The first time I went touring was in the summer of 1980. I was just 17 years old and got this idea of biking from the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic. I had a good bike at the time, with a whopping five gears, and got myself some rear pannier bags and off I went biking, heading north from Örnsköldsvik where we lived at the time. First to Umeå, then along what is known as the Blue Road that goes all the way to Mo i Rana in Norway. I remember dipping my feet in the Atlantic, staying an extra night in Mo before I headed south along the main E6 road that goes along all of Norway. I carried with me my tent, sleeping bag, etc, and still did about 170 km some days. I didn’t rest enough, so after I turned east into Sweden again I called my parents from a telephone booth and begged them to pick me up. This was long before mobile phones, so I bet my parents were worried sick for their teenage son.
Tour details (grading from 1 to 5)
- Time of year: May to September
- Difficulty: 2 (across the mountain range to Norway is a 3)
- Duration: 7 days
- Scenery: 3
Credit Card Bike Touring 