The Essential Bike

The most essential item it appears you need in Linköping is a bicycle.

The distance to work, 4km is a little too short for catching the bus (30 mins minimum as the bus stop isn't all that close), and too far to walk, but a bike is just perfect. Fifteen minutes there each day, probably faster if I didn't have to lug my laptop there.

So last weekend I went out with the help of one of my Swedish colleagues to buy a bike. Of course it cost much much more than I had intended to spend, but given the way I ride a bike, (more than just commuting) a cheap one was really not going to cut it. It is a hybrid bike built in Germany and I really do like it (picture above).

Today I took it for a ride to the big lake Roxen just north of the town. Here is where the river that runs through Linköping meets the lake.

Here is a map of the route I took (from the GPS phone I was carrying). Also open this in Google Earth by clicking on this link.

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