The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Copenhagen to Gothenburg

August 11th to August 26th

Ride Director: Albert Balingit
Ride Co-Director: Jacquolyn Duerr
Ride Driver: Sue Bunten
Report by: Nancy Prall

In Copenhagen 70% of the residents ride bikes and the infrastructure supporting cyclists is unmatched! We began our tour at the most well known site in Denmark, on the canal of Nyhavn, Copenhagen. Our cycling opened with a ride through some of the city sights with a local guide and shop owner,  Birger, who rented quality gravel road bikes and e-bikes to several in the group. 

The next day we rode to Roskilde to visit the one-of-a-kind Viking Ship museum and then enjoyed a very informative private guided tour of the Roskilde Cathedral learning the history of the cathedral as well as the Danish Royal lineage interned in the many elaborate sarcophagi. 

A ride about Amager island rounded out our Copenhagen days. So much to see and do in Copenhagen. Many took canal boat tours, visited the castle or history and art museums, or just enjoyed the design, architecture, monuments and parks on strolls or rides through the city. 

Even the rain did not dampen our spirits or appetites as we enjoyed our lovely group dinner at a restaurant in Tivoli Gardens, the world’s second oldest amusement park. 

We bid farewell to Copenhagen and rode on to Helsinger to board the 20 minute ferry to Helsingborg Sweden. This was the start point for our spectacular tour on the Kattegattledn coastal bicycle trail to Göteborg. 

The next several days were breathtaking rides from Helsingborg to Ängelholm, Båstad, Halmsted, Falkenburg, Varberg, Kungsbacka and Göteborg. Our ride along the coast included seaside sand dunes as well as large craggy rock scapes, an abundance of wild roses and rose hips. We cycled through charming fishing villages, pastures with cows, horses and sheep, beautiful flower gardens and crop fields of potatoes, onions, corn and grains and occasionally a trail would leave the coast, turn to gravel and go through a lovely heather lined forest route. As the Swedish do, we said “Hey, Hey” to passing cyclists. Stops included the always sought after coffee and pastry cafe or ice cream shop, picnics near a vineyard or overlooking the coastline, but also visits to Sofiero Palace, Norrvikens Trädgärdar Garden,  Leholm Square and Varberg Fortress. 

Distances averaged 32 miles, climbs were infrequent and the road surface was mostly paved and very good with an occasional gravel segment. 

After our group dinner in Halmstad we met Äse, who is part of the Kattegattledn Trail Commission. Äse gave a short informative talk about the Kattegattledn Trail and also treated us to  a fun, short lesson on Swedish language pronunciation. 

Lodging on the tour was wonderful, often with canal, seaside and city views or even a beachside patio. 

The group dinners featured local sourced fish and potatoes and of course Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce. On other evenings local restaurants were plentiful with a variety of offerings for any palate. 

The last days of our tour included a guided bike/ferry tour from Göteborg to Strysö and Donsö islands and a guided walking tour of Göteborg. 

After rental bikes were picked up and bike boxes dropped off, we finished our final group dinner with fond farewells to new found friends and voiced hopes of riding together again.