Bill McInerney gets a bike wash in Lapland
photos by Marianne McInerney
This summer Bill and Marianne McInerney mountain biked in Malå, Lapland, in Northern Sweden, 200 km. south of the Arctic circle. The good news was that they had plenty of daylight for their ride, as the sun didn't set until 11:30 p.m. and rose again before 2 a.m. The bad news was that millions of mosquitoes were enjoying the warm summer day's sunshine and billowing clouds. Following a route suggested by Marianne's brother Anders, Bill and Marianne rode the 40 pound bikes they had borrowed on a paved road for about 10km then took off on a coarse, rough, gravel road for another 8km. How rough was it? Marianne found that the two bananas in the front basket on her bike had liquefied. Along with berry pickers looking for cloudberries, a Lap delicacy, they saw 5-6 reindeer, but no Santa. According to Anders' directions, they had to bush-whack cross county for only 100m and then cross a creek. Bill and Marianne pushed, pulled, and carried their bikes through some shallow water and thick underbrush until they again heard running water. It was then that they realized that they were on an island The water was deep and fast. Bill, being a gentleman, let Marianne go first. The rocks were slippery, and with hub-deep water, the McInernies found a new easy way to wash a bike chain. [see pix] They then crossed some marshland where they picked and ate cloudberries. They eventually found a snowmobile track that led to a dirt road that led them to the road home, where brother Anders, wondering where they had gotten to, met them in his car. Marrianne advises any who plan mountain biking adventures in Lapland to bring a towel and plenty of bug repellent.
Yes, Virginia, those really are raindeer!