Category: Reflection

I am a marathon runner – it is my super power

The world is changing and we have to change with it. If my job is the only thing I will lose during the coronavirus crisis I will indeed be happy. I’m more worried for friends and family – stay safe, please! This post is a tad bit personal and not so much about motorcycles, however motorcycles were what made me pack up and leave a secure and settled life in Sweden for the greater uncertainty of being an immigrant in a country where I could ride my bike every day throughout the year. We all make our choices and I live with mine, this is not to complain, rather to share my experience of two different crises, the Brexit vote and the coronavirus, on a personal level.

Our bikes outside our last house share in London, just before we left for good.

In June 2016 we left London. After spending nearly two years there, we packed and stored away our five boxes and went camping in Wales. Summer was going to be spent travelling and seeing friends and family and then we had our goal set for Japan. With my new English teaching certificate in hand, we were going to spend a few years there teaching and travelling. That did not happen. In our tent in Wales we read about the Brexit referendum and the horrible – and for us, totally unexpected – outcome. How would that affect us as a Swedish-British couple with plans of living and teaching in different countries both outside and within the EU? Impossible to foresee of course, but we needed time to think, some breathing space.

We were very excited when we finally reached the border to Scotland.
Up north we go, to contemplate our future.

When summer ended we were still travelling. I had covered large parts of Europe including the WIMA rally in Hungary. I had been camping and staying with friends and family but now it was time for us to reunite. As we went north up to Scotland, we were accepting that Japan was not going to happen this time. The future seemed too unsure and we aimed to go back to Spain instead, fearing that if we waited Christopher would not be able to. With Brexit done, he would not be able to benefit from European free movement. We had always imagined that Spain would be the place where we would settle, after living and experiencing other countries, it was going to be our place to grow old. Now we needed a change in mindset and a plan. We were fortunate to be able to housesit in England during autumn and halfway through winter, as Christopher took his driving licence for motorcycle with a local driving school. In January 2017 I took the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander and rode to Barcelona. Christopher followed by plane. The first month we stayed in hostels, renting bunkbeds to keep things cheap and looked for jobs. When I got my first teaching position we rented a room through AirBnB – the atmosphere in cheap hostels isn’t great if you want to be able to plan lessons and need good solid sleep. I was equally happy getting my first job as leaving it, I learned the hard way how horrible the working conditions can be in English academies and how poorly the teachers are sometimes treated. I moved on, found some different jobs, teaching at 3-4 different places trying to make ends meet on a very saturated market.

Out riding in Catalunya, there is so much to explore around here, all year round.

From this, I learned what I like and what I want and then I found a job which would allow me to take own responsibility in my classroom and grow as a teacher. I learned new skills and adapted my English teaching methods with my preschool teaching pedagogics – I am now teaching Swedish to all ages, which is so cool!

A month ago, we were literally on the verge of buying a flat here in our little village, feeling that we had finally come to a point when we both felt like we had found a place we want to call home and feel that we are well enough sustained to go ahead. We were looking at possible flats, and even a garage, hoping to be able to send for our 11 boxes that we had stored away five years ago when we left Madrid. The following week, Spain went into full lockdown and we were not able to even go out for a walk.

While I still have my job, but with reduced hours, the state of the global economy will hit businesses hard, especially companies that deal with the movement of people in Europe, and I have to be prepared for the worst. I need a Plan B and this time travelling is not an option.

This beach is 2 minutes from our flat and I walk along it everyday on my way to work.

How should I go on from this? The possibilities are endless if one wants to see it like that, but the risks are great as well. Should we stay here in this little village with hardly any employment possibilities within my field, or should we try and find another place to settle. I’m honestly tired of living in my bags and I would like to get my stuff; my books, my grandma’s plates, our Murano wine glasses and the quilted bedcover that my mum made for us.  This village is not perfect, but it has a lot of what I ask from a place to live, a friendly community, decent weather all year round and accessibility to culture as both Tarragona and Barcelona are within easy reach. I love running along the beach and going for a swim in the sea every weekend. I love our Friday tapas rounds and our weekly morning coffee reading poetry. My heart wants to stay but my mind says it might not be practical. I’m exploring possibilities for work and studies online. The options are many, should I educate myself further as a teacher of Swedish as a second language, although the market here is very small here for Swedish teachers, or should I continue my studies in English linguistics and enrol for a masters course. Should I start teaching English online? There seems to be a constant demand for online-teachers in China, but the paperwork is complicated in Spain. Or should I consider a permanent change or a temporary fixture? I work until mid-June, at the end of June our rental contract runs out – then we need to move on, both physically and mentally.

Pintxo Pote – the local Friday tapas event.

Nothing is ever impossible, but it might take longer than one would think, or even like. I’m a marathon runner and I have learned that half of the effort is mental, and that the strategy is to take things in small steps and create partial goals. When 42km is divided into legs of 5km, then it is only 8 parkruns and a bit to go until the finish line – and a parkrun is no problem to complete, right? My body might not be able to run marathons anymore, but my marathon mind-set is with me every day. As soon as I have decided my goal I will work towards it in small steps.

Finishing the Lisbon Marathon with Anneli.

Gloria

We were hit badly by the storm Gloria last week. There was massive material and natural destruction and people were killed, so I shouldn’t complain really as my only damage was a broken footpeg when my bike fell over. I was being a bit stupid as I had covered the bike for the rain, I thought it would be okay if I strapped the cover tightly around the bike, but alas, no. On Sunday night it blew over. Due to the rain and storm I had to wait until Saturday before I could open up the bike to check that the battery hadn’t leaked and that cooling water and oil levels were unchanged. And for the remaining days of the storm, I left the bike uncovered and hoped that the heavy rains wouldn’t cause problems with the electrics or anything else.

It is always interesting doing these kinds of chores on a busy street, I did get some strange looks and, in addition, an offer of help from a fellow biker living nearby. The new footpeg was ordered from Motor Works England – I couldn’t find a secondhand one in Spain. It arrived quickly and I love the treats that they added to the parcel.

And life moves on

As summer continues here in Sweden, my Versys is stored away in Spain together with five boxes containing our possessions and I’m prepping my “new” Swedish registered bike. It is a 2002 BMW F650GS. The very same model I rode in Australia a few years back for the WIMA rally. But the history of me and BMW goes back further than that. I was actually close to getting a BMW years back when I instead got my second Ducati – I test rode a BMW Scarver and my brother was cheering me on wanting me to buy it. I wasn’t ready then, and I would even own a third Ducati before I again contemplated the purchase of a BMW.

The same year my brother died, 2005, I rode a BMW GS in New Zealand and absolutely hated it. My friend and I had both rented a GS and when hers broke down and she got a replacement Honda Transalp that she couldn’t reach the ground on I was happy to swap bikes. But life changes and so does one’s needs and likes. When I at last prepared to leave the Ducati world, the GS was back on my shortlist, along with the Suzuki V-Strom and the Kawasaki Versys. The vote fell on the Versys, as a secondhand GS was more expensive than a new Versys with cases and the V-Strom felt too bulky.

So finally, I’ve gotten myself the bike that I crossed path with so many times and I must say I love it, it is an absolute delight to ride, so light and easy to handle and the engine is so responsive. The engine runs so much smoother than the Versys and the weight distribution is so much better. I wish my brother could see me now.

My Versys was bought with panniers and top case, the only thing I had to sort out was the tank bag. My GS has a small top case and nothing else, so I’m busy getting stuff sorted. I would be happy travelling with just a pack roll if it wasn’t that I will be picking up Christopher and he’ll be pillion for part of the journey. Therefore, I needed to source out panniers for the bike, and to fit panniers I need pannier racks.

The amount of time that has gone in to searching for “the right” panniers and other equipment is ridiculous. In the end, the challenged proved to be the pannier rack, which not only is ridiculously expensive – 3795sek or roughly 400 euros for just the rack if I would order from Touratech! Besides, they have a 3-month delivery time. Instead, I sourced the pannier rack from SW Moto and ordered from Polo Motorrad – the cost was half the price. However, when, after some days, I called asking after the delivery date as they had not provided any, I was told they had a 3 weeks waiting time before they would get the rack into stock, that would be after I’d started travelling.  Following this, I found a Swedish company who would sell the rack and deliver within 10 days, so I bought it from them paying 2750sek.  The rack from the Swedish company has not arrived and no new delivery date has been given, in the meantime Polo has shipped my rack and with a little bit of luck it will arrive tomorrow so I can mount it on the bike. Fingers crossed… I was going to arrange for them to be sent along my route but they shipped much earlier than expected. The panniers themselves are yellow waterproof soft bags from Nelson Riggs and I’m really eager to put them on.

The tank bag is another story. I generally don’t want to spend money on a fantastic tank bag as it could easily get stolen, so I’d rather buy a cheap one no-one is interested in. I have purchased a large tank bag from Biltema for very low cost and I re-constructed it to fit the tank which is made of plastic. All I needed to do was to attach straps to the bag and remove the magnets.

Along with the pannier racks, I’m also awaiting the RAM mount for my phone. It seems impossible to ride while reading maps and street signs after being accustomed to following the GPS – for good and for bad, it saves so much time and effort.

Anything else, yeah, right, my tablet died – but I have ordered one to be picked up at an electronic store along the route.