Soaked in Varberg - Arrival in Göteborg

An interesting building - (not a light house)

I rode north through Falkenberg.  It was graduation and there were students everywhere celebrating.  I continued north past some picturesque lighthouses and into the town of Varberg.  I stopped for a cup of coffee and the skies opened up and it poured down rain.  I decided to try to wait it out, but after a couple of hours I grew impatient.  I headed out when the rain let up a bit, but it was a trick.  Once on my bike, it rained even harder and I ducked for cover in a covered bicycle parking area.  I waited and ate a snack.  Still, it didn't let up.  So, after inspecting my map, I found that there was a youth hostel in Varberg and decided to try to find it.  I got directions at a convenient store and made it to the front door of the youth hostel....only, the door was locked.  I stood in the downpour unsure of what to do next.  I must have looked pretty pathetic.  Some people got into a taxi nearby, but the taxi didn't go anywhere.  After a few moments, a guy got out and ran back inside through the back door.  Soon, the door opened and an older man with spectacles (imagine a math professor) asked if I wanted a room.  I assured him that was why I was there and thanked him profusely for letting me in.  "I was just headed out, but saw you standing there in the rain." he said.

at the youth hostel in Varberg

I got a room and began hanging things up and drying things out.  In the kitchen I was offered some delicious salmon and pasta by a guy named Jan.  He was staying there on business, setting up the lighting for an exhibit at the castle museum in Varberg.  We ended up staying up late visiting.  He told me about other, more remote parts of Sweden that he'd worked and places in Norway where his girlfriend had backcountry skied.  The next morning we met up again in the kitchen and he gave me some food for breakfast and sent me on my way.  My last day of pedaling.

After getting turned around a bit heading out of Varberg, I finally got on course with a terrific tailwind.  I was able to sustain a speed of 40 km/hour (25 mph) without even working too hard.  The kilometers flew by and soon I was in the suburbs of Goteborg.

Getting close to my destination

Very helpful friends along the way

A couple of cyclists came by and I couldn't restrain myself from taking advantage of a draft.  I followed them for a while, turning when they turned, slowing and speeding up when they did.  (My map ended just before I met up with them, so I was hoping they were headed back into Goteborg.  The bookstores were all sold out of the cycling map of the Goteborg area.)  We stopped at an intersection and began talking.  There were 4 of them and they were out training for the huge ride around Lake Vättern.  They asked where I was headed and it turns out that one of the guys (Erik) lives about 500 meters from my friends Mattias and Lena!  I had a personal escort through town, right to the street my friends live on!

Erik and I stopped out in the street, unsure of which building Mattias and Lena lived in.  Erik looked up Mattias in the directory with his smart phone, dialed his number and handed the phone to me.

Some weird tone...."Is that the sound of a ring in Sweden?", I thought.
A voice came through, "Mattias."
"Mattias, I'm out in the street and I don't know which building you live in."
"YOU'RE HERE?!" he shouted.  "Yes. I can see you out the window! Lena's outside, I'll head down!"

Mattias and I

I was greeting with a huge hug.  We thanked Erik for all the help and he headed home.

Lena came up the sidewalk with their youngest son, Arvid and gave me a big hug.

I told them how glad and relieved I was to finally be with them.

"You can relax now, Joshua.  You're home now." Mattias said.

In front of Mattias and Lena's building