapha is a good example with modern advertisement really spread out with normal people around the world.

So thanks to I’m at home with too much sparetime I found the story about Magnus Bäckstedt and some other guys riding in a beautiful part of Great Britain, captured on video of course as that’s how we like it:

 

Who wants to join me for a great Great Britain gravel/explo trip next year?

Specialized S-Works Evade

This is me 13 days ago riding with my Evade helmet. The helmet I chose for the Norberg trip as it feels so great on my head and I think it suits me too.

I crashed but never felt anything from my head, no pains and I remember everything that happened. I knew that I touched the ground with my head but not more than that, no worries. Thought the helmet got scratched.

Today I got my bag back with my helmet. The helmet is broken in the foam and the plastic got a lot of dents where it ”touched” the ground. It made me scared. What if I wouldn’t have had a helmet, would I still be alive?

Always wear a good helmet you like when you ride your bike!

And thanks Specialized for keeping me safe!

Women’s WorldTour Vårgårda TTT

old bikes, new fast times, watch yesterdays headlights here getting ready for the Road Race in Vårgårda tomorrow:

Marseille

Maciej Bodnar attacked at an earlier stage, believed he could win and tried to ride away from the peloton. He didn’t make it. Annemiek van Vleuten attacked too early up Col d’Izoard but she managed to win.

No guts no glory as Team Joker Icopal say.

Today in Marseille they both won!

Vätternrundan with Skoda Cycling Team

When things just work, without hazzle and without seen stress. Then you know the planning has been good. Skoda Cycling Team and Vätternrundan is such a thing. Friendly people with things under control, trusting that you also got things under control.

Travelled by bus Saturday morning all together and when arriving in the centre of Motala the bikes where there and the numbers got handled out. Checked the bikes, got dressed and rolled down to the exhibition centre for photos, like selfies with the Pro’s:

Back to the bus to fuel up, fill up and get ready. Meeting Henrik

and be cool with Glenn:

Start ready on time, cheered on by Madde:

I was one of the last riders rolling through the start on this 20000+ event. Felt a bit cool. Easy in the beginning with a locked train. Got rolling after 10min it felt good. Was going around and taking my turns and it felt well disciplined but not too serious. Down in the tail once but it felt harder so went around again.

Even had time to take photos in Uppgränna:

A short stop after Gränna where the shoe covers went off and we got company by Tobias Ludvigsson to Kaxholmen. Climbs where I been dead before felt great and I could keep up going fast downhill. So cool riding in a 30+ group with everyone looking the same and with riders like Calle Friberg and Henrik Sparr who doesn’t seem to get tired 😉

Through Jönköping and up Trånghalla feeling great. Down Bankeryd flying and then the first stop. 5min stop with new bottles and Enervit energy. All prepared by the team and all bags the same so no need to look for a certain one. Back on the bike and it felt wise to stay a bit in the tail as it was 180km left.

Warm and hard and it felt like it went a bit too fast for me taking turns. Tried to keep the tail straight. Took 3 turns the next 90km to the next stop. Now just water in the bottles, a coke and more gels and I was ready, felt more under control than last stop.

The last part where we were ahead of schedule felt good. And the finish got closer and closer. Happyride.se took some nice pictures:

And then the thing happens that always happens. Around 20km left and everyone wanted to be finished. Felt like the tempo went but everyone hanged on and everyone got a bit more happy 😉

Finished at 7h27min (18min faster than the target)

Happy and really tired, also had a bit of a problem to stand straight 😉

Map and stats: Strava

After high fives, hugs and some champagne we took our bus to the hotel for dinner and talking about salt, cramps and strange things from Skåne. Massage and breakfast today before we went back to Stockholm again.

An Awesome weekend with great people and a team behind with Skoda making it so easy. 😀 And so impressed with some riders be able to ride so fast and make it look so easy. Maybe some day I can also be such a rider…

 

Le Peloton #160

You know this thing with recovery? I didn’t and tried you hang on to Le Peloton today. A lot of fast guys almost making all time records today but I didn’t. My left leg said stop on top of Österviksbacken and I didn’t manage to hold a wheel around Fisksätra. Dropped.

Took the shortcut at Kranglan and rode with Oskar to Älta where we got caught by the 1st group again. Tried to hang on and thought it felt good until Storkällan. Went alright on the climb but when it flattened out and the speed rised I couldn’t keep up. Just to fast which feels like a good reason to drop. Rode the rest alone as fast I could and ended in the sun outside Le Mond for breakfast and which fast happy people 🙂

Like Rille captured:

Biggest reason I tried to ride fast today was because of the bike I borrowed. Wanted to try it for real and sure it’s superfast. But I wasn’t.

Specialized Venge Vias Expert Disch with Roval CL64 wheels. The Rocket Red color even makes me like red 😉

Map and stats: Strava