Utö, Sverige

Continuing towards Stockholm we made a stop on the island of Utö in the Stockholm archipelago. Utö is a summer holiday destination and while we’d arrived at the end of the season there were still bikes to ride! Questions, questions, questions… Did I want one with a front basket or not? Did I want gears or not? The gears sounded good (although they were hub gears and turned out to be largely useless) and I had no need of the basket as I had left the heavy, bulky Nikon on the ship. Anyway off I went to see what I could see, first stop was an old iron-ore mine (now filled with water) and then down a gravel road towards the 18th century windmill.
The ride was pleasant until a hill cut it short. Not that the hill itself was a problem but destroying the hub brake going down it was a problem, especially when the temporary repair failed and that broke the gears too. I was a bit concerned about making it back in time for the last Zodiac but when I caught up with one of the groups on a nature walk I knew I was safe. The rental place wasn’t at all concerned when I returned their broken bike, it was the end of the season and they have a hard life. I think that a mountain bike would have been more suitable on the gravel roads than the city bike but I got a ride in which made a change from all the city walks!