Erik Lindholm dreamed of taking a “big adventure” for much of his life, since he was a small boy growing up in Sweden, and last year he embarked on his most ambitious dream yet — to cycle around the world.
His cycling adventure brought him to Weyburn for a couple of days last week on his journey across Canada, and he shared some of his observations and experiences before he rode on his way southeast into the United States towards New York and home, back in Sweden.
The 31-year-old left his home in southern Sweden on May 10, 2017, and set off across Europe and Asia, arriving in Hong Kong in mid-January before flying over to Vancouver, beginning his journey across Canada, before he exited through North Portal shortly after leaving Weyburn on June 19.
“I’ve always dreamt of having a big adventure, ever since I was a little kid. What made me think about cycling was a book I read about a famous Swedish adventurer who cycled from Sweden to Mount Everest and then climbed it. I felt that was really cool,” said Lindholm.
In his teenage years, his dreams of an adventure developed, and he first attempted a long-distance ride in 2013 as he rode from his home to Oslo, Norway, which took him two and a half weeks, a distance of around 1,200 km. The following year, he decided to cycle to Gibraltar in southern Spain, a journey that he did in 50 days, then in 2015, he cycled to Istanbul, which took 55 days.
For his around-the-world journey, Lindholm has taken to “couch-surfing”, at least through North America, and at times he sleeps in a tent, although he avoids campsites for the most part.
One of his Weyburn hosts, Darcy Sidloski, has offered his home online to those interested in couch-surfing, and most of those who have dropped by for a place to stay for the night are usually long-distance cyclists.
“On the site, you can offer anything from a couch to a spare bed or a yard to set up a tent in,” said Sidloski.
In his journey through Asia, which took about eight months to complete, he didn’t use couch-surfing very much, but usually did wild camping, stopping once in a while in a hostel or a hotel so he could do laundry or get some rest.
“It’s very nice to meet people like Darcy and his family. I just enjoy the hospitality. Part of what I’ve enjoyed is the opportunity to get to know people from other cultures, and couch-surfing is a great way to do that,” said Lindholm.
Asked how he handled the many cultures and languages in Eastern Europe and Asia, such as in Kazakhstan and China, he said he made great use of his Google translator on his phone.
“The further east I went, the less people there were who were able to speak English,” said Lindholm. “When you’re already under pressure from all the challenges, it can be quite stressful, such as with the language barrier. When it comes to everyday simple communication, Google worked, and non-verbal communication was useful along the way.”
Some of the terrain on his journey has been a challenge to deal with, such as the desert in Kazakhstan, which he noted was actually quite beautiful in its own way, but at times got excruciatingly hot, in the 40-degree range.
“I had to keep cycling because of the time pressure with my visa,” he said, recalling his great relief when he was able to go into a town or a city and have a place in a hotel to rest up. He noted the time pressure was very noticeably absent once he got to Canada, and he has no worries about the length of time it will take him to ride across Canada and the U.S.
Lindholm said he rarely if ever has encountered any difficulties in crossing borders, and has never been robbed or threatened by a criminal.
His longest riding distance in Asia was 159 km, but on the Prairies he’s been able to cover the longest distances. On his first day riding on the Prairies, he covered 205 km, and after he was in Medicine Hat riding towards Moose Jaw, he was able to cover 227 km on one day with a tail-wind helping him along, compared to his daily average of around 90 km.
Once he is in the United States, his plan was to ride through Minneapolis and Chicago on the way to New York. He was then planning to fly to Amsterdam, and will bike from there up through Denmark and back up to his home in Sweden, estimating he could be there by some time in September.
“I look back on everything I’ve experienced in the last year, and it’s just been great,” said Lindholm. “When you’re cycling, there’s so much time when you reflect on things about your life. With all the situations I’ve been through, you grow confident in your own abilities.”
