My Newest Family Member!

^ Me unknowingly on my
way to spend 9.000SEK

Yes, today I bought a bike. So no, it's not about my seriously awesome niece Stella. Anyway, I biked to the bike store today and finally ended up with a bike. The bike looked and seamed great, and I'll post pictures tomorrow hopefully. I got it for 9.000SEK, and they even tossed in a rear carrier and bicycle bags for free! It was a bit more money than I had planned, but I ended up with a better bike and a sweeter deal than I had in mind, so all is well! Therefore I'd like to give another shoutout to Jarla Cykel & Sport for being very helpful in all of this. They've provided great, personal service and I appreciate that. Credit where credit is due!

Stella, my little niece!

The rest of the day I've spent preparing, and I'm starting to feel slightly pre-travel nervous. It feels like there are so many things to try to keep in mind, things to buy, things to prepare and many things are in fact very very important. There's such a huge risk of forgetting something crucial. But I picked up a few food & drink related items. Some self-heating lemon tea, crackers, dried nuts & berries etc. Just something to have in case of getting hungry without access to some decent place to eat.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll go pick her (The new bike) up, and will also check if they have some nice biking gloves, a helmet and preferably a lock to suit the value of the bike. Maybe I should investigate mudflaps as well. Also, I wonder how it'll work with keeping the bike from getting stolen. I guess we'll find out. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Finally!

Yay for summer \o/

Beautiful cemetery with loads of
flowers and trees everywhere!

Peace Out!

One step closer!

Yet another day close to leaving. It really can't come soon enough. Sadly, and surprisingly, still no news about what bike I'll be taking to Amsterdam. Isn't that something that should be figured out by now? I'm still not worried though, it'll be fine one way or another.

^ Me in my preferred environement!
(Was just getting boring without pictures)

Today I didn't get around to jogging due to rain for the majority of the day. And yes, I could definitely have ran in the rain if I felt like, but I'm guessing I'll be getting enough excercise in a few days. I should also probably start packing tomorrow, just so I can see if I have everything I need, and if I don't, then I'll still have a chance to get it sorted out.

And lastly, we're thinking of eating a fair bit of sushi (apparently), and therefore maybe we could do some ratings of the sushi places we happen to find, IF we happen to find any at all. I wonder if random sushi places in the middle of nowhere do "home" delivery.

Can't believe it was snowing
just like a month ago!

Also, remember the Spotify playlist! It's posted at the very bottom of the blog, along with all the other interesting information. Like the current location, the planned route, expenses and so forth. If you want to reach me, for whatever reason, I'd recommend sending an E-mail. It should be the surest way of getting a hold of me. Specially when we get out of Sweden, as I'm thinking about buying pre-paid mobile subcriptions, for avoiding ridiculous roaming charges.

Peace Out!

Just a quickie

Not a lot has happened today really. Went on a 16km bike ride which was nicer than the previous bicycle run into town. Managed to find a much better route this time, avoiding several stop lights and other "non-bike friendly" areas. Other than that there isn't much news concerning bikes, and it's starting to cut fairly close right about now. I'll have to sort that out within the next few days.

For the moment I'm tired and sporting a slight headache for the first time in a long time, so I'm off to bed!

Not long now.
Peace Out!

The Wait

About a week ago, I said I was ready to leave already, and that still applies. Now it just feels like waiting around for the time to leave. Which I guess is exactly what I'm doing. In any case, today I got hold of a massive hiking backpack which I hope will work wonders. But it's always very tough to know how it'll be to bike ~120km per day with a massive backpack on your back. There's still a slight chance I might get a hold of some bags for the bike, but I'm going to bring the backpack regardless. I also got to borrow a sleeping bag for the trip, and hopefully it'll be slightly better than the "barely warm enough for indoor sleeping" one I own myself.

Two laps around Råstasjön!

I rounded the day off with a double-lap around the nearby lake, and I even managed to hold considerably higher pace than I've ever managed before. This is specially nice considering that two weeks ago, I was just running one lap, and at a slower pace. But then again, I know for a fact that I am pushing myself harder now than I have before. But I guess that's positive as well? Still got to say, running during the night is great. You have the world for yourself!

I guess today's post won't be much more thrilling than this... Or wait! One more thing. Just for the sake of doing something that's fun, and most likely will fail. I've created a Spotify playlist for this trip! The playlist is open for collaboration, so I invite you to add whatever songs you feel like adding. What you add, is up to you, I only ask of you not to remove things from the list. I can't guarantee I'll listen to the playlist during biking, but I'll listen to it "at times", and specially if it turns out to be more than three songs stuck on repeat. Lastly, if you do not have Spotify, don't know how to use it, or simply don't give a damn, then you have my permission to ignore this entirely!

-> The Venture! <-

Peace out!

Why?

Today I decided to take it slow and relax, as I was still feeling a bit tense from yesterday's escapades. I decided to stick around at home, getting some mundane tasks, like dishes, out of the way. If all goes to plan, tomorrow I'll get a clearer view on what bike I'll be taking to Amsterdam. A bike will be sorted out one way or another.

I think I haven't mentioned why I'm actually doing this trip, only that I'm doing it, and pretty much everything else about it. Well, the short answer is: Because I was really really bored. And I mean that in a bit of a bigger sense. I felt like there was nothing going on in my life, at least in a positive enough direction. So I, from one minute to the next, decided that I was going to do something big. And it didn't even take me many minutes to decide on biking to Amsterdam. But then again, for the longer version, what would this kind of a venture be without the involvement of a "special lady"? Yes, a part of the reason, and specially the destination, is largely due to a person that has meant a lot to me for the past two years. If she decides on coming to meet up with me or not, is entirely up to her. Now she has a good enough reason!

The trip, however, is going to be awesome regardless of what happens! I do believe I'll enjoy the trip even if it lasts for just a week, and we don't even manage to get outside the borders of Sweden. Who knows, maybe it'd be a more interesting outcome for some entirely unexpected event to occur? Everything is left open, and I've even fully accepted the fact that I have no idea what is going to come out of this. I've never done this before, and even if I had, I'd have no idea what would happen. Good or bad, success or failure, I welcome it!

That is all, Peace Out!

T Minus 1 Week!

I'll begin by apologizing for there being no post yesterday. Believe it or not, it was entirely out of my hands. I was all prepared for a daily updated when the Blogger service went down for about 24 hours. I kept continuously checking if they had returned, but they didn't until late this evening. So, here goes, for two days!

Yesterday I finally got to go on my second 5km run, as it wasn't very successful the day before. But this time I got out a bit earlier in the evening and decided on taking the same route again. I even managed to take a few pictures, for those of you who have never come across a forest at night.

Looks quite nice, doesn't it? ^

River in the foggy field.
Kista Science Tower in the background!

 Another interesting thing that yesterday brought was the realization that not every country has "allemansrätten" (Freedom to Roam) as us Swedes know it. Apparently, in Germany you'll get fined for tenting/wandering on private property, and if you're unlucky enough, you could get shot by the land owner. That's something I hadn't even thought about. Then again, I hadn't really thought about it much to begin with. My plan was basically to sleep/tent wherever we happened to end up. This might be a good time to rethink that strategy and focus more on actual camping areas. Half of the trip, in Sweden, will still be free tenting wherever!

Hehe, I found Sepia on my phone!

As for today, I started the day off by biking 16,5km into the central parts of Stockholm. Quite enjoyable until I got into the central parts. I tell you, biking in a big city isn't very great. Specially not when it feels like the whole city is being worked on! There were construction sites everywhere, usually across most of the road, forcing cars and bikers into narrow passages with very limited visibility. Death was imminent! And on top of that, you have to stop for red lights every few minutes. That doesn't make for very enjoyable cycling. After checking on some of the average speeds for the trip, I think 15km/h won't be too far-fetched for when we get biking for real. I'm sure we'll find out in a week.

Biking outfit on a sunny day!
Also the new sunglasses.

 I finished the day off by running yet another 5km, this time on the rougher track which turned out to be... rougher. It's more vertical in both directions, both cases being demanding. It was also illuminated. In any case, it was nice with some change of scenery. As for the running, I'm not sure if I'm getting into better shape, or just pushing myself more, but it's starting to go better and better, even though it is exhausting. Just a week to go now, and hopefully I'll get new information about my bike issue this weekend! That's all for now.

Peace Out!

Powerful Experience

Today's post will be in a bit of a reversed chronological order. My plan, during the day, has been to go on another 5km jog towards the evening. But as I had many things to do during all of the day, it drew quite late. I decided to still go out, as I really enjoy the darkness. So peaceful, calm and desolate. Tonight, however, it was considerably darker than the last jog, which was had about two hours earlier in the evening. So I thought I'd take the illuminated route tonight. Upon arriving, by bike, to the jogging tracks, I found that all the lights had been turned off. I continued on and thought it would be just fine. I barely got to the forest before my heart started racing. I wasn't scared, else I wouldn't have gone there to begin with, but my body was obviously reacting to the pitch-black darkness in the forest. I could only vaguely make out the track I was running on, and I could just barely see some three meters or so into the forest.

I continued jogging, while the level of adrenaline rose, and fairly soon I had to pause my music and jog without them in, as I needed to have a bit better knowledge of my surroundings. But the thing is, the mind starts playing tricks on you when it's that dark. I began to slow down, and turned the jog into a walk, and I just took in all of my surroundings. Eyes starting to adjust to the darkness, you could hear everything going on, far into the forest, and I barely had to breath just so I could hear more of what was going on. There was movement all around me, the absolute majority of it being tiny beings, of whatever kind. I didn't actually see anything, as it was so dark, but I could clearly hear things moving everywhere. If you want to experience something very powerful, try this. I do believe many people have experienced these kinds of things themselves, I however doubt everyone would willingly put themselves into that situation. Being alone in the middle of a forest, at midnight. A very powerful experience indeed, and you can feel all your senses being on overdrive. I love these kinds of unexpected powerful moments. Sadly, and obviously, there won't be any picture of this.

Finally found a store that has them!

Donny, cheers for reminding me
of this awesomeness!

Now on to some more productive and jolly news. I managed to, after several hours of trying on clothes, decide on buying the wind-/waterproof set and the grey, thin, hoodie pictured in the first post. And following even more clothe trying, I picked up a pair of shorts, which I have to say is close to a first one for me. I'm not a "shorts kind of person". I just know I'll miss those shorts every single day of the trip if I wouldn't buy them. Additionally, I've arranged being able to borrow a sleeping bag for the trip. Things are certainly moving in the right direction! If I keep this up, this'll be a piece of cake!

Now time for some homemade hamburgers! Yum!

Peace out!

The Pressure is On

Delicious raspberries for 21SEK

Today's big task has been the bike issue. Surprisingly enough there has been some progress. Due to being in town for a business meeting, I decided to pay a visit to the nearby bike store, Jarla Cykel & Sport AB, down at Rådmansgatan 25, Stockholm. I enthusiastically told them about my plans of biking to Amsterdam and that I'm looking for a wide variety of items in relation to the trip, obviously most of all a bike. I was very impressed with the customer treatment I got, both from talking to a skilled floor-worker and even getting to talk to the store owner himself. I shall keep you updated on this progress.

I also managed to pick up a decent pair of sunglasses. First I went by a high-end sport optician that I had gotten recommended, the prices were out of my league and I had to move on after spending some time trying on several of the models they had. So I decided to go across the street to a cheaper chain and fairly instantly found a pair of glasses that were one tenth of the price and were strikingly similar to the high-quality glasses across the street. Of course I'm fully aware of the cheap glasses being of less quality, but in no way are they bad for the price asked, and I think they'll suit my needs just perfectly. If all goes wrong, it wasn't a big loss!

The day got rounded off with a nice pic-nic out in the park.

I feel that I have to start ramping it up and getting more things in order. Sure, I've managed to get many small, but important, things sorted out. I, however, still have to make sure some of the biggest issues be tended to. Bike, tent, sleeping bag, clothes and all that other stuff.

Peace Out!

Relaxing Preparations

Today was a very nice and relaxing day in many ways. The weather was amazing. I'd say it was probably as good as it gets for biking. Sunny, warm and slight wind to circulate the air. So in order to seize the day, I set out to get some stuff done, without really having any specific goal on what I was going to do. I jumped on my bike and began by visiting a bike store, mostly for talking to the store owner about various bike-related topics. Sadly he didn't really give much shine of enthusiasm, and went on to tell me he wasn't interested in upgrading my bike, that I shouldn't use it for the trip anyway (As it is sub-par), and that a new bike to fit my needs would be about 8.500SEK. Then we went on explaining that proper bike-bags would cost around 450SEK per side. That is quite a lot of money. I will have to think about how best to solve this.

After that I visited the first optician of the day, as I'm interested in buying a nice pair of sun glasses. They are supposed to act as the obvious sun prevention as well as hinder the predicted massive amount of airborn insects coming at me at 35km/h. So, the friendly, pregnant, clerk began showcasing some different sun glasses they had. She was surprisingly interested in my biking trip, as I quickly told her why I was in need of sunglasses, and that was a nice change from my previous clerk encounter. Anyway, in that store they had two cheap (Apparently from last season, so I guess all the fashionable bikers will laugh at my outness) glasses I liked, but then she told me I should really have polarized glasses, as they're oh so much better (And they are, I've tried some in the past). They, however, cost at least four times as much...

^ Omnom

After deciding on checking some other stores before deciding, I decided it was time for food. And this having been half the reason of the whole biking trip in the first place, I went to the nearby sushi place. I mean, what could be more delicious than semi-raw seafood eaten with sticks? Not a lot, I tell you!

After this I had a pretty interesting experience, which wasn't a first-timer. I think that's partially why I find these things to be interesting... As I was feeling as un-stressed as anyone possibly could, I decided to just stroll around in stores and see if I happen to see something I feel I might need. So I go into a store which has pretty much "anything" and casually walk zig-zag through the entire store. This, I soon found out, is apparently how you draw the attention of the store's one and only security guard. For the rest of my 20-25min stroll, I just happened to see him around every single corner in the big store. I was walking very slowly and there he was, casually shadowing me. I was very tempted to take a picture, just for the sake of it being quite cute, but I decided he might disapprove. I casually strolled out of the store and I'm guessing he was proud of successfully having stopped yet another shoplifter, or whatever his purpose was. Who knows, maybe he was just interested in my stunning good looks ^^

This was followed by a quick visit to another store where I picked up some various small items I needed, like a toothbrush, toothpaste and a tiny notebook for whatever I might want to take notes of. And then happened one of very few things that properly upset me. I was standing in the queue for paying, and a guy catches my eye. He is doing the casual fake clueless-stroll and glides in behind me in line. I could really see how clever he felt, and yet he was trying to keep up this facade of having been standing there as long as everyone else. So I take out my earphones, turn around and ask him if he thinks this queue-business is tough to understand. Obviously caught by surprise, as I was standing in front of him, and was in no way affected by his line-cutting, he mumbled something about lines and disappeared. As said, these are the things that rile me up. I do not mind that people try to find the quickest queue line, but why do people think it's okay to cut lines at the expense of others? I shall never understand that mentality.

At the second optician I found polarized glasses for basically the same price as the cheap glasses in the previous store, but of course they were considerably more ugly. So I basically get to choose between ugly but technically great, or comfortable, out of fashion, non-polarized glasses. I think I need a third option. This is my mission for tomorrow!

^Sporkness

The rest of the day continued in the same fashion and I enjoyed some nice soft-ice, bought some freshly squeezed apple juice and picked up two sporks. I'm guessing most people know what a spork is nowadays, but if you do not, it's the apex and culmination of human ingenuity! It's a spoon, fork and, believe it or not, knife all-in-one! Although, I guess they decided against calling it a Spforfe. I wonder why...

I have to say that I'm feeling upsettingly unstressed by this whole trip, even though I'm still clueless about some of the biggest preparations and amenities for the venture. I guess I'll just keep working at it, day by day, and we'll see how it goes! We all know that no matter how much or well I'd prepare, this is going to happen, and I'm going to realize everything I should have done and brought with me. I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it, simple as that!

Peace Out!

Milestone

So, today I decided to ramp up the preparation jogging to the next level. My usual jogging path is one lap around the nearby lake, and it tends to be quite a nice and comfortable length. You go through the whole spectrum of "Hah, this is easy as pie!", "Okay, I finally feel that I'm actually running!", "Pjuh, okay. Keep going!" and "Okay, I'm done. Just one third of the way to go". But it tends to feel just right.

Usual jog of about 2.1km

 Today however, as I said earlier, I decided to pick it up and the end result was about an hour consisting of biking, jogging 5,5km and then biking back home. I have to say it was surprisingly great. Those of you who know me, know that I enjoy jogging/being out at night, and today was no exception. I headed out at about 21 and was back home at around 22. And the track I ran, that was supposed to be 5km, instead of the actual 5,5km (Not that I mind), was not lit up. There was an illuminated track, but I instead chose this pitch black one, in the middle of the forest. And I loved it.

The 5km (5,5km) running track in Ursvik.

I even ended up seeing plenty of interesting things. Of course that depends on your definition of interesting, but in any case I ended up seeing plenty bats (Yes, those quick, black "birds" that fly at night, are bats, for those of you who hadn't really thought about it before), some places I hadn't visited before, and even close encounters with five deer. And that was due to actually being able to see those things, and because I was running in the dark. Towards the end of the track I got onto the illuminated part and in an instant it was like two black walls and a lit corridor you had to run through. Quite a downgrade if you ask me.

^ Jogging outfit

^ Non-jogging outfit

The jog ended up being strangely easy and enjoyable. It took me until I got home and sat down, that I felt that my legs were not really acting as they should. Nonetheless, it was not the last time I jogged that track, for sure!

This whole endeavour is starting to feel less and less crazy, and more realistic and about to happen. In the beginning I didn't care about if it was doable or not, I had just decided to do it, no matter what. Now I'm starting to to accept the fact that we might end the trip for whatever reason, but that we're going to do give it a serious, all-in try.

Still have plenty of very real issues to solve however. I, so far, have no idea what is going to take me to Amsterdam. I know that my current bike is in no condition to carry me half-way across Europe, so I'm left with three options. Either a possible "sponsored" bike will be available, I'll have to upgrade my current bike (Which I'm afraid might cost more than the whole bike), or I'll have to buy a new bike altogether. I guess we'll find out sooner or later.

Peace out!

The Gameplan

Starting to feel a bit restless. I guess ignorance is bliss, because I really can't wait to get this show on the road! I do not doubt for a second I'll be missing the comfortableness of just sitting at home. But right now I'm done preparing (Not technically though... I would probably die within a week if I had to leave today. Mostly due to the lack of decent breaks on my current bike), and I really just want to roll!

I've been working on the planned route and this is what it looks like. I was going to add "right now", but the map will, in fact, stay up to date and you'll see the most recent changes. However, I doubt there will be any more big changes made at this point. I already cut off a hundred kilometers or so today by fiddling around with some better routes.


View Planned Bicycle Trip.kmz in a larger map
The original idea was basically... "Stockholm to Netherlands", but then I had to accept the fact that Netherlands is a country, and it's probably a good idea to have some more precise destination. I guess Amsterdam will do. My sources tell me it should be a cool place to visit! Then again, this is not exactly going to be your ordinary tourist visit. Who knows, we might not even make it there. I'd give it a 50-50 at this point.

So, back to the map. As you can see, it's not exactly the most direct path, but I've chosen to prioritize routes close to the shore, as I think that might be more thrilling than hundreds upon hundreds of kilometers of Swedish primeval forests. Specially now that it's off-season for the polar bears.

^ Stupid enough to bike 2.000km

I also had planned to bike by Berlin, as it would have been quite cool to go Stockholm-Copenhagen-Berlin-Amsterdam, but I mean... Really? Look at the map and you'll realize that's not exactly the most direct route. And if you still think we should have done it, then by all means, by my guest and bike the 4-500 extra kilometers with all the paraphernalia.

Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Quite sweet that they're all part of Schengen. Should make for a considerably more comfortable transition between countries, and we don't even have to bring passports if we don't feel like. Yay for politics!

It might also be worth mentioning that this is the PLAN for the trip. This in no way means it's even remotely close to the end-result. I can't for the  love of me imagine what it's going to be like, being out on the roads a week into the trip. Hell, we might be saying "The hell, isn't that the same rock as yesterday? Screw this, lets take a train!". No shame in that I guess, an experience nonetheless!


I think I'm should be doing something more useful. How does one prepare for a trip like this? Half the fun is going to be when you're in the middle of nowhere, out of water, haven't eaten for days, the tent has scratch marks from hungry bears and you get that feeling of "How could we possibly NOT bring 'x'?" ('X' being everything I would have needed, but forgot/chose to leave at home "as I probably won't need it anyway")

And with that, I think I might actually go do something useful.

Peace Out!

Method to my Madness

So it is decided. On the 20th we've planned the get-go.

2.000.000 meters on bikes, give or take. That almost doesn't even sound as much as 2.000 kilometers. Neither of us has done anything like this before, nor do we have any idea if this is doable or not. Well, we know for a fact that this kind of thing is being done basically all the time, by others. But those others tend to know what they're doing, they tend to start off smaller, prepare for a long period of time and be sensible. That, however, is not how we roll.

^ Me

My name is Henrik Niku and I'm a Project Manager in Game Development. I'm 23 years old and I currently live by myself in Stockholm. You most likely know me already, else you probably wouldn't be here. Now that we've covered that, lets move on.

This is the travel blog for me and my partner in crime. Respect to her for being nutty as fruitcake, I mean it. Not everyone would have been ready and willing to drop everything...school, work, life... for the crazy spur-of-the-moment proposal I texted her one late evening. Now, however, it has been decided. We leave on the 20th, come hell or high water! (Terms and condition apply, like the fact that we might just as well leave on some other day, depending on circumstances)

Preparations are being had daily. This blog being one part of that. And on that note, let me introduce the blog. I have set out a few rules and guidelines for myself and for this blog:

1. Minimum of one blog post per day. Actually, preferably one post per day. Therefore the name "Dailies". In case of technical difficulties, I will make the post the following day.
2. The blog has a map showing the live progress and location of me, which hopefully will be the exact location of the both of us. If you need a reason: Because I think it's cool!
3. I will post as many interesting pictures as I can manage, be it a flat tire, a tent at a lake at sunset or what I look like after a day of biking in the rain.
4. I am, and will be, fully open with everything concerning me. However, I will do my best not to say more about others than I know and/or feel is okay by them.
5. Lastly, I will list all the expenses of the trip, mostly for my own use, but I guess it might be interesting to someone else as well.

The view from my bedroom window.

So, yesterday was the first day I was actually on a mission specifically for preparing. It ended with me buying an external battery pack for charging my Google Nexus S, who will be a big part of this Venture. The plan is to use her as GPS, E-mails, Blogging, Photos, Maps, looking up tickets for ferries and so forth. It is also the thing continuously transmitting our location, live, to the blog.

The coming two weeks will consist heavily of preparations, in all shapes and forms.
Here in the form of clothes being tried on:

Surprisingly comfortable hoodie

Five seconds before taking this picture,
the store shuts the lights off due to closing.
However, a nice rain-/windproof set.

Last but not least. I am not expecting or counting on getting feedback, but if you feel like you have something to say, by all means leave a comment on the blog or contact my directly @ Henriknik (at) hotmail dot com.

Peace out!