What we’re about
Cycling in Stockholm organizes events to have fun together, getting some exercise, sharing tips and exploring new surroundings. Mostly on Saturdays and Sundays. We focus on the surroundings of Stockholm, mostly nearby pendeltåg (commuter trains where you can transport your bike). Contact me if you have tips for routes or want to co-organize!
Events are categorized into:
(a) road cycling events 40-80 km at high tempo,
(b) road cycling for beginners 30-40 km at high/moderate tempo,
(c) social cycling 20-40 km at slow tempo,
(d) mountain bike trails and gravel 20-40 km at slow tempo.
Suggested equipment:
* a suitable bike to each type of event,
* a repair kit and a pump,
* water and snacks,
* a rain jacket ):*
* your good mood.
We usually stop midway at a café for something to eat and a chance to chat with each other.
Compulsory reading:
Bring a bike suitable for each event: I will indicate whether a road racing bike, a cyclocross, a mountain bike, or a commuter/hybrid bike, is best suited for a specific event. City rental bikes and foldable bikes are not suitable for any event. We will usually ride partly on uneven surface and gravel roads (except for pure racer events).
If you sign up for an event, you are expected to participate. The following three rules are simple and clear:
1) Please do not sign up only to sign off the event just because you prioritize something else - you actually block someone else's participation.
2) Please do not skip the event without notifying me. "NO SHOW" behaviour affects everybody else in the group, because we will stand there waiting for you at the time of the event. NO SHOW is always registered and reported to Meetup. If a member performs two NO SHOWS, I reserve the right to terminate her/his membership of the group and report the member to Meetup.
3) ***** Please note that participants take part in events at their own responsibility and risk.*****
That's all the boring reading! Let's have fun!
Cycling is regulated through Trafikförordning (1998:1276)
Explanations on the regulation can be found at Cykelfrämjandet:
http://cykelframjandet.se/darfor-cykel/lagar-och-regler/
PENDELTÅG:
Many events depart from a railway station - here's a summary of the rules for bringing bikes onboard the pendeltåg (commuter train):
* Bikes can be brought on pendeltåget on Sat and Sun. Mon-Fre only during low traffic (not 06-09h and 15-18h).
* You cannot enter or exit at station Stockholm City with a bike - use another station.
* At Odenplan, you can enter via entrance Vanadisvägen (not entrance Odenplan).
* Use elevators, not escalators, to transport the bike.
Official information: https://sl.se/sv/info/resa/regler/cykel/
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Weekend trip to Åland (cycling and camping).Södra Station, Stockholm
Weekend trip to Åland (cycling and camping).
Mats and I would like to invite you to join a trip to the Åland islands during the last weekend in July. From Friday the 25th to Sunday the 27th. We’ll catch Viking Grace at 7:45 from Stockholm and arrive 5,5 hours later in Mariehamn, the only town on Åland. 48 hours after arrival, at 14:25 on Sunday, we will board Viking Glory in Mariehamn and arrive back in Stockholm at 18:55.
Booking International:
Cost with bike: 55 euro
Cost without bike: 37 euroBooking Swedish:
Cost with bike: 440 kronor
Cost without bike: 260 kronor
Everyone needs to book their own trip, and we should book regular traffic, not cruise.As you can see, booking through the Swedish site is cheaper, given that you become a member of the Viking Club, which is free.
Bringing your bike costs extra, but if you don’t, you’ll need to rent a bike in Mariehamn. And I've heard the bikes you rent are bad, so it's not an option I recommend. And since we’re staying two days, bringing our own bikes will be a lot cheaper. I will bring my own bike and carry the tent on my backpack.
We’ll meet outside Södra station, exit Swedenborgsgatan, at 6:20. The reason for meeting so early is that we need to be at the ferry in good time before departure. And the reason for meeting at Södra station is that we can get there with our bikes on the train, and cycle together from there to the ferry (10 minutes). For those without a bike that plan to rent on Åland there’s a bus that leaves at 6:23 (bus 55) and stops at Londonviadukten, which is a 10 minute walk to the ferry, past some traffic lights. If you miss this bus, there will be other ones, and you’ll probably still make it in time, but it will be more stressful.
Those of us that cycle to the ferry enter it with the cars. Those that will rent will enter with others that go by foot. So we’ll meet again on the ferry in the buffet restaurant Aurora on deck 10 in the front. The faster we are, the better tables/views we will get. There’s other restaurants on the ferry, but Mats recommends the buffet, and that’s what I’ll be having. The menu is available on the website.
The ferry will cruise through the beautiful Stockholm archipelago for about three hours, cross the open sea for an hour and approach Mariehamn for another hour.
I (Jimmy) will be the organizer of this trip, and you can contact me if you have any questions. But I have not been on Åland before, so once we get there, Mats will be our guide. He lives on Åland and the plan is to camp on the lawn close to his house located 30 km north of Mariehamn. If the weather is great, we might camp on the flat rocks in front of his cabin on a small island, only reachable by a small boat (the harbour is about 40 km north of Mariehamn), from Saturday to Sunday. Some will then be able to sleep in the cabin. How many tents is needed will depend on how many we are.
On Friday we might cycle to Järsö south of Mariehamn (20 km return) or visit the windjammer Pommern. In the evening KAJ ("Bara bada bastu") will perform at the Rockoff-festival. A free of charge concert will also be on in Mariehamn (with a lot of different artists, for example Benjamin Ingrosso and Tommy Körberg). Sooner or later we’ll cycle from Mariehamn to Mats house. The group will decide what we do.
On Saturday we’ll go for a longer tour across Åland. We will not cycle fast, this is a sight-seeing trip. Three potential stops are:
Saltvik Viking-market (only this weekend, https://fibula.ax/viking-market/schedule_svm/),
Kastelholm Castle (guided tour in English at 14.00),
Bomarsund Fortress ruins and its Visitors Center (arguably the best way to catch up on Åland history).On Sunday we start cycling towards Mariehamn and have breakfast and make some other stops on the way.
This is our "fine weather-plan". If it rains it might change. After all, this is a cycling and camping event.Please only sign up if you seriously consider joining. This trip requires that you book ferry tickets in advance, bring or rent a bicycle and camp in your own tent for two nights.
Approximate distances on our bikes:
Friday: 30 km (Mariehamn to house),
Saturday 40 km (or more, depending on what we choose to do, sightseeing)
Sunday: 30-40 km (house/cabin to Mariehamn).
So in total at least 100 km and a maximum of 140.Food:
There’s several restaurants on the ferries. When we leave Stockholm Mats recommends the buffet that starts at 7:45. So no need to eat before boarding the ferry. There’s also several restaurants on Åland which we might stop to eat at during our travels there. It’s of course also an option to bring your own food, or buy something simple in a supermarket, which I might do since I’m vegan and unsure of the options in random restaurants. But there is plenty of options for all on the buffets on the ferries. The menus are available on Viking Line’s website.Everything can be booked at:
https://www.vikingline.com/find-your-trip/trips-for-individuals/
To rent a bike in Mariehamn:
https://www.rono.ax/en/pleasant-leisure-time (English)
https://www.vikingline.se/destinationer/aland/boka-utflykter/cykelpaket/hyr-en-cykel/ (Swedish)About Mariehamn:
A picturesque little town with 12 000 inhabitants, two harbours, hiking trails, restaurants, cafes, night clubs and shopping.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MariehamnMuseums in Mariehamn:
Pommern, a four-masted windjammer which operated on the grain trade route between Australia and England during the interwar years:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pommern_(ship)
Maritime Museum, in 2016 crowned "Museum of the Year" in Finland.
Cultural History Museum of Åland.
Åland Islands Art Museum.About Åland:
7 000 islands, 30 000 inhabitants, demilitarized, autonomous, own flag, own stamps, own number plates, the only official language is Swedish but it's part of Finland (so uses Euro and is on Finnish time one hour ahead of Sweden), pre-covid in 2019 more than 2 million visited.About Viking Grace:
Entered traffic 2013
Length: 218 m
Passenger capacity: 2 800
Powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas)
5 restaurants and cafes
5 bars and night clubs
Tax-free, spa, sauna...
https://www.sales.vikingline.com/find-trip/our-ships/viking-grace/About Viking Glory:
Entered traffic 2022
9% larger than Grace
Similar facilities as Grace plus a rooftop terrace. And an even nicer spa.
https://www.sales.vikingline.com/find-trip/our-ships/viking-glory/When we get back to Stockholm, I will lead those who want to go back to Södra station and take the train from there. But everyone is free to leave the group earlier if that’s more convenient.
