Company from colleagues

 

Thursday afternoon was spent in Norrköping and the inauguration of the new office. More then 150 clients and colleagues in the sector showed up in an office situated in the middle of the Industrial heritage of the city with old factory buildings that have been refurbished for other purposes as education and offices. In the evening I took the train South to Kristianstad. It was very crowded and the reason was offcourse that all flights in the northern parts of Europe was on the ground.

On Friday morning at 7.30 the sun was shining when I started out North east and I passed some lovely spots like the Ivö and the Mörrum River, famous for it’s fishing. 3 colleagues from the Karlskrona office had planned to meet me at 12 in Ronneby so I thought I had plenty of time but after a closer acquaintance with an industrial rail in Karlshamn(resulting in a number of scrapes on arms and legs and only the 9 heaviest gears left) plus the fact that the road signs where telling me another story I realised when Anna called that I had done a detour of probably more then 20 km. Finally we found each other and I am very happy I got this company, otherwise I am not sure I would have made it to the office and the booked train. When writing this on Saturday morning Chris is still stuck in Stockholm but it looks like he will be able to start his journey back home tomorrow on land.

Next week will be a heavy one with cycling Tuesday- Friday. The question is if I will be able to fly to Munich on Monday, I doubt it. Another 155 km and 7 hours on the bike.

Finally a big thank to Anna, Kristina and Peter for joining me and a special thank to Peter that has already had my bike fixed.

Written on Sunday 18th of April

Cross the region of Skåne

I left home by 7.30 and could look forward to cross the region of Skåne from West to East during the day. The wind was in my favour and I started out through plains of the southern parts, a very rich farming land with the characteristics of numerous Churches as this was the sign of a wealthy countryside a couple of centuries ago. Today the demand for increased productivity is decreasing the numbers of farms growing bigger and bigger and the old farmhouses are now bought by people with jobs in town but also often with an interest for horses and riding.

After a couple of hours I reached the hills in the center of Skåne. Small lovely villages and some surprises as the GPS took me into small roads so I sometimes wondered if it was the right direction. But as long as I followed given directions it would take me back to civilisation again. Villages like Svenköp and Huaröd became new nice acquaintances.

After 4 hours I was running out of energy (I could feel the ride the day before) but was saved by a Grill in Everöd where I got me an hamburger and French fries that took me all the way to Kristianstad.  Kristianstad is placed in what is called the region of Snapphanar. In the 17^th century Skåne back and forth belonged to Denmark and a Snapphane was a swede  (you could debate if they at that time where Swedes or Danes) that supported the Danish King inn the war against Sweden. The city is actually situated below the sea level and at some point I was cycling at -5 meters.

I arrived to the office with about 20 employees and  held my presentation with a very good response. There where a lot of questions and fruitful discussions. In the afternoon I left the bike in the office and took the train back. Another 5 hours and 105 km on the bike behind me and now I will get some rest until next Friday before I continue.

Written on Friday 9^th of April 2010

Finally I am on the road after months of planning

Ready for the roadshow

Thursday 8th of April

This morning I started out early from my home in Löddeköpinge toward Malmö and the first presentation. It was a lovely morning with 4 degrees and the sun was shining. Perfect for cycling.

The first presentation is always a bit tricky, at least from a timing point of view but it went well and I timed the 90 minutes that was planned. After that I continued  up to Helsingborg, still in nice weather but not a clear sky and the best of all with the wind in the back. On my way I passed Glumslövs backar and at the top on a sunny day you will not only see the island Ven but also the coast of Denmark as you are well above the sea level. Today the visibility was less good.

Fairly early in Helsinborg I got to make some calls before the second presentation and the return back home. Not as pleasant as I was cycling against the wind in pouring rain for 2 hours. A bit of mental training for tomorrow ? I do not know but it is still raining. A long day from 7 to 7, 125 km and 5 hours on the bike and tomorrow I will head towards Kristianstad, another 100 km.

Written on Thurday the 8^th of April

Premiere for this year’s roadshow

It is time for me to take on the Swedish roads. This week I’ll try to bike two distances, next week one distance but in two weeks it will be even tougher – then I’ll will cover four distances in four days. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully I’ll make it from Malmö to Helsingborg on Thursday. See you!