The weather yesterday was rather gloomy and it seemed to be drizzling intermittently, but I thought my family and I could head over to the canal locks at Berg (Bergs slussar) and probably grab a coffee/ice-cream at the cafe by the canal. Having driven and parked, I took with me my 24” unicycle, to try and get in some little riding as Shruti and Pranav stretched their legs for a bit. When we arrived there though, we realized that it was both windy and drizzling, so Shruti actually wanted to head right back into the car, but Pranav seemed rather keen on seeing the water. Since the water wasn’t at all far, we decided to head there and then turn back.

The drizzle got lighter and we got to the canal locks, and realized that the cafe had still not opened for the season just yet. Pranav and Shruti took a short walk along the canal and I rode for a little bit. The 24” felt so reassuring on the gravel that I was able to ride in a very relaxed manner. I realized then that I should probably come back after lunch and ride along the canal on my 29-er.

I even pulled out my phone and shot a short video clip

We clicked this picture, and went back home. After lunch, I drove back to Bergs slussar, with my 29-er in the boot. I’d attempted the ride along the canal on my 29-er, back in February of 2021, but the sharp gravel there had proved to be too much for the skinny road tire the uni had been shipped with, and I’d picked up a flat and had had to take the bus back home. Shortly after that, I switched to the tougher 29x2.60 Schwalbe Smart Sam tire, which I’d since then used on gravel, mud, snow, and even patches of ice, without any issues.

The gravel was as bad as I could remember, but I discovered that my gravel skills had improved quite a bit. My posture too was much better, and I could ride with both hands on the handlebar. In the past, I’ve ridden with a rather stiff upper body, which has caused back pain, but this time around, I was far more relaxed, which meant that I rode better, and my back felt better. I couldn’t push very hard on the gravel, but I was able to maintain a steady pace and I only needed to get down a couple of times when the path became very steep, next to the canal locks. There were two narrow ruts/tracks made by bicyclists on either side of the not-very-wide path along the canal, and these tracks had lot lesser gravel. I practiced riding on the tracks and going from one side to the other, crossing the extra-gravelly bits, and it was both fun and a nice learning experience. I first passed the Brunnby gates, and then the Heda gates. The Google maps car seems to have gotten thus far along, so we get to see this section on Street View

I then passed over the bridge across Ljung, aka Ljungsbro, the brigde that gives the name to the local district. It was right around here that I’d experienced the flat on my ride there in February of 2021, but this time, it was just a smooth crossing for me. I made it past the west bridge across Ljung and finally to Sjöbacka bridge.

At the Sjöbacka bridge, I decided that I would turn around and head back. The weather and light were still fairly good, and my legs too felt good, but I was a bit concerned about the ride back, particularly if the camber and gravel would be more challenging on the way back. I’d ridden close to 12 km, so I’d have ridden around 24 km when I reached the start point, and that was pretty okay by me. The time was 1710 hours and I’d ridden for just under an hour and a half, and I’d need at least the same riding back, so it seemed a good time to turn around. The ride back was uneventful, barring for a powerful gust of wind that I couldn’t compensate adequately for, so I ended up with a UPD. I didn’t quite manage to clear the pedals completely as I hopped off in a hurry, and so ended up with two snake-fang like pedal-bites in my right foot, a bit over my ankles. My knees too began to complain a bit, so I decided to not push too hard, and instead rode more conservatively while trying to be more efficient, so the pace didn’t drop off too much. The strategy worked, and I reached the start point by 1830 hours.

The ride was over and I was now back in Berg, by the locks, a little tired, but very happy. I was really glad that I didn’t get put off by the weather and had ventured out, for it had not rained on the ride at all. As I loaded the uni back into the car and drove towards home, I realized that it had probably been drizzling lightly all the time, but the tree cover along the canal had mostly kept me dry. I now look forward to heading back there and riding all the way to Borensberg and back, which would net me a 43 km round trip. As long as it’s not too windy, it should be a nice ride.

Here’s the Strava link to the ride.