On our bikes for a scenic sensation

WITH a bump, my bike jolts from the smoothness of the asphalt to the loose gravel of the forest track, as the endless rows of tall pine trees throw a cooling shade over the track in front of me.

But the rougher surface doesn’t deter my guide, one of Sweden’s leading professional sports cyclists Eric Sjoberg, as he stands up on his pedals and picks up the pace.

Kilometre after kilometre of tracks takes us deep into the endless forests of Smaland, punctuated with small isolated farming communities made up of traditional deep red wooden cottages, occasionally flying the sky blue and sunshine yellow of the Swedish flag.

Vast areas of forest, open meadows and barely any crowds have attracted both road and mountain cyclists to the area, where many new bike routes have been set out. We slow down for a railway crossing and break out of the shadow of the forest into the bright late-summer sunshine, and return to the roads as we turn a corner to find another of the many lakes that dot the region.

Thankfully, overlooking the sparkling water is our half-way lunch stop in Bunn, where I happily devour a club sandwich - followed by waffles.

We had set off from the historic castle hotel Vastana Manor in Granna, heading along the edge of the vast Lake Vattern - the scene of the world’s largest bike event, which sees 23,000 people taking on the challenge of cycling the 300km around its shores.

But during our four-hour ride to the regional capital of Jonkoping, we only see a handful of cyclists and cars. This leaves us free to enjoy the roads which sweep over the undulating hills in peace. Eric tells me: “We call this area Sweden’s Tuscany,” and he’s right it feels just like that, only without the Italian drivers...

As we begin a fine descent into Huskvarna, Eric signals for us to turn left and back up yet another not so undulating hill. Ater this final climb, we join an enjoyable curving corkscrew of a road, which takes us all the way to the foot of the driveway of my hotel for the night the grand but quirky Slottsvillan, the former director’s home of the Husqvarna lawnmower company.

After a welcome night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, Eric has carefully plotted a route once again traversing the pine forests to the homely Wallby Sateri hotel in Vetlanda. We arrive just as the rest of my group are heading to the lake to catch crayfish for the traditional crayfish party.

After a shower and a change into warmer clothing, I climb into the rowing boat and we fetch nets used to collect small fish for bait.

This leaves us one last Swedish experience: the sauna. Having just rowed out on the lake, the last thing I imagine doing is swimming in it. But after 10 minutes of steadily getting hotter and hotter, redder and redder in the 80 degree sauna with a window overlooking the lake, I’m ready to run along the short pier and dive-bomb into its chilly waters.

The shock of the cold is only momentary and gives way to a deep feeling of relaxation.

Time for dinner and our host Magnus hands us a paper bib and party hat as we sit down at a table laden with delicacies for our crayfish party, a popular celebration in the late summer months.

Thanks to all the cycling, my ravenous appetite sends me back for second and third helpings of the glorious cheese pie, before indulging in the rich chocolate mud pie dessert, which all sets me up to surrender gratefully to my bed to recover from my weekend in the saddle.