For the last few years, I’ve been participating in Aur Gotland, a self-supported gravel event run by friends Aron and Gustav on the island of Gotland off the east coast of Sweden. The event, now celebrating its 5th birthday, takes the small group of participants through the uniquely rural and coastal landscapes of an island that’s famous for its limestone formations and rugged vistas. The fact that it’s not a race, but rather a sociable event with a focus on camaraderie, good food and smashing rocky gravel roads and singletrack makes the three days of Aur Gotland a highlight of the year.
The 2021 edition was a bit different for me - being 20 weeks pregnant and about to embark on three consecutive days of gravel riding meant that I was feeling a little apprehensive!
How would it go? Would my body manage consecutive long days of gravel riding? Would I be able to go fast and keep up? Would there be enough snacks?! The questions were many!
The first day we headed up around the north of the island, from Visby to Gothem. Through high grass, over wooden bridges, across beaches and through the forest until we finally reached our destination – a Texan restaurant!
For the first day the group mostly stayed together and even though the pace was high, I had no problem keeping up. But if you are as nervous as I am when it comes to the fear of being short of snacks, I would recommend bringing some with you since you won't come across many shops along this route.
On the second day we rode all the way to the southernmost part of Gotland: Hoburgen. This was the longest of the three days and the island offered strong head winds the whole day – lucky us! Aside from a few, sadly unavoidable tarmac stretches, the route laid out for us was gorgeous, featuring tracks through the forest, up steep ridges, across beaches and through nature reserves leaving us with epic views of the unique costal landscape.
By now, we couldn’t hold back anymore and parked our bikes against the limestone formations and went for a swim. After lunch the group split up and we continued this stage at our own pace, some even taking shortcuts – I won’t be naming names, but it might have been me!
The third and last day we rode back to Visby to catch ferries back to the mainland. This route skirted back along the coast with a special lunch stop that turned out to be a vegetarian barbecue at Fröjel castle. I had not only survived last year’s Aur Gotland while pregnant but in three days I had made new and old friends, ridden on Gotland’s finest gravel, hiked my bike, and most importable, had fika.
I’ll be back in August 2022 and this time I’ll be bringing my baby!
You can find all the details for the Aur Gotland event (which takes place August 19-21) here
All photos courtesy of Johan Björklund/Velocio