TRAVEL FEATURE - SWEDEN
ANDERS JÄLMSJÖ
AND JUST LIKE THAT WE WERE
BEST MATES
I
find it interesting that you can
connect with someone you never
met just by meeting on social
media. I suppose your values and
personality shines through more than
you think when you write a post on
the Horizons Unlimited Facebook
page. Someone likes what you write,
you reply, it goes on and before you
know it you have a friend on the
other side of the planet, someone
that you’ve never met.
It has happened to me on more
than one occasion, but the one guy I
need to tell you about took the step
and came to visit me.
He came so that we could ride
our motorcycles together, with me
showing him around the roads and
attractions Sweden has to offer. His
name is Stephen Baker and he’s from
the United Kingdom.
We’d been writing, back and forth,
for some time and the idea to ride
together had come up more than
once. Stephen had asked me for
tips on roads and sights for a trip
he planned to do in Sweden. I was
happy to help and sent over some
information, suggesting that I could
tag along for a few days or maybe
more. Stephen was all for this idea
and we managed to find a time frame
where we were both free.
To me, this was an opportunity to
show someone how great the riding
in Sweden can be; often when you see
a map that someone plans of a trip
through Scandinavia, Sweden seems
to be just a way to get to Norway.
In forums, people quite often
suggest to “rush through that boring
bit, Sweden, where there’s nothing to
see”.
Now, I agree that if you ride the E6
along the west coast to get to Norway,
the E4 through the central Sweden,
or the E22 along the east coast, then
Sweden offers next to nothing in the
line of adventure. Stray off the beaten
track though, and there are exciting
gravel roads zigzagging between
TRAVERSE 25