My neighbours own the strangest bikes

Yeah, the two last pictures are of the same bike. And I'm sorry, neighbour, but this is probably the scruffiest bike I have ever seen. There is nothing attractive at all about this bike. On the other hand you'll probably get to keep your bike and I'll lose my bikes if there's a burglary in the bike storage. So... ugly bike, smart guy? Maybe time will tell.

But about the first bike: How can you even stay on that saddle?

Who are you calling an asshole?!

I rode past the spot where that guy had changed inner tubes, and left the old inner tube (with all the small parts) and the CO₂ refill, today. The stuff was gone.

So... I still think that you could change those CO₂ refills for a smaller pump, but if it was you who took care of the junk: That's cool. And then I shouldn't call you an asshole.

Loppis i Majorna

There was a second-hand market in Majorna - a district in Gothenburg - today. The market is every year, apparently, but it was the first time I visited it. (The last Sunday in May, from 11AM to 5PM.) It is huge, stretching out on several streets all over the district. And it's free as well - you just take what you want to sell out of your home and display it on the street. A great idea!

And this was today's find for me: A metallic light blue bottle cage for only 10 krona. A real bargain, if you ask me!

Hey asshole!

Not all assholes are motorists - some are actually bicyclists. Like this guy. Yes, I know there was a bicycle race today and that you were in a hurry to fix that flat tire but THAT SHIT IS ECOLOGICALLY HARMFUL AND SHOULDN'T BE LEFT ON THE ROAD! Just leaving your old inner tube and CO₂ refill lying by the road like that... that's not cool.

Besides: Compare this CO₂ refill with my pump. How much space do you save, compared to me? I have never had any problem having that pump with me in one of my back pockets. And that pump is REUSABLE.

So go to a bike shop, buy a small pump and STOP LEAVING LITTER!

(My pump compared to that CO₂ refill. I just couldn't leave it lying there by the road so I took it home. I left the old inner tube. Maybe I should have taken that home and recycled or reused it.)

Marisol, part 5 (Suck my chrome!)

The result:

How did I attach the metal emblem? I found three small screws that had the right diameter inside a detachable bicycle light and then spent an evening filing them to the right length. It was tedious work but in the end it was worth it.

The guys at Guson Industrier (or actually some smiths, or at least guys who "work with metal" that the guys at Guson Industrier know - I never did find out what they work with) also did a fantastic job with welding, repairing the seat stays. I really mean a fantastic job. It's as if that welded lock never was there.

So. Marisol. The final result. Although now I am thinking about replacing the saddle and the chain...

Why we ride

This

with this



in our earphones. (Gotta love Kylie.) We ride to explore. And because it's great!

Sign o' the Times

Hammarkullen is one of Gothenburg's districts or, if you will, suburbs. It is no secret that Hammarkullen is a bit from the centre of Gothenburg. Nine kilometres as the crow flies, 16 minutes by tram, and by bike... well, let's just say it takes either time, sweat or both. According to a bike route planner on internet it takes 51 minutes to ride from the centre of Gothenburg to Hammarkullen... and 34 minutes to ride from Hammarkullen to the centre of Gothenburg. So you get that there's quite a height difference - 10 to 95 metres, to be exact. And the way we recall it those 85 height metres come in halfway, so you get them compressed into four and a half kilometre. Hammarkullen is a bit from the centre of Gothenburg. But isn't Hammarkullen a part of Gothenburg? Not according to this bike way sign, that we found just on the outskirts of Hammarkullen.

It says "Göteborg" ("Gothenburg"), not "Göteborgs Centrum" ("Gothenburg's Centre") or even "Göteborg C" ("Gothenburg C"). What this sign really is saying is that you're no longer in the city. Which isn't really cool.