Cycling training camps/holidays in Sweden?

[tenbikes]

What is the winter potential in your area: XC ski tracks, fat bike tracks??
I've done both in Norway and Finland but so far not Sweden .....

[Jon in Sweden]

Currently thinking seriously Sweden (Skane, Smaland, maybe further) for next year's summer hols, will check out your facebook page.

As others have said, getting there is a pain (I don't fly any more), but am now planning to do ferry to NL, IC train to Berlin, either cycle or train to Rostock (depends on time) then ferry to Ystad/Trelleborg, or possibly up to Nynäshamn. A reasonable and not too stressful trip with a nice break in Berlin.

I'm sorry, I'm unlikely to pay for an organised cycling holiday (I enjoy the planning bit, not to mention having the freedom to change my plans whilst underway and making use of the everymans' right to wild camp), but am always on the lookout for tips about where to go/avoid (I've heard the west coast is pretty full of tourists and cycle-tourists?), mapping (old-skool paper maps) options etc etc.

The most annoying bit about Sweden is SJ's (Swedish national rail) implacable hatred to bikes - this limits rail travel with bike to the southern counties. The second most annoying thing is that the (non-SJ) Berlin-Malmö/Stockholm sleeper doesn't take bikes any more.

Good luck with the idea!

G

Thanks for your interest. We're about 3.5hrs from Malmö, so not far up into Sweden.

I'm not planning to offer something that people have to pay extra for. I'd just be trying to match suitable accommodation with folk who want it, and offer affordable, reasonable quality bike hire too.

I didn't know that about the Swedish trains. That is a pain.

[Jon in Sweden]

What is the winter potential in your area: XC ski tracks, fat bike tracks??
I've done both in Norway and Finland but so far not Sweden .....

That is a good question. I honestly don't fully know. We have a 2.5km "elljusspor" (electric light track) in the village, with CC ski hire available.

I'm planning to cycle right through winter on my gravel bike. I have studded winter tyres ready to fit. It should be brilliant. We have a lot of deserted forest roads/tracks to go at.

[Jon in Sweden]

I've had a really good week's training here. Just under 300km and some of it very fast (for me).

The weather is utterly and completely boring at the moment. Grey with sunny intervals, minimal rain (except for one overnight dump of 16mm), minimal wind and 7-10c. Boring, but it has zero impact on my rides. The roads are completely clean and training is good fun. It's more than I could have said had I still been in Devon.

If anyone is interested in what I'm up to from a cycling perspective, here is my Strava profile:

https://www.strava.com/athletes/52082048

[Jdsk]

What is the winter potential in your area: XC ski tracks, fat bike tracks??
I've done both in Norway and Finland but so far not Sweden .....

That is a good question. I honestly don't fully know. We have a 2.5km "elljusspor" (electric light track) in the village, with CC ski hire available.
...

I've only been in that area in the winter. In 1984.

Lots of cross-country ski tracks. And beautiful.

Jonathan

[Galactic]

The most annoying bit about Sweden is SJ's (Swedish national rail) implacable hatred to bikes - this limits rail travel with bike to the southern counties. The second most annoying thing is that the (non-SJ) Berlin-Malmö/Stockholm sleeper doesn't take bikes any more.

Just to be clear - the trains in the southern counties of Sweden do mostly take bikes. It's perfectly possible to get your bike to Jon In Sweden's corner of Sweden - the easiest is probably the Oresundtag https://www.oresundstag.se/en from Copenhagen or Malmö - they have lines to Kalmar, Göteborg and Karlskrone.

So if you're thinking of taking Jon up on his offer and want to take your bike in an unpacked state, you can get there by train (eg ferry to NL, then Hamburg-Copenhagen-Kalmar, or via Berlin and ferry from Rostock or Sassnitz).

[foxyrider]

The most annoying bit about Sweden is SJ's (Swedish national rail) implacable hatred to bikes - this limits rail travel with bike to the southern counties. The second most annoying thing is that the (non-SJ) Berlin-Malmö/Stockholm sleeper doesn't take bikes any more.

Just to be clear - the trains in the southern counties of Sweden do mostly take bikes. It's perfectly possible to get your bike to Jon In Sweden's corner of Sweden - the easiest is probably the Oresundtag https://www.oresundstag.se/en from Copenhagen or Malmö - they have lines to Kalmar, Göteborg and Karlskrone.

So if you're thinking of taking Jon up on his offer and want to take your bike in an unpacked state, you can get there by train (eg ferry to NL, then Hamburg-Copenhagen-Kalmar, or via Berlin and ferry from Rostock or Sassnitz).

You don't need to go to Berlin for Rostock, you can easily get the hourly RE from Hamburg which is what i did to get the Trelleborg ferry. The Skabe local trains are modern and have plenty of bike capacity - even if its a little eccentric! The trains from Trelleborg (station is adhacent to the port) all go to Malmo where you can connect to services taking you across/up country, prices seemed to me to be quite reasonable, you do need a bike ticket tho'.

[Galactic]

You don't need to go to Berlin for Rostock

This is definitely the case - but it's not necessarily a longer journey (in terms of hours on the train and numbers of changes) and Berlin is a nice place to break overnight if you wish (Rostock is also nice, just different).

[mattheus]

Used to be easy to get to, Bergen boat then a decent train link to Sweden.

Hopefully with the urgent need to cut flights, we may see these ferries back.

Yes.

Sadly, destroying our planet (also the one that Swedes have to live in) is a bit more serious than being "not my cup of tea".

[Jon in Sweden]

Used to be easy to get to, Bergen boat then a decent train link to Sweden.

Hopefully with the urgent need to cut flights, we may see these ferries back.

Yes.

Sadly, destroying our planet (also the one that Swedes have to live in) is a bit more serious than being "not my cup of tea".

It's just an expression.

Given that the majority of people on this forum use cycling as a substitute for many or most car journeys, I think we can be cut a little more slack on the flying front.

I applaud anyone's efforts to reduce their environmental impact, but flying is still one of the main forms of transport for long distance, and one that most people will consider using. Hence why I brought it up.

[Dingdong]

I've had a really good week's training here. Just under 300km and some of it very fast (for me).

The weather is utterly and completely boring at the moment. Grey with sunny intervals, minimal rain (except for one overnight dump of 16mm), minimal wind and 7-10c. Boring, but it has zero impact on my rides. The roads are completely clean and training is good fun. It's more than I could have said had I still been in Devon.

If anyone is interested in what I'm up to from a cycling perspective, here is my Strava profile:

https://www.strava.com/athletes/52082048

I rode a few days last year in the Italian Alps with half a dozen Swedish cyclists. They had a large camper with all their bikes in a box at the back. I have never seen such a collection of posh bikes in all my days! From all out electronic group Bianchis to 15k electric bikes, it was quite a set up!

That said they were all really nice lads, and quite fit for their age (50+). We had a great time and as I headed off to the Lakes I was genuinely sorry to see them best off into France. They come to Southern Europe for the weather and the Tour. I guess with global heating Northern countries might become popular tourist locations again!

[mattheus]

Used to be easy to get to, Bergen boat then a decent train link to Sweden.

Hopefully with the urgent need to cut flights, we may see these ferries back.

Yes.

Sadly, destroying our planet (also the one that Swedes have to live in) is a bit more serious than being "not my cup of tea".

It's just an expression.

Given that the majority of people on this forum use cycling as a substitute for many or most car journeys, I think we can be cut a little more slack on the flying front.

I applaud anyone's efforts to reduce their environmental impact, but flying is still one of the main forms of transport for long distance, and one that most people will consider using. Hence why I brought it up.

Most people don't consider flying anywhere. And they don't travel long distance (at least not in the sense of a plane trip being feasible).

Of course I'm talking globally here - but then the effects of our flights ARE being felt globally, so that seems the right perspective to take.

[Galactic]

So if you're thinking of taking Jon up on his offer and want to take your bike in an unpacked state, you can get there by train

Completely forgot about the new night train from Hamburg to Stockholm. Nearest stop to Jon's neck of the woods is Alvesta (about an hour away), where the night train arrives at just after 6am. Return journey leaves at 9pm. So not too uncivilised. And yes, it takes bikes.

There are problems with getting rolling stock certified in Denmark at the moment, so there's only couchettes available - but that should be sorted in the next few weeks, providing both cheap seats (urgh!) and more expensive but comfortable sleepers. At some point the service should be extended to Brussels, making it easy to get to via Eurostar (if they ever start taking bikes again!).

[Cugel]

Given that the majority of people on this forum use cycling as a substitute for many or most car journeys, I think we can be cut a little more slack on the flying front.

I applaud anyone's efforts to reduce their environmental impact, but flying is still one of the main forms of transport for long distance, and one that most people will consider using. Hence why I brought it up.

"Most people" seem happy to continue on to the vast cliff of serious climate change no matter what. Flying is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emission, increasing the average contribution of a flying individual by a huge amount per flight. Very few flights are necessary. The vast majority are for some vacuous pleasure-of-the-moment.

Personally I find more than enough exciting and pleasurable cycling where I live and haven't travelled-to-cycle by any other means than riding the bike there and back since Mallorca training camps of the early 1990s. But if novelty-seekers feel a need to ride their bikes much farther away then they would be more considerate if they found means to get there other than the worst possible gas-guzzler of an aeroplane.

*********
We all have lots of bad consumer habits. It's easy to argue that we don't need to give them up "because no one else will". It's a poor argument. Very poor indeed, considering the consequences for our children ... and perhaps many of the younger element here. Maybe even the older element. Already, the floods, wildfires and other hugely damaging weather events are ramping up their energy levels.

Cugel

PS Yes, I still have some bad consumer habits myself but every month sees one small reduction or another in them. I last flew in an aeroplane in 2004.

[Galactic]

Given that the majority of people on this forum use cycling as a substitute for many or most car journeys, I think we can be cut a little more slack on the flying front.

We're encouraged to think that way, what with all the talk of 'offsetting' and 'net carbon', (not to mention the fact it's about 100 times easier to jump on a plane with our bikes than spend two days on ferries and trains with multiple tickets and changes). Nevertheless, doing less of 'bad' thing A (driving) doesn't give us the right (or an excuse) to engage in 'bad' thing B (flying once a year), particularly when a 'less bad' thing is available (train, ferry).

We might have got away with that if we'd started changing our economy 40 years ago when the writing on the wall was first visible to all. But we didn't, and short-haul flights (ie within Europe) are objectively one of the low hanging fruits when it comes to quickly reducing our emissions.