Friends Fika and Fatbike Tour

During our stay in Northern Europe, we visited a travel blogger conference in Stockholm. On this occasion, Visit Lulea and Swedish Lapland organized a multi-day excursion to the north of Sweden, to Lulea including a Fatbike tour.

Lulea is approx. 110 km south of the northern polar circle at the muzzle of the Lule to the Gulf of Bothnia. The municipality of Lulea has about 78,000 inhabitants.

Friends Fika and Food Restaurant

After a short tour around Lulea and the check-in at the Clarion Hotel Sense, we should strengthen ourselves with some food.

The Friends Fika and Food restaurant lies in the pedestrian zone and has its own bakery. A nice place for a coffee or a lunch break during shopping or a stroll through the city.

Here we have the chance to learn more about the members of our travel group and the travel guides for this day, Fredrik and Camilla.

After we have chosen our meal, we intensify the information exchange. Fredrik, one of the travel guides, sits at our table. He tells us about the Swedes and that at least half of the Swedes have a boat to explore the skerries or the archipelago.

We then reply: the other half has a camping bus or caravan. Laughing, he agreed. Later he tells us that he also runs a lodge, the Aurora Safari Camp. He got the idea during his travels in Africa.

Fatbike Tour

After the meal, which by the way tasted very good, we go to Ouroboros Lulea. They offer tours and bikes.

But these are no ordinary bicycles but Fatbikes. Fatbikes are bicycles with a light frame and extra wide tires. Eric Schlemme and Susanne Törnlind, the two owners, expect us already.

After a short introduction, one adjusts the seats individually in the height and we are ready to go.

Olov, a savvy cyclist, as well as Eric and Susanne accompany us. First, we ride on a trail through a park to get the right feeling for the fat bikes.

After a short time, we arrive at the skatepark where Olov shows us a few of his tricks.

In the further course, we pass by the steelworks in Lulea and get a little idea of ​​the importance of the steel industry and ore mining in Sweden.

At a resting place by the sea, a tomcat welcomes every single of us and gets a caress of everybody.

From here we have a beautiful view of the archipelago in front of Lulea.

Eric tells us that the bay is completely frozen in the winter. Then it is a paradise for ice hikers and skaters.

It is also not quite harmless, though. In a case of a sudden incidence of fog, one can easily get lost on the ice surface.

A typical Swedish workers’ housing estate is attached to the factory premises. Each cottage has its own garden and fits idyllically into the landscape.

We cross a forest until it goes downhill again. Three of Sweden’s largest icebreakers lie on a quayside. In winter, they are indispensable for navigation in these latitudes.

Olov shows again a few tricks on the Fatbike. A few meters away we enjoy the skyline of Lulea. Along the shore, through green vegetation, we drive to the other side of the peninsula where Lulea is located on. Here we arrive at a dreamlike sandy beach.

We feel almost like in the Caribbean. The clear air of the north makes the colors appear splendid in sunlight.

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Olov demonstrates the ride with the Fatbike through the sand and the water. It gets clear to us that this fat bike is also suitable for a bicycle tour through the snow in the winter.
On the way back, we pass some noble villas and watch the fish sale directly from the boat to the end customer. Fish can not be fresher.

After we arrive a little exhausted at the starting point, Susanne serves us a coffee. In a small round, we reflect our experience once again.

Please read on > Dinner at Restaurant CG and Midnight Sun

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Disclosure: Thanks to Visit Luleå for the invitation and Ouroboros Cykel & Yoga for the nice tour. All views and opinions are our own and not influenced by the invitation!

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