Why this ride
A 266 km round trip from Alfta - roughly 5 h 01 in the saddle. On the way it passes Gästgivars, Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, Bommars and Kristofers. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jon-Lars and Kristofers
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 266 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 01
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Jon-Lars
Farms in Hälsingland look like farms, until you open the door. Jon-Lars, near Alfta in the forested heart of the province, is one of the seven farmsteads inscribed in 2012 as the Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, and from the road it seems a tidy group of dark red timber buildings around a yard. Inside, the festive rooms are covered with painted decoration, with flowers, curtains, biblical scenes and trompe-l'oeil swags painted in the nineteenth century, when the farmers were rich.
Read the complete Jon-Lars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jon-Lars is where the day begins. Next is Gästgivars.
2. Gästgivars
Gästgivars is a farm in the village of Vallsta, in Hälsingland, in central Sweden, and inside its wooden buildings are some of the finest painted rooms in the country. It is one of the seven decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012, recognized for the extraordinary wealth of folk art that prosperous farmers commissioned in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The name means the innkeeper's farm, and it once served as an inn for travellers along the road through the Ljusnan valley.
Read the complete Gästgivars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gästgivars comes up 35 km in. Next is Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland.
3. Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland
Farmers in nineteenth-century Hälsingland had money, thanks to flax, timber and good land, and they spent it on houses. Their large wooden farmhouses, many of them painted red with Falun copper-mine pigment, often contained rooms reserved for festivities, decorated by itinerant painters with flowers, biblical scenes and allegories in bright colours. Seven of these farms, including Pallars in Järvsö, Gästgivars in Vallsta and Bommars in Letsbo, were inscribed together by UNESCO in 2012, and stepping into their painted rooms is like entering a folk tale.
Read the complete Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
71 km in you reach Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland. Next is Bommars.
4. Bommars
In the forests of Hälsingland, in central Sweden, you find farms that look as though they belong in a fairy tale. Prosperous farmers of the nineteenth century, who made their money from flax and timber, built large, many-roomed farmhouses and decorated their best rooms with paintings, wallpaper and carved details, often in rich reds, blues and golds. Several of these farms, the Hälsingegårdar, were listed by UNESCO in 2012, and others are still in private hands and used as homes. The place named on our list lies in the countryside near Ljusdal, in this farming country.
Read the complete Bommars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bommars, about halfway. Next is Kristofers.
5. Kristofers
In Hälsingland, the farmers got rich on flax, and then they spent the money on wallpaper. From the late eighteenth century through the nineteenth, prosperous families in the forested valleys of this part of central Sweden built huge timber farmhouses, each with a festive room reserved for weddings, funerals and holidays, and decorated it with painted murals, stencilled borders and trompe-l'oeil panels in extravagant colours. They are still standing, red-painted outside, ornate inside, and seven of them were listed by UNESCO in 2012 as the decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland.
Read the complete Kristofers write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kristofers sits at 141 km, about halfway. Next is back through Bommars.
6. back through Bommars
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bommars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bommars comes up 176 km in. Next is back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland.
7. back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
212 km in you reach back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland. Next is back through Gästgivars.
8. back through Gästgivars
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gästgivars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Gästgivars, late in the day. Next is Jon-Lars.
9. Jon-Lars
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jon-Lars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 266 km.
Leg by leg
Jon-Lars to Gästgivars
Jon-Lars → Gästgivars is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gästgivars to Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland
Gästgivars → Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland to Bommars
Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland → Bommars is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bommars to Kristofers
Bommars → Kristofers is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kristofers to back through Bommars
Kristofers → back through Bommars is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bommars to back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland
back through Bommars → back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland to back through Gästgivars
back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland → back through Gästgivars is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gästgivars to Jon-Lars
back through Gästgivars → Jon-Lars is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.