Day 14: Ramsjo to Hermanboda Vindskydd - Racpat Scandinavia and the Baltics 2024 - CycleBlaze

July 15, 2024

Day 14: Ramsjo to Hermanboda Vindskydd

Shifting plans

“Where are you from?” the lady asks as she is getting her bike. We’ve stopped in Ange at the ICA store for food for today and tomorrow. “Where are you going?” Patrick tells her the Northkapp and we are from the United States. Our plan to have lunch in Ange at the Thai buffet fell through, the restaurant is closed on Mondays. So now we rethink the plan for lunch and dinner.

We are on the road earlier than planned just because. The goal for tonight is another hiking shelter, so the only reason to rush would be to get to the shelter before the forecasted thunderstorms late afternoon. The road continues as yesterday with long gradual hills for the first part, then closer to Ange the road levels out a bit.

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At about 30km there is supposed to be a Circle K store, but we only find a gas station a few km further. There is a bit of a convenience store, and we have a pastry and coffee. This is what we have been missing so far on the tour…the frequent possible stops at cafes or stores. 

  Patrick checks messages, and Anders has referred us to a person in Ange who is willing to host us. That would be great especially if the thunderstorms do materialize.

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As we get closer to Ange, Patrick checks again. There is another message from the host in Ange regretting that he has sick children and will not be able to have us. He did suggest another hostel, but we decide to keep to the original plan of camping at the Hermanboda Vindskydd hiking shelter. We first stop at a Gulf gas station to fill our bottles and bladder with water. Then at the ICA, we’ve decided to pick up a fried chicken and more bread and cheese for sandwiches and not bother to try to cook tonight especially since the clean-up will be with limited water.

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We go past the junction to Ostersund a few more kilometers and find the dirt side road where the shelter is located. Patrick sees the hiking trail and stops to scout out the shelter and how to get to it. We push up one bike at a time a few hundred meters on a rough trail through the forest. The shelter is big, but also has two big picnic tablets inside. There is no flat land around to pitch the tent, we are on a hillside. So we move one table mostly out of the shelter making room for the tent. 

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Patrick spends the rest of the afternoon fielding texts from local reporters. Probably because of Anders’s facebook message there are two reporters, on from the local paper in Sundsvall, one from a local radio station that want to talk to us. We text back and forth, and finally disclose our camping location. They better be bringing beer if they show-up this evening….. We’ll see, on will now meet us here tomorrow morning at 7:30, the other is still unsure.

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Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 601 km (373 miles)

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