Day 10 – Riding to Leksand

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz - oh yeah!!  

we made it  - some of the way anyways :)

Mora's kyrke

Gold encrusted pulpit

gold encrusted bas relief - Last Supper

looking back to Mora

looks windy upstairs, what can that mean?

Locals swimming spot

Ragaman!

Russian influences maybe?

Welcome to Leksand

Kettle impression - in middle of Leksand

Midsummer pole - hard to get a clear perspective on the size of this...

only one on this church....

With only a 65km trip ahead of me today – I was a bit slow to get going!  Good breakfast as always in these Swedish hotels. 

Eventually Maggie and I headed off to finish post of the Vasaloppet – to update my photo from 2008.  This time Maggie had the starring role!  The church was open so we ducked in there for a quick look.  These Lutheran churches are much different that the Russian Orthodox.  For one, they haven’t been outlawed for nearly 70-80 years.  For another, they are in a wealthy country and it still appears that the rich keep trying to buy their way upstairs…  This church had a fair bit of gilt plastered around the place – on bas-relief pictures at the altar and around the pulpit.  The brass lamps glowed and the pipe organ had lots of pipes!  So all was well in Mora.

Maybe the Zorn Museet might be open to.  Anders Zorn is a very well-know Swedish artist and apparently he lived around here – anyways, he is buried in the church yard…  I do like his art, but it has a much heavier hand that Carl Larsson – tho they may have been practising at the same time.  But I was here to have a quick peek at the Rembrandt etchings.  Some looked familiar, so I think they were in the exhibition in Brisbane.  Most were really tiny and there were magnifying glasses next to the etching – but I didn’t really have time to get that close to them.  His famous etching – Self-portrait leaning on a stone still - was there, so that was good to see the actual, which is normally just in a book.

But let’s get this show on the ride.  I decided to ride along the western side of Siljan – the large lake spreads between Mora and Leksand and the main road is on the eastern side.  But I think I may have not have made the best decision.  I think it would have been possible to ride on smaller roads on the east.  But anyways, off we go…  we zinked onto the island,  Sollerön and I thought that maybe just behind the supermarket there would be access to the lakeside for a quiet lunch.  But I was wrong.  I followed a nice little road that looped around thru little farm villages, but where was the lake? 

Eventually the road got smaller and turned into a dirt road…  OK – lost again.  I asked a gentleman in his front yard and he advised me that it was just down around the corner and that it was very nice.  So, onwards and yes – here was a pontoon with a couple of women sunbathing.  So this is where the locals come!  I cleared a space on the sand and made myself some lunch.  Well that was an extra 5km I hadn’t planned on. 

On the way back, I took a left which brought me back to the main road and soon over the causeway back onto the mainland again.  There was a sign that there might be otters in the lake there, but try as I might, no otters were seen.  After Gesunda, the road got a tad boring…  Pine forest only and hardly any piping birds.  I had expected lake-side vistas, but it was hidden by the forest.  The wind kicked in now, mostly from the front and in some places it really channelled down the road, which quickly turns me in Cranky Chris!  So it was just pedalling along and not much to break it up.  There was an occasional summer cottage on the side of the road, but the traffic was fairly constant – coming in twos and threes – an occasional truck.  There were a couple of “Russian” drivers cutting back a tad too soon, so not my best day of riding.  But I guess that is what happens when you’re out pedalling along the road.  They can’t all be days like yesterday.

There was a big climb into Siljansnäs, which I was sure I couldn’t make, but head down and granny gear got us to the top!  I didn’t turn into the township as it was up again, so kept on around the corner to a nice parking space right by a causeway, so after that hill I needed a stop to recharge my batteries.  The wind was really ripping over the lake and flapping blue and gold pennants.  I decided that I would just get to Leksand and call it quits for the day, so into the saddle again and dash across the narrow bridge before there was any cars that wanted more than their share or the road.

As I was grinding up another hill, a car patiently waited behind me before there was a safe overtaking space.  The passenger waved at me and after a few puffs, I was able to wave back, to get another way from the driver too.  I think they might have been cyclists too and probably had ridden this road too.  It’s part of the cycle way – Siljan Runt – which just means Around Siljan…

Soon I was puffing up the last hill for the day, into Leksand.  There was a really nice ‘folk art’ centre-piece on the main roundabout and I turned towards the Centrum and found the Info bureau.  The very kind attendant, Stina tracked down a room for me and we booked it immediately.  The three hotels were either full or only their Suites were available…  so I have ended up in Paraden – a old house renovated into self-contained holiday units. It is very basic, but will do.  I think it’s a bit inflated tho – there is no old-world charm here – that’s all gone.  Ikea furniture of course, but nothing supplied – no linen, towels or liquid soap.  And you have to clean up after yourself, wipe, vacuum and mop or pay another $40 which would make it as expensive as the hotel room in Mora – only without the breakfast and linen or Balcony!  As this unit is right on ground level, I didn’t feel that safe with the main windows open, but there were smaller ones up high, but still the room was quite hot and stuffy.  

But after a long shower and my clothes washed, I went for a walk down town.  Found a supermarket and bought some food for an evening meal and also for breakfast and a bit more for lunch and wandered back to the room.  I found an arena – am guessing ice-hockey – a couple of churches and The Church – complete with an onion dome??  I will have a closer look at that on the way out of town tomorrow.  There was also an open air museum, but I was ready to get back to the room by now.  On the other side of the road was a natural formation, called a kettle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettle_(landform) – caused by a large area of ice that had been trapped under some ground during the end of the Ice Age.   Since 1939 it’s been used for the midsummer festival and the raising of the Midsummer Pole and it also serves as a great open air auditorium…  it was hard to get the size of it in a photo.  I was impressed anyways!

So back to my room – make some food, watched a bit of Swedish TV whilst down-loading gopro, photos and gps route.  Never ending hey!  Another thing to gripe about this place, was the lack of wifi..  surely in this day and age and the profit made here, they could manage that….

Oh well, it’s been a magic trip so far and I won’t let a day with head wind make me cranky for too long….  Besides there’s nothing to kick that won’t either break or hurt – so get over it J