Benchmarking in Dalarna
In the end of June after the midsummer celebrations, STIL-team from Finland, Sweden and Norway made a benchmarking trip to Falun, Dalarna in central Sweden. The purpose of the visit was to meet with local stakeholders in cycling tourism, to gain insights and share experiences and of course to test some of the routes in the area.
We started our visit by a seminar with Johan Engström from Visit Dalarna. He gave us a very informative presentation with valuable insights on development of biking tourism in the region and also shared an overview of the purpose and activities of Biking Dalarna network, a joint effort of several destinations and areas in Dalarna region to work on strategic development of biking tourism. The network brings together municipalities, organisations, associations and companies of different scales and the work is facilitated by Visit Dalarna. As emphasised by Johan Engström, development of biking tourism is not only about developing the routes, but also about safety, services and other activities and attractions along the way, which makes the collaboration among different stakeholders very important.
After lunch it was time to head out to Rättvik where we started our first, approximately 30km route from Rättvik to Leksand, which is part of the 310 km “Siljansleden” route around lake Siljan. This part of the route was rather hilly on mostly paved roads. It took us through small villages, traditional farm buildings and beautiful cultural landscapes with glimpses of lake Siljan here and there along the way. Escaping from rain and thunder we ended up in a lovely little kaffestuga in Tällberg and while getting warm and dry had a possibility to enjoy a hot cup of coffee with some homemade cakes and “kanelbulle” before continuing our journey to Leksand strand camping resort.
The next day it was time to explore more routes nearby. This time we cycled part of Runn Runt, a route around lake Runn. We took off from Torsång, had a pit stop in Ornäs to see the loft, Ornässtugan, harboured by Gustav Vasa back in 1520 and finally arrived to Falu mine. The route of the day was mostly along flat gravel and paved roads. In the afternoon some of us ventured to Lugnet recreation centre to test some downhill MTB trails, while others got acquainted with the history of Falu mine on a little mine walk around the great pit and its traditional buildings.
Both days our biking tours were facilitated by KBK Bikes company and their guides. The team wants to thank Frida, Jennie, Mika and Göran for not only guiding us on the routes, but also for sharing their experiences and expertise with us.
Author: Minna Nousiainen
email: minna.nousiainen@ulapland.fi
photos: Esa Inkilä, Marja Uusitalo, Per Kåre Jakobsen
Slow travel in northern rural landscapes
Routes for leisure biking-Project
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