It was 163km of almost entirely gravel, with maybe 10-12km of tarmac and a few kilometres of single track.
The whole event was wonderfully organised with support cars and a couple of Fika (coffee, cake, sandwiches etc) stops. And at the end, lots of alcohol free beer and cider and meatballs and mash and a whole lot extra.
After the ride and the meal, I wandered down (a few hundred metres) from Fredenborgs Herrgård (the start and finish of the ride) to the lakeside sauna to relax. This was very welcome after the titanic effort in the saddle.
I only averaged 24kph. I was probably in the top third for the route, but I wasn't fast. There was 2400m of climbing and the average speed was reduced significantly by the fact that most of the descents were quite technical. You couldn't go full guns or you'd end up in a tree. I only had one sketchy traction moment where the front wheel slid, but it was otherwise fine.
I did gas myself on a long, steep climb 110km in. I didn't quite recover my lungs after that, and then to rub salt into the wound, I acquired a slow puncture at 125km that required me to pump it up 5 times before finishing.
It was a lovely day out. Outside of my comfort zone a little (I'm a roadie really) but a great experience. The weather was absolutely perfect (9-10c, gentle breeze, full sun) and we genuinely only saw 10-15 moving vehicles the entire way around.
Here are some photos from today:
The start.
A massive, 1000yr old oak called Kvilleken.
The second Fika stop.
The view coming into the final descent.
A well earned meal.
The sauna.
The lake was very refreshing!
