Fredrik, how did it go during the weekend?

“My weekend started in Hamburg on Saturday by lecturing at the ‘Globetrotter Testival,’ an outdoor festival. I was there to talk about my first trip in Sweden. I talked about Swedish nature and how it is to roller ski across Sweden. That was nice.”

“Then I took my roller skis, backpack, and gears and went South. On Monday 5, I had a great day with a tailwind and great weather.”

“Since Gunnar (photographer) left me, my best friend is Komoot, the app I use for my itineraries. I am preparing my route on Komoot the day before and will look at it about 200 times a day. Talk to him and listen and try to follow the instructions. I’ve switched from loving Gunnar to loving Komoot (laugh).”

“Even though I am really focused on my itinerary, I went on a motorway during the weekend and was on it for 4 km. It was a big road where people went really fast, so I was a bit scared. I think drivers passed me at more than 150km/h.” 

“I’ve also got pulled over by the police in Hamburg because I was on the same road as cars, and it’s not allowed. I had to go on the cycle path, but it was a cobbled road where it’s nearly impossible to double pole- I had to stop and walk for almost half an hour.”

“I don’t want to argue with the German Police, and I don’t want to be pulled off again, so I will try to avoid big cities and stay on the cycle path.” 

What does it change to be on your own now? 

“My photographer Gunnar returned to Sweden with the car, so now I have to be 100% independent. The major difference is regarding the equipment because before, I had the possibility to let some equipment in the car, but now, I have to have it with me.”

“I did serious packing before he left me to have everything I needed in the backpack. Now my backpack is really full and heavy: 17kg with water. It’s still less than on my first trip when I carried my tent and had 25kg on my back!”

“But I will now be alone for more or less 15 days. And I will always be alone so it will be a bit boring. Especially at dinner time. I am a bit diving into the phone and trying to follow things that happened.” 

“I really miss Gunnar; sharing what happened during the day with someone was nice. But he did a great job with me and took really nice films for the movie that will be released on January 2 in Stockholm.”  

How do you feel? Are you able to recover, or are you just feeling more and more tired? 

“I had a long, long day on Sunday with 96km in one push. Today I did 76km, but my back and shoulders are sore from carrying the backpack. Also, going 96 and 76km in a row makes me feel that my entire body is sore, to be honest.”

“Now I can feel that my body is tired. On Tuesday 6, I have planned to do 80km. I’ll be out for 10 hours. Trying to be focused all day long, so it’s hard, it’s a tough journey.” 

Where are you now, and what’s the plan for the coming week? 

“Yesterday, on Monday 6, I was in Bad Pyrmont, South of Hannover, which I left on Sunday. It’s a thermal city, and I was probably the youngest man in the city! I also tasted one of the best water of my entire life there. But trying to find my way out of Hanover was a really hard path.” 

“For the coming week, I will just go South and try to avoid big cities in the future. I think this is the key.”

Proxcskiing.com is following Erixon until the end of his journey. Stay tuned on Proxcskiing.com and Fredrik Erixon Instagram for more news!