This is Bettan. I found her sitting on a bench next to the bike path near Hanveden in Jordbro. I asked her a question, and she started looking for the pause button on her iPod! After finding the pause button she told me she was listening to a crime novel. Bettan had been out on a 50 km bike ride in the summer like weather. Trying to get in shape for the 300 km Vätterrundan bicycle race in June, just like Marie that I met a few weeks ago. It will be her third race and Bettan is hoping for a finishing time under fifteen hours. She lives in Tungelsta and was on her way home, where she was going to set up a family dinner with kids and grand kids. We had time to talk about our favorite bike roads and a few other things before we said goodbye.
11 comments:
Wonderful story and portrait. Your work is just fabulous, Steffe.
The Hamlet of Gordon
Frighteningly active people around there: they spend all their time running long races or preparing for them!
Did you ask the title of the novel?
Lol@ Vogon Poet! ;-) I feel *really* bad just now as I'm sitting in front of the computer having a McD's meal. It only happens about twice a year... Anyway, this is a great shot too, and your encounters are so interesting!
This woman has grandchildren? Wow!
I love the red in this photo, Steffe. I can only echo the words of Abraham: wonderful portraiture.
Vogon Poet is right. To arrive at a representative sample of the population, you might want to interview a few couch potatoes as well... ;)
You could get through a lot of books on long bike rides like that. The colours in her helmet make this a very rich picture visually.
Another excellent portrait and commentary!
I didn't ask Bettan about the title. But I can tell you that if you try listening to a book in bed you will fall asleep within minutes, at least that is my experience.
She sure looks young to be a grandparent, that's one of the benefits of bicycling I guess!
I haven't been to a McDonald's for 22 years.
So Per, how do I recognise a couch potato?
It was the red color that made me spot her.
That's easy. Us couch potatoes tend to sit in sunny spots with an ice-cream in hand and we're usually characterized by a monumental absence of running gear as well as bikes.
Thanks for the info Per. I will keep en extra eye open for such people.
...and incidentally I haven't been to a McDonald's for 22 hours... ;)
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