I had promised Stephen something
special to finish this day and as
we parked outside the Husqvarna
Museum, I could tell he was excited,
obviously in his own calm, stoic way.
Here was the entire history of
one of the most famous motorcycle
brands, a brand that had taken riders
like Håkan Carlqvist, Dick Burleson,
Daniel Sanders and many more to the
top of the podium.
Most motorcyclists are aware
that Husqvarna has produced some
spectacular bikes, but I’m guessing
few know of the other products that
have left the assembly lines in this
Swedish factory.
As Stephen and I walk through
the museum we find hunting rifles,
woodburning stoves, pots and
pans, refrigerators. We realised
that Husqvarna has basically
single handily made it possible for
Swedes to avoid starvation. They’ve
also made vacuum cleaners, lawn
mowers, sewing machines and
everything else a suburban family
need to survive. Obviously, we
paid most attention to the part of
the museum with the motorcycle
exhibits, yet it was interesting to
learn so much about the company.
We were now heading south, and it
was time to try to find a camp site.
We headed off the main road and
followed a small gravel road toward
what looked like an open field next to
a lake. On the way we passed a farm
where some men were out in the yard
working with a tractor. I stopped
and asked them if they were ok with
us pitching our tents in the field and
they said they had no problem with
that however, they were going to let
the cows out there later that night.
“But I have another idea for you
guys,” one of them said.
“Follow this track down here, cross
that open field, and through that
wooded area, “he continued. “On
the other side you will find a small
peninsula sticking out in the lake.
That should be a good place for you
TRAVERSE 30