As I'm packing my stuff I wonder what to do with the extra sleeping pad. Although it is not very good, it is only two days old, and I don't want to throw it away. I leave it at the reception for anyone who might need it.
My first destination is Naturkompaniet, where I bought my new sleeping pad. I hope they can repair my broken tent pole. At first we try to replace the broken segment by a spare segment of a Hilleberg tent. That doesn't work, they won't fit together. The solution is to cut a complete Hilleberg tent pole to size, and use just the end-points of my old pole. They also give me a few segments, and another repair sleeve. All that only costs me 100 SKr for the kitty. Thank you, Naturkompaniet!
I still need some maps for the part of the NSCR from Göteborg to the norwegian border. The guys at Naturkompaniet tell me where to find a good book store. This is my next stop. I still find no dedicated cycle maps, so I buy the topographic maps I used for the first part in sweden.
Göteborg is very cycling-friendly, and has lots of cycle tracks. I still have some problems finding the right track to use to get out of Göteborg and back on the North Sea Cycle Route.
Once I have left the suburbs of Göteborg behind me, the landscape is very nice, but gets more and more hilly. Today I made a total of 872m of height difference. For a while the route follows the river Göta älv, away from the coast. It then crosses the hills towards Stenungsund, joining the coast again a few kilometers south of Stenungsund.
From here I cross over to the island if Tjörn. The view from the bridge is fantastic! The route over Tjörn, and the islands to the north, is one highlight if the swedish part of the NSCR!
From Tjörn I cross a bridge to the next island, Orust. Just behind the bridge is a rest place. It is already half past six, and I'm pretty beat. I make a long break, eating some of the bread I have left. I study the map and try to decide where to stay for the night. I finally settle on Stocken, which is still a ways off, but there is nothing nearby in my direction. It is past 7:30 as I get moving again.
I try to hurry, since I don't know how long the reception of the camping site is open, but I can only crawl along the road. It is nearly half past nine as I finally arrive in Stocken. The reception is still open, but the shop is just being closed. So much for a nice dinner... I still have a can of pea soup, that has to suffice.
I pitch my tent, and have a look around the camping site. It is completely enclosed by rocks and the sea. Down at the end is a restaurant. They have life music this evening. Eating at the restaurant is tempting, but I'm too tired, and don't want to sit there in my dirty biking clothes. And I hate eating in a restaurant alone. So I wander back to my tent, take a shower, and use the kitchen to warm the pea soup. As I lie in my sleeping bag I still hear the music from the restaurant.
