Winter is coming to Luleå. We´re in for six months of snow and ice. But there is still a few days of autumn left. We´re finally getting temperatures below freezing during the nights to remind us whats coming. The days are getting shorter but nothing beats the clear crispy autumn air.
I had a day off and everything just lined up for a perfect day of riding. Low tides, dead calm, bright sun. Since it was a Wednesday finding a trail buddy is quite hard. My dear friend Fredrik were supposed to join me but he stayed in due to a cold.
On days like this it´s all about riding shore lines or if possible get out on an island. When water levels are this low Sandön is truly the place to be. This has become one of my favorite places up here and i go here as often as i can. It´s just a canal that separates Sandön from main land, Anders dingy helps me to get across.
Sandön is huge and to day i was going to try to get around the whole island. Since my last ride here with Fatbikeadventures.se i kind of know my way around.
This place offers big variations on the riding but when water levels are low and the sea is calm it´s the beaches on the outside and the dried seabed that makes me tick.
When i left home in the morning the thermometer said -4 Celsius and i had to scrape the frost of the windshield of my car. We only had a few frost nights so far. Today the temp would not go much higher, still the sun warms the air during the day. But in the shade the frost kept its grip. I cracked through a thin ice layer in some of the bays even on the south side.
Days like these are rare. This year we had very few times when the water level´s been under average. Since the whole southeast side of Sandön is shores and very shallow water it becomes an amazing moon like landscape on days like this. It´s possible to ride hundreds of meters out on the seabed. I had my lunch on a flat stone that usually is complete under water.
Since we don´t have real tides here the water level can stay like this for weeks. The sea level is controlled by air pressure, wind and during spring melting water from the mountains.
A ship passing through the canal on its way to Viktoria Harbor. Luleå has a long tradition of shipping due to the steelworks and ore trains from the mines in the mountains.
After going all the way around the outer skirts of Sandön i end up at the seaside resort Klubbviken. An amazing place, full of life during summer. Cabins for rent, restaurant, shores, summer guests, playground, locals and tourists playing in the sand, Klubbviken got it all you can even rent a fatty and go for a spin. But now it´s all closed for the season. I love to visit places like this off-season. It is something beautiful with a place full of life that´s fallen asleep till next season.
Last time Anders showed me some of the best single track i have ever ridden on local trails. Somewhere in the woods there is a ridge with a crazy trail going all the way down to the sea. I did not find it this time. But hey, that´s an excuse to return. The lost trail will be found, there is still time, winter is coming but not quite yet.
Here is the route. Total of 37.2 kilometers. (Yes i´m on Strava, it´s just a phase)
https://www.strava.com/activities/742354386
Bike life in Swedish Lapland 
Nice B&W pics Olov
Thanks mate 🙂