It has been three years since Fredrik Erixon packed a 25-kilo backpack on his back and a pair of rollerskis under his boots and rollerskied from Karesuando, Sweden. 28 days later, he had reached the goal: Sweden’s southernmost point, Smygehuk.

“I love skiing, but I also want to have time to experience things, so I didn’t take the shortest route. Among other things, I slept in a tent at Vasaloppet start in Berga village, went on to Mora, and then to home in Stockholm. My wife thought I was crazy when I said I would sleep in the garden tent and not in my bed. But if I have said that I will be camping along the entire journey, then so be it,” says Erixon with a laugh.

Three years later, the rollerski journey in the southern direction will continue.

On May 29, he will start in Smygehuk, and 30 days later, the plan is for him to roll into Barcelona:

“These trips have been a dream. The reason is that I think rollerskis are a great way of transport. I like skiing on snow, but you get locked into skiing on a track there. Here you are freer. Then there are other challenges with rollerskis. It’s hard if you fall. This is the biggest challenge with this trip. In Sweden, we know that if there is a hole in the road, it is marked with cones or similar. I have no idea how it will be abroad,” says Erixon to Langd.se.

Will the setup be the same as when you rollerskied through Sweden?

“Many parts will be the same, but I won’t be camping. There is no common law abroad. This means that I will live in hostels and the like. It also means that I estimate the backpack will end up with about 15 kilos.”

Is the itinerary ready?

“I plan to start in Smygehuk; the first day, I go to Malmö, and once there, I have to take a train or bus over to Copenhagen as you are not allowed to rollerski over the Öresund Bridge. Then there are two days in Denmark before I take the ferry over to Germany, where I will head south to Frankfurt before setting my sights on France and try as much as possible to “round the Alps” before heading down to the sea and then on from Nice to Barcelona.”

How long will the day stages be?

“28 days with an average of 90km per day. Then I put in two rest days. And it can’t take more than 30 days, because I must get to Barcelona by June 28 because I’m going home to celebrate my son’s graduation. This will be hard but great fun. I know from experience that after just a few days, you feel in your body that you rode 100km a day. But I’m fully preparing,” says Erixon, who will bring video makers with him during parts of the trip to record a documentary:

“I want to highlight the joy and experiencing things during one’s journey through Europe,” says Fredrik Erixon.