The joy of finding new trails. When it comes to riding your local trails some times you just pedal on with out thinking. You know what you get and don’t bother to try something new.
I recently discovered a sweet little area just a kilometer from my house. The nature preserve of Gammelstadsviken. When i was a kid we sometimes went here on school trips to watch birds in the spring. I kind of knew it was there but never explored it with the bike. The preserve or park is big and this year they put kilometers of board walks where the trail is to wet to walk or ride. It goes through marsh lands and a fairy like forest, technical trails with roots and boulder mixed up with great board walks.
I had the day off and packed up some food to go exploring. I’ve been riding here two times before but just shorter routs. We had a few days of rain but at lunch today the sun came out and it became the best day this far in August. Heading in to the forest after a rainy period is the best.
Having places like this just around the corner is a blessing. Late summer and autumn is the best time to ride, besides winter, not to warm, no mosquitos, and the air this time of year is so fresh.
Riding here is a responsibility, you have to stay at the trails, make fires just on the fire palaces but cycling i allowed. One might thing riding board walks is not mountain biking but it´s a relive after bouncing around on roots and rocks for long bits. Also sometimes they´re so over grow you can’t really see them.
The trail leads all the way to the old church town of Luleå called Gammelstads kyrkby the old town with hundreds of red and whit huts is one of the unique places here in Luleå. The farmers from villages around the area came here during church holidays and stays at the huts. It´s now on the Unesco World heritage list. The church dates back too the 15th century and ill guess some of the cabins too.
The preserve sign say there would be a trail back on the other side but i did not find it. My guess its a winter snow mobile trail. I need to check that when the snow comes.
And the bike, well, it´s still surprising me in its capability. The big test is up next weekend when we´re heading up to Björkliden and the big mountains on the border to Norway, way above the arctic circle.
Stay tuned…
Bike life in Swedish Lapland 