Bikepacking on a Brompton - Sweden - 5 gorgeous wild camps, &what it's like when I can't find a spot

[@fujifatbike5793]

This is just pure dead brilliant and fascinating. You have a very calm demeanor which makes your videos so relaxing to watch. Love that Maja Stina's mom treated her equally as her brothers. You are a superstar!

[@susannathornton]

Hello! Oh thank you so much! yeh it was lovely to find that little note, that her mother's last will was that Maja Stina should be treated the same as her brothers. I've read quite a lot of these kind of docs when researching my husband's family, and this is the only time I saw something like that. I really liked it too. Thanks for writing!

[@robertlovejoy]

What a journey, through the countryside as well as through time. I do think that having a destination or mission, or just something special to explore, really helps in creating these journeys. And exploring back through time, then ending in Norrköping, seemed amazing and perfect. As always, thank you for taking us all along...

[@susannathornton]

Hi Robert! Thank you so much for this really thoughtful comment. I was away on another trip so didn't reply before. Yes I love it when a journey is a kind of treasure hunt, looking for places that are the settings for stories, and and tracing the lives of people who lived in a landscape in the past. It makes me kind of know the people a bit better, and understand the landscape a bit better too. And on a bike, I always feel that I get a far better sense of a place than if I did the same thing in a car, say. Thanks for writing!

[@davidlittle7182]

Being a very leisurely cyclist, living in Solna, I really enjoyed this Susanna. Especially with the family story. I'm cycling to Norrtälje and beyond this Wednesday and will remember this video

[@vanessajones9455]

Hi Susanna, thanks for posting this, it's perfect timing as it's 8:30am here in Australia, your coming out of Covid restrictions and we're still in lockdown here in Sydney, So I will go grab a morning cuppa & nestle in to watch your half hour show! 👍👍

[@threedot141]

Hi Susanna, thanks for the nice video. Greetings from another Australian in a Sydney lockdown. Thanks for entertaining us! I really enjoy your pace of cycling and your beautiful camping spots.

[@craiglouw4057]

We are on the Gold Coast .. longing to head to Europe on our Bromptons 👍

[@gowesbrompton7816]

hear hear! enjoying this ride from Melbourne too :)

[@BromptonTraveler]

Loved the video Susanna! Sometimes those good spots take a lot of effort to find! Look forward to touring Sweden too one day and will know whom to ask!

[@albin2232]

You make wonderful videos 😀 Best Wishes from Colin in Edinburgh 🖐

[@DaveGoodman1959]

Such a lovely film Susanna full of interest and emotion. You certainly did your reserch and thanks for sharing it with us. ❤🏕

[@susannathornton]

Hi Dave! Thanks for watching! Glad you liked the film!

[@thomani9]

So interesting to follow your journey. Using aspects of family history as inspiration is a great idea for constructing a cycling trip 👌

[@susannathornton]

Hi thomani! thanks for writing! glad you enjoyed it! yeh I love researching people's stories and then going to see what the places are like they lived... I did a similar ride also in England - tracing a story my grandmother had told me, about her grandfather, years ago. I found the whole thing really moving. If you want to see that film it is here kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWrYZZaIg9iKl8k Anyway! there you go! I love this kind of thing! Thanks for watching!

[@thomani9]

@@susannathornton thanks for letting me know about this other video too. I also love things like this and watching other people's cycling trips for inspiration. I cycled around Skåne 2 years ago and loved every minute. The memory of this has never left me. It was that Swedish connection that helped me come across your videos first, although I'm from Britain too, Wales in fact, so now I'm catching up on your adventures in the UK too 👍

[@algernon9324]

This video has so many wonderful layers to it, the eccentricity of bike packing on a Brompton, the adventure of camping in the most remote - Blair witch project - type setting you could find and finally the wonderful details of the times and places your husband ancestors lived in. A fabulous piece of work. Thank you.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Algernon! Thanks for the super lovely comment! omg Blair Witch project now I feel scared thinking about that wood haha. Thanks for watching!

[@vernonosier6610]

all your presentations are excellent, this one was incredible! thank you.

[@sw8536]

I'm late to the party! Just now watched. It was wonderfully interesting! You showed me, by speed of bike, a part of the world I would never have gotten to see otherwise, with a fair bit of local history too. You are so easy going about bugs, failed campsites, and hot days. And tough too, this was a long trip! How fun to have a husband from Sweden! I hope you had a wonderful summer and thank you so much for the adventures you shared with us. I appreciate them greatly. 😊

[@susannathornton]

Hi S W! Thanks for writing! I really appreciate your thoughtful comments. Now it's me late to the party, writing back. About being relaxed about bugs and whatnot, yeh, well, of course sometimes things get me down, like on that ride from London to Stockport there was a moment when I got a bit downhearted. It was raining and freezing cold and I had got myself really wet and made a pigs ear of setting up my tent. But 99% of the time I just feel glad, and lucky, that I am still alive and out & about, and capable of doing this kind of thing. I think that before getting ill, I was already a fairly positive and easygoing person, but cancer dials the whole thing up, definitely. Grateful for small things - which are of course not small at all, actually. Hope you had a wonderful summer too! And a wonderful autumn coming up now! Best wishes!

[@stephencifka4629]

Thank you for these lovely videos. They reveal the art of treasuring being present, and taking the time to connect.

[@susannathornton]

Aw thanks for the lovely comment Stephen. You put it so nicely x

[@stephencifka4629]

@@susannathornton The appreciation is well deserved, Susanna. I know it takes a lot of work to shoot, edit and publish your videos. We all benefit from what you are creating. It's such an important reminder of community and the power of making plans.

[@geoffbrompton822]

This is better than a lot of stuff on TV ! Just waiting for the covid to settle then the brommie and I are off Sweden !

[@eisvogel8099]

It's actually like riding along with you. The cuckoo, a bird of prey...all these sounds make a mind come to rest. Like the sereen landscapes en lakes reflecting the sky, thank you and your loyal old(?) Brompton for sharing your tour. The history for sure makes it even more interesting too. To know that it was around the same time of the french revolution someway is intriguing.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Eis Vogel! Thanks so much for the lovely comment! Glad you enjoyed the films. About the natural sounds, yes I like trying to record the sounds that I hear, and then put them into the films. It is actually quite hard to do it well. I am trying to learn how to do it better. About history, yes I really like thinking about the people who lived in the landscapes in the past. It adds another dimension, and I love it. Thanks for watching!

[@ianjenkins8058]

Thank you for another fabulous video - really inspiring. I note your Brompton is now a six speed....

[@ved.perkashsharma7453]

I saw..journey China to London.. Thank you for sharing very personal journey and giving it a fantastic ' northern edge...'

[@BrianthatiscalledBrian]

I'm in the process of searching my ancestry at the moment. It's fascinating what you learn about your past and the people in it that you've never met or even heard of. Thanks for the video, Susanna. 🙂👍🚴‍♂️🏕️

[@onekensakebook2967]

I've entertained your touring video to the full! Sweden has just listed on my MUST GO list, thanks.

[@vickypedias]

Susanna I love your videos, you are such an inspiration. I am getting ready to do my first really long tour- EuroVelo 15, from Den Haag to Lake Toma, on my Brompton! I can't wait :D

[@susannathornton]

Oh that sounds fantastic Vickypedias, hope you have a great time

[@jellyartist]

Thanks, Susanna. really enjoyed this. Were there really so few cars? It looks so quiet and beautiful. A painter’s paradise. Also very interesting old photos of family and folk. As a portrait painter I love to see the likenesses and regional (and historic) ‘looks’. Great to see more people are watching too. Testament to your film making and content.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Vin! Thanks for the lovely comment! Yes about the lanes, there really are very few cars on those lanes. Even what we would call B roads are mostly quiet. Massive timber lorries whanging through occasionally, and some big tractors, but then just nothing. Yes I love to look at people in old photos. Actually one of the faces in the long family photo - the lad at the end of the row actually - looks so like my husband as a boy it's uncanny. Thanks for watching! Hope you had a good summer!

[@jellyartist]

@@susannathornton Hi Susanna - Yes it’s been a bit mad. Just getting my daughter ready to take to Oxford uni and hoping we can get enough diesel to get her there!. I’ve been watching Ed Pratt unicycling round the world. What an amazing young chap he is. Very good watching if you have time. I’ve been doing a bit of main road commuting this week and I’d forgotten how close some cars come! You have to keep on your toes. take care and can’t wait for your next adventure.

[@susannathornton]

Oh good luck to your daughter at Oxford. So exciting! I hope she has a fantastic time! Next film is almost ready... It's about a ride I did with an old schoolfriend, in Hampshire/Wiltshire/Somerset - not quite your neck of the woods, but nearly. I also just did a couple of adventures in Ireland, so then there are Irish films coming soon too. It's been a brilliant summer actually, so lucky. Thanks for writing! Keep safe Vin! Happy cycling!

[@davidhale1568]

Once again a charming video. Malaria was also common in the south of England around that time, it's suspected that one particularly harsh winter altered the breeding conditions for the mosquito 🦟. I seen you adopted the two cloth pegs atko door stop method! I never thought of South Sweden as a cycling destination before looks worth a trip. 😊

[@susannathornton]

Hi Dave! thanks for watchinig! oh that's interesting that there was also malaria in Britain then. They called it "August fever" in the parish documents I used. The summer that Maja Stina died there were quite a few other people in the surrounding hamlets who died of malaria too, all within a few days of each other, in August. Must have been so frightening for all the villagers, when you think about it. About the clothes pegs, actually the Akto has those toggle things, which seem to work fine. I use the clothes pegs for pegging out clothes and things, either on the brake cables during the day, or at a camp spot along a guy rope, or along a little clothes line I have rigged inside the tent. The inner tent has got three nice little loops in the ceiling, which seem to be for that, well I use them for that anyway. Actually it is in my Terra Nova Laserlite that the inner door seems to kind of just flop on the floor when it is open, and is always a bit messy. I coul prob use the pegs on that, now I think about it... Thanks for writing!

[@guaraciramires9390]

I love your videos, I'm always hunting them.

[@psocretes8183]

Oh your Trangia is so clean! Hahahaha.

[@karenb221]

Thank you for sharing all your travels. Your narrative is very interesting and different.

[@susannathornton]

Aw thanks Karen! Glad you like the films. I love hunting out stories, and then heading off to see where people lived and where things happened, and thinking about them

[@RideorDieFit]

Susanna just brave and inspiring

[@bergolli1]

Very nice tour with your Brommie! Thank your for sharing and cheers from Germany

[@colinwellman9480]

When you mentioned Sweden I thought you were going to cycle all the way again! Another interesting video. Once again thanks for sharing.

[@lindaholmes1920]

Such a beautiful place. I love the way you incorporate family history into your journeys. I like to do this too, and just the other day took a trip on my Brompton to the upper Washburn Valley at the eastern side of the Yorkshire Dales in search of my paternal sheep farming ancestors. The route was strenuous going with some pushing of the bike in places, but stunningly beautiful too.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Linda! oh that sounds so nice, cycling in the Dales on the trail of your paternal ancestors. Wow. Lovely. Yeh I can imagine it was hard as well. Cycling is such a nice way to go places though, isn't it. If I go somewhere by car, I hardly feel like I have been there somehow. It doesn't seem real. And I forget it quickly too. If I go by bike, especially if I go on my own, I find I remember the whole experience of the place really intensely. If I go on a bike with a friend or with my husband, or with my Dad actually - a very nice person to go cycling with - then I remember the days quite intensely too, but in a different way. More about the times we had together chatting or laughing and things like that. So nice. Thanks for watching my channel and thanks for writing!

[@Curlew-Corner]

Fascinating, thank you. And such beautiful countryside.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Emma! thank you for the lovely comment! Glad you like the film!

[@pprietojuez]

Thank you for letting us travell with you.

[@giovanniverhelst2991]

Susanna, you are amazing!

[@helenaengstrom1551]

love it.. love it..love it 😍.. i think this was the best movie you have made❤️the layout, the feeling, the mix of pictures, videos and talk👌🏻

[@berenicek9467]

Wow! Another wonderful video! You are such a great storyteller and filmmaker. Thankyou so much for sharing.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Berenice! Thanks for writing such a nice comment! Really appreciate it 🥰

[@keithdainton6043]

Nice to see my favourite couple back on the road susanna and cooking pot how I have missed you .Great video as always first class.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Keith aw thank you for the lovely comment. Another film coming soon, yep same pot as ever haha

[@keithdainton6043]

@@susannathornton will look forward to it .

[@chantalborremans5480]

Thanks a lot to share your journey in the past …

[@susannathornton]

Thanks for writing Chantal! Glad you liked the film 😊

[@jasonloke2219]

Great summer conditions in Sweden. Didn't know it could get so hot and mozzy (full of mosquitoes) at times. Thanks so much for sharing! Just love those Old photographs of your hubby's folks.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Jason! Thanks for watching! Yeh, the mosquitoes and gnats - the really small ones, midges I think the same things are also called - can be bad at certain times of year in certain places. But if you time it right, you can avoid the worst and have a fabulous time. Glad you liked the film, including the old family photos. Hope you are OK there in SG, and getting a bit more back to normal after all the lockdown stuff. Best wishes!

[@gowesbrompton7816]

thanks for the video Susanna. it was a really enjoyable 31 minutes :)). best wishes from your viewer in Melbourne!

[@alindberg8001]

Geneology and cycling, my two favourite things :)

[@valintine41]

What a lovely video and a great story of your husbands family history, thank you for sharing it with us. And just think , people say a brompton is just a city bike !, you always manage to prove them wrong.

[@peterforde9513]

Another wonderful adventure; I admire your tenacity for wild camping,

[@susannathornton]

Hi Peter! Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoy the films! Wild camping is such a different experience from camping at a campsite. Both can be great. Wild camping is kind of much more immersive than staying at a campsite. Not sure if immersive is quite the right word, but perhaps you know what I mean

[@lynnef4228]

Very interesting Susanna. Thanks for sharing your journey. Thanks also for sharing some of the challenges like trying to get yourself and all the kit through the barbed wire fence!

[@susannathornton]

Hi Lynne F! haha yes that was a bit of a struggle actually, getting out of that field. Apparently cows are perfectly harmless etc etc, but I thought that that lot looked quite menacing that morning haha. Thanks for watching!

[@sparkyvespa]

Looks like a perfect cycling holiday. Thank you for sharing it with us!

[@madiantin]

Absolutely fascinating! I loved it.

[@alextr3a640]

Hi Susanna, great video and what a beautiful trip on a new bike 👍🏻 thanks for sharing

[@paulfairclough9350]

Lovely interesting trip with great scenery. Thanks for sharing 😊😊

[@lorena.gianoni]

I loved the video!

[@susannathornton]

Thanks Lorena!

[@alankennett9945]

Another excellent video Susanna, really enjoyed it. Cycling, wild camping and family history, totally absorbing, thanks for putting it up. Is that a new Brompton, I notice its a different colour!

[@susannathornton]

HI Alan! thanks for the lovely comment! Ah yes it was a different bike in this film. This white one lives in Sweden, so we don't have to carry bikes backwards and forwards between UK and Sweden.

[@jellyartist]

THat will be interesting. I always like to see if I recognise any places. I’ve spent a lot of time in Somerset so you never know. Take care x

[@thehobbitable]

Thanks for taking us along with you! Lovely trip and great story behind it!

[@susannathornton]

Thanks so much for watching! Glad you enjoyed the film!

[@swissthun60]

Incredibly wonderful video -- Why ? Because I 'experienced' the travel - (and a wonderful bit about the family history as an added bonus!)..., Additionally - the Brompton made it ever more wonderful for me! I have just taken delivery of my first 'ownership' Brompton ~ and this will be my second usage of a Brompton. I had access to a single speed early days when I was in Europe., (Loved the concept - and I was about 20-years younger and could deal with the single speed! HA!) Your touring on the Brompton was fantastic and I enjoyed the video - so well done : ) !

[@susannathornton]

Hi Swissthun! thanks for the lovely comment! Glad you liked the film. And hope you are enjoying getting out and about your first "very own" Brompton! 🚲😎

[@ste7193]

Thanks for a great show, the country is beautiful, and towns too. I've been looking forward to seeing your next video. 😃

[@susannathornton]

Hi STE'71, thanks for the lovely comment! Yeh the countryside is beautiful there, kind of meditatively beautiful I find. Another video coming soon... Thanks for watching!

[@IanBays]

Another fantastic well researched video.

[@helenenevoldson3989]

Thanks Susanna for another lovely video. My youngest brother has lived in Sweden for 25+ years, in a red cottage in the middle of what I might think of as nowhere . In that time I have visited him once, at the end of a cycle tour, which was memorable in many ways, not least the distances we cycled. I know a lot of work goes into your videos, though I hope you can post more.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Helen! Thanks for the comment! Sounds like a nice thing to do, a cycle tour with a visit to your brother in his red cottage in the middle of nowhere... Yeh it takes me quite long to make the films - longer to make the film than do the rides normally haha! But I like making them, and it's really nice to know that there are people who like them. Thank you for watching!

[@waddo]

Lovely trip--apart from the mosquitos and flies!

[@susannathornton]

Hi waddo! yeh. Esp the mozzies. And I don't like midges either. I can't imagine what it's like for people who bivvie actually. At least I can get in my calm nice tent and get away from them. Anyway, thanks for watching! glad you liked the film!

[@Gert-DK]

13:57 The farmer even put out a bathtub 😁😂😉

[@jimmysqueezyronin5623]

Great vid. Sweden looks so beautiful 💚

[@susannathornton]

Hi Jimmy! thanks for the lovely comment!

[@petergilbert72]

Tremendous video Susanna, thank you. The coverage of your search for a suitable comping spot was so honest (bit like when you lost your door key and went back the same way ‘just on the off chance’). I find the risk of not finding a spot adds an edge of excitement to my rides - although going to a spot I’ve used before is more relaxing and allows for a later arrival. I carry some titanium pins in case I need to pitch on compacted hard gravel - might be worth buying a few (or maybe you had them and couldn’t even get those in of course 😯).

[@susannathornton]

Hi Peter! Thanks for writing! Yeh the risk of finding a spot definitely adds an edge of excitement, I agree. And also it is exciting to think that tonight I might find an absolutely brilliant spot, well hidden, perfect for a sunrise, sheltered from the wind, and super view etc... Always aiming for that!! Yeh same as you, I do stop earlier when I am wild camping. If I know I can just roll up to an easy peasy campsite with smooth grass and water and everything laid on, then I can let the day go longer, like have longer later afternoon coffee break if I want, and just keep on riding without worrying about where I am going to sleep. Interesting what you say about the titanium pins. Actually I think I would need a mallet too, or something like that then. One idea I had this last trip (just came back from Ireland, Wild Atlantic Way, omg gorgeous, incredible wild camping spots there...) was that I should carry one tent peg in my pocket, or somewhere like that, easy to access. So that when I am checking out a possible spot, it is easy to test whether the pegs go in. This last trip I had a couple of spots where it was gravelly and sort of rocky, and to test the ground, I had to get my whole tent off the bike, and unroll it on the ground, and fish out a peg, just to then discover that the ground was too hard and the spot was no good, so the whole lot had to get rolled up and strapped back on... I mean no big deal but I still was wasting quite precious time, when it is rapidly getting towards dusk. I wonder if anyone does that, keep one peg handy. Oh that door key! Such a stupid basic mistake! Wonder where it is??? still upset about it actually haha. Thanks for watching!!

[@petergilbert72]

@@susannathornton I’ve begun packing my tent pole(s) and pegs separate from the tent, though I’d never thought of accessing the pegs for trying the terrain first. It’s true though - there’s surprisingly few convenient sized stones around for hitting in pegs! I carry some secateurs in case there’s loads of brambles - they can double as a not-very-good mallet. When bike camping I prefer to take my Unna, partly because it’s free standing. My current set up on the Brompton is to take two Racksacks, one on top of the other. Bottom one contains ‘wet gear’ - tent, sleeping mat, cooker, food. Pegs go at front of it making sure a strap goes through their cord. ‘Dry gear’ goes in a dry bag in top Racksack - sleeping bag, pillow, clothes. Pole and anything else goes in front bag. I find it makes it quick to pitch the tent on arrival and to pack the dry stuff while inside the tent if it’s raining. However you do need an extended/long telescopic seat post and long legs to fit both bags under the saddle!

[@susannathornton]

Ah that is interesting re two Rack Packs, and separating your gear like that, wet bag and dry bag. I carry so much food, I basically have one bag that is entirely food, and the other bag is everything else haha. About packing inside the tent, I definitely got into that on my last trip (the Wild Atlantic Way one, film coming soon...) as it was raining on and off a lot, every day. Once I got practised at it, I found it was actually quicker and more comfortable packing inside the tent, compared to crouching in the tent door and hoiking everything out. Interesting about the Unna. I must say I started thinking about freestanding tents on this trip. Hmm. Secateurs, yeh, that sound mad! But it is a pretty good idea actually. This last trip I quite often had to cut thistles and brambles. I used my trowel, hacking them. I suppose I could have used my kitchen knife actually, but I didn't. I might look for secateurs, a mini pair and see about that, good idea! Thanks for writing!

[@suzstancova4220]

Hi Susanna! This was very impressive journey! Wild camping looks very peaceful but do you feel safe when camping alone? Sweden has beautiful countryside and maybe one day I might visit with my Brompton. Your videos are very inspirational, thank you ! Cheers from Belgium!

[@susannathornton]

Hi Suz Stancova! Thanks for watching. Glad you liked the films. About camping alone and feeling safe, well, yes of course there are dangers to be aware of. I think the main dangers are people, and having an accident. About people, I basically try to avoid people. I make sure I camp somewhere away from where people normally go, and try to find spots where noone can see me or hear me. People mostly don't walk around the place in the dark, so it is unlikely that I will be in danger from people really. Accidents are the other thing, eg what if a tent pole snaps, or I cause a fire, or I cut myself badly, or a nasty insect bites me, or I suddenly become ill when I am alone, things like that. About that, well, I have good equipment and learn how to use it and take care of it, and then I basically try not to do silly things haha. I do make mistakes of course. It happened once that my stove kind of exploded, an MSR one, due to me being silly, but I put out the fire, and it was OK. And if I feel ill, I bail out. But that has only happened once actually, when I had altitude sickness when camping alone in western China, and I realised I was in big trouble and had to get help. But over many years that is not very many camping incidents. 99% of the time things are fine. So about feeling safe, basically I do those things. Then I just try to set my mind at rest and enjoy being out! Anyway, there you go! Thanks so much for watching, and for writing!

[@kc3718]

top stuff, as always.

[@susannathornton]

Hi k c! Thanks for writing! It's very encouraging. Glad you enjoy the films!

[@guaraciramires9390]

I like your tent, sometimes you take a friend, it's safer.

[@pootlingalong8928]

So relaxing to watch your videos, thank you for sharing them with us :) p.s. what happened to your little green Brompton? Did he die :(

[@susannathornton]

Hello Pootling along! sorry took me ages to reply. I was away on a trip in Ireland, and then I suddenly squeezed in another trip on the back of it, and suddenly it is the end of September... About Bromptons, the good news is my little green (like yellowy green) Brompton is alive and well! The white one is its sibling. We have the white one in Sweden, so we can avoid having to carry bikes to and fro. Hope you are not feeling too bereft after finishing your epic Lands End John O'Groats ride by the way. Such a great thing you did.

[@rolfschattschneider]

Just the right length for my lunch break. Precis rätt längd för min lunchpaus.

[@ODOB]

Cool. I just did a 1 night camp in Isle of Wight a couple of weeks ago (a paid campsite) for the first time. I didn't sleep very well due to wind noises (campsite is on top of a hill). I need to do better, good job.

[@susannathornton]

Cool!! I can imagine the Isle of Wight was great. Lovely to be near the sea and things. About the wind, yeh I know what you mean, the tent flapping etc. I use earplugs sometimes. I like the noise of rain though. It feels kind of cosy to hear the rain on the tent. Hope you get out on another trip soon. Thanks for writing!

[@harrypressman2]

Absolutely one of the most enjoyable videos you've manage to capture for us. The walk down memory lane was captivating to say the least. Thank you from Vancouver, Canada.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Harry! Thanks so much for the lovely comment!

[@davidharris4062]

Now that’s my type of cycling

[@susannathornton]

Hi David! Great! Thanks for writing! Happy cycling! 😁🚲

[@davidharris4062]

@@susannathornton no problem, really enjoyed all the films

[@Vacaverde787]

Susanna! I am very impressed with the route you did. Like me, I prefer contact with nature and children. I think that after having saved all those photos and videos it is time to organize and show it to the world. The reality is that you overcame many challenges along the way. Challenges that some people like me take years to overcome, you are definitely an example of strength for all women. After a turbulent moment, peace always comes through your videos full of joy, peace, good chronology, music and environmental sounds such as birds, rivers, among others. Thanks for sharing your videos! Much Health and a warm hug from Puerto Rico! Carmen. Nata : I hope the universe conspires so that we meet on some route 😉

[@bolleolympus]

🌹🌹❤❤🌹🌹I guess that this Bromton is the way to go! You can bring him everywhere. However, is it harder to cycle than a touringbike?

[@susannathornton]

Hello bolleolympus! on good road surfaces, a Brompton isnt harder to cycle. Very nicely designed and built bike, nice riding position. Like any small bike though, it is not good in loose gravel, and over potholes and stones or cobbles etc it is more bumpy than big-wheel bike.

[@bolleolympus]

@@susannathornton Thanks! I will definately buy one. guess I'll take the 6 speed with 44 theeth. Pray for you that you will be cancer free for ever!❤❤🌹🌹❤❤

[@WTFWilliamTravelFrequently]

Hi Susanna 👋 When you are wild camping in the forest,aren’t you afraid of wolves and bears ? Have you ever encountered some of them ? And when you are biking these forest trails, how often did it happen you had a puncture ? Which tires are you using for the Brompton ?

[@susannathornton]

Hi William! I didn't worry about bears because I think bears mostly just eat blueberries, and they don't normally attack people, like one incident in the whole of Sweden per year or something like that. So I didn't worry about bears, or about wolves actually, as the chances of meeting one is really low. I have never seen a bear or a wolf. The main animals I worry about are the teeny weeny type, eg ants, ticks, mosquitoes, midges. Lots more of them and can be nasty. About tyres, I have had Schwalbe marathon plus tyres on for the last couple of years and they have been absolutely brilliant. Since I had them, I haven't had any punctures. That's amazing isn't it. I hardly dare say it, cos now I will definitely get a puncture haha

[@WTFWilliamTravelFrequently]

@@susannathornton Thanks for your reply,Susanna 🙏 May I ask you some additional questions ? Anyway if not having encountered wild animals,do you carry any emergency device like a pepper spray or likewise with you ? And concerning the punctures it’s really amazing 👍 Are you riding normal tubes in your tires or do you even ride tubeless ? Have you ever considered riding tubeless tires on your bike ? And - last but not least - in the case of a puncture,what kind of pump do you carry with you ? As the Brompton requires very high air pressure of 100 psi,a normal pump wouldn’t work and when you are in the wilderness there might be no nearby gas station 🤔

[@susannathornton]

@@WTFWilliamTravelFrequentlyYeh it is great about the punctures haha, famous last words. I use normal tubes and tyres, not tubeless. No I don't carry pepper spray. If I meet a nasty dog and no owner is there, I use the bike as a fence between me and the dog and edge away very slowly. That has worked for me over the years for that. A group of dogs would be a problem but I haven't had that often, just once really, after thousands and thousands of miles all my life. Cycling is generally much less dramatic than people perhaps imagine. Re pump I carry a Lezyne mini foot pump. Being a foot pump it makes it easier to get the pressure to the required pressure to suit whatever tyres I am using. It is possible to get high pressures eg 100 psi with a good hand pump, but tiring. You can see more about my gear here kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3yvpGqXgJZrfbs hope that helps, cheers!

[@WTFWilliamTravelFrequently]

@@susannathornton thanks a lot again 😊🙏

[@punkhiker389]

Fascinating and very interesting. I lived in Småland i 16 är. I cycled Kattegat leden in the summer and highly recommend doing it. Do you live in Sweden ?

[@magikmoonmark]

Loving the vids. What tent is that

[@susannathornton]

Hi magikmoonmark! thanks for the comment! The tent in this film is a Hilleberg Akto, which is the tent I mostly use. I also have a Terra Nova Laserlite, pretty old, bought in 2005, but still good. I still use it sometimes. It is nice to have two, so if I go on a trip with a friend and they don't have a tent, I can easily lend one. Glad you like the videos!

[@VagabondTurtle]

You have a very handy law standing by you when in Sweden, called allemansrätten, which means you can spend a night anywhere, until you cause no harm or disturb noone. That means you don't have to hunt for the campsite :)

[@susannathornton]

Hi Vagabond! yeh the allemansrätten is a great thing. Thanks for watching!

[@sparkyvespa]

Hi Susanne, would it be possible to set up a question and answers session on cycle touring? I think it would be of real interest to people! Many thanks.

[@susannathornton]

Hello! Yes I would happily do something like that, I think. I am just not sure how these things work, like technically how you do it. I better research it a bit

[@awakeningscotland]

hi, loving your videos, who needs netflix! can I ask are there any group/clubs for doing trips like this? I'm not sure I could go alone, maybe, not sure!

[@robertsowerby433]

May I ask how you handle getting and storing footage? Another beautiful trip thank you

[@susannathornton]

Hi Robert! Thanks for the lovely comment. About capturing footage, I basically film using a Gopro, and my phone. About storing footage, a few years ago - like in 2016, say, not long ago actually! - this was a big hassle, because the SD cards I used then were quite small capacity, say 32GB, so on anything longer than a day or so, I had to carry a wireless hard disk, and every day or so an SD card would be full, and I'd need to stop and change cards, and keep all these tiny fragile things safe with my fumbly fingers in the rain etc, and when in a dry safe place, sit still and carefully copy the footage from SD cards onto the wireless hard disk. I used a wireless hard disk for this, because it was relatively small, fairly robust, and it didn't need much power. The alternative would have been to take a laptop, but I didn't want to take a laptop, cos they are relatively big and fragile, and they use power, which is always in short supply! Anyway, these days, it is massively easier: I use one 256GB SD card in each of my phone and my Gopro, and if I set my phone video camera and Gopro to say 1080P (ie not super-high resolution video) then I can easily collect eight hours of video footage and stills on one SD card. Which I find is plenty. Then when i get home I make two copies of everything on hard drives at home, and wipe the SD cards ready for the next trip. The risk is that an SD card malfunctions whilst I am on the road, and I lose all the clips on it. I have no back up on the road. But, well, so far it has not happened. In addition to the Gopro and phone, I am also experimenting with also using a separate sound recorder, which has its own SD card. Sound creates much smaller files than video & sound, so I find a 32GB card is plenty for that.

[@tobewiser6738]

A live mic would allows us to hear you better when you are live on the road; kinda hard to hear you when you're riding and talking as you travel. I find live travel commentaries most precious and so real. Thank you for your effort. Also what is your bike maintenance cost so far, tune up, repairs, etc.

[@susannathornton]

Hi Tobe! Thanks for watching, and for writing. I should find out about live mic, like those that clip on. I am trying to improve the sound quality, as well as the quality of everything bit by bit. Thanks for the thought. About bike maintenance, just a couple of things in the last couple of years (i) last year new tyres, the Schwalbe Marathons which were £37 each, quite dear but I really appreciate them being so hard-wearing and puncture resilient, definitely worth it. (ii) This year my front brake had got kind of sticky, basically must have got rusty between the cable and housing where it makes that loop and the water probably gathers, so I bought and fitted a new front brake cable last week actually, £12.50 for the part. Apart from that, my rear brake had got worn and soggy, but I just adjusted it ie pulled the cable through to tighten it again, and it is fine now. The drivetrain is getting quite worn but I am just carrying on with it for now but that will be the next thing to replace I think.

[@joshuaparr3279]

I spy a not so green brompron Do you have a new one? 🙂

[@susannathornton]

Hi Josh! aha, my greeny one is in England, and this white one is its sister, and lives in Sweden.

[@joshuaparr3279]

@@susannathornton Makes complete sense! One can never have too many bromptons! 😁

[@sparkyvespa]

Hi, roughly how many miles did you cycle a day on your trip? Many thanks

[@susannathornton]

Hi sparkyvespa! On this trip, I did about 40 miles a day - some days a bit more, some days a bit less. So, the whole journey is really not hard - I mean if I ride at 10 mph, which is of course s l o w, in theory I can do a couple of hours before lunch and a couple more hours after, and that's it. And the rest of the time I can sit down and look at the view and have coffees and things. Of course in practice it is not quite like that. But you know what I mean. Thanks for watching!!

[@timfarness9949]

What is the coffee cup you use?

[@susannathornton]

Hi Tim! I use the cup which is the top of my thermos flask. Is that what you mean?

[@timfarness9949]

@@susannathornton yes I figured it out after watching some more of your movies. What brand is the flask/ thermos?

[@susannathornton]

@@timfarness9949 it is from a Norwegian firm called Neverlost, really good product, keeps the coffee hot