Bikepacking the land of the Midnight Sun
Total distance, 2748km, 25635vertical metres
It’s June 2, 2024 and we find ourselves once again at the Adelaide Airport with our bike boxes and a ticket to adventure. We’re off to Stockholm in Sweden to spend a few days with our close friend Maddy before embarking on a bikepacking adventure through Finland and Norway.
Our vague plan is to catch the ferry from Stockholm to Turku
in Finland where we will be riding the Turku Archipelago Trail, then the South
by Cycle bikepacking route to Helsinki. Then we’ll catch a train North to
Rovaniemi where we will link up the Santa’s western gravel loop with the Arctic
Post Road MTB/Gravel route through to the Norwegian coast. Then it will be on
to NordKapp the northern most point on the European continent. From there we
will probably catch a ferry down to Tromso and carry on down the Norwegian
coast as far as we can get with our time of nine weeks.
But first, Maddy has plans for us đ
Maddy met us at the airport to pick us up, but unfortunately
our bikes wouldn’t fit in her little Skoda, so we had to get some help from a
taxi. Soon we were flying down the airport freeway heading towards our bnb in
Bromma, a leafy Stockholm suburb about 10ks out of the city.
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| Mary, Maddi and Vinja |
We dropped our gear and headed to Maddy’s little apartment to meet her best friend Vinja, her little dog. We immediately headed out for a walk in the local forest and river front beach. We couldn’t get over how green everything is.
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| Suburban Stockholm Forrest |
It was at this point that Maddy asked me if we had any heart
problems that she should know about. Oh oh, what have you got planned Maddy?
We had known that Maddy had been playing with a bit of
skydiving, now we were worried. But it turned out that she had booked us into
body flight, which is a wind tunnel based skydiving simulator. It was a bit
nerve wracking, but we turned up and had a great time. Something that we never
would have chosen to do ourselves and now glad that we did.
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| Viking Beer? |
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| So Goth |
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| I Reckon |
All too soon it was our last day in Stockholm, and we had to move to a hotel close to the Viking Ferry terminal. Finally, we had to face our fear of riding our bikes on the right hand side of the road. It turned out to be an easy feat as there are amazing bike paths everywhere and our new bikes are riding really well. We spent the day hanging out in Stockholm until it was time to check out the ferry terminal location on our way to the hotel.
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| Rubbing Shoulders with Royalty |
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| Lagertha Really Wanted To Go In For A Drink |
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| Bike Packing? |
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| Stockholm Streetscapes Are Just Fantastic |
Maddy drove in with Vinja and we caught a harbour ferry to
check out the King’s parade and have dinner together. Thanks Maddy, for showing
us a great time in Stockholm, see you soon.
STAGE 2
The hotel that we chose near the ferry port wasn’t happy about our bikes coming inside. Lots of negotiation later and they agreed to put them in the luggage room. So, we were up early to make sure that they survived the night without us and smashed an early breakfast before racing to the ferry, via a couple of flights of stairs.
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| Off To Finland |
The ferry was huge, more like a cruise ship. Getting on
board was easy and we dropped our stuff in the cabin and headed for a deck so
that we could farewell Stockholm with a view. It was a beautiful sunny morning,
and we were amazed by the quality of the ship and the smooth ride we were
getting. We were going to be on board for 11 hours, so we explored a bit and
found a comfy spot to have a second coffee and watch all the islands go by.
The ferry stopped in at the Aland Islands on the way. By
this time, we had pretty much decided that one day on a cruise ship would be
more than enough for us.
Arriving in Turku about 8pm it was still broad daylight. We
only had 2 ks to ride to our b&b, the streets were very quiet. We settled
in to sleep, very keen to get the bikepacking part of the trip under way.
Saturday June 8, Turku to Camp Mussalo, 73.9km, 591m vert
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| Turku Archipelago Map |
We were awake early, the daylight seems to never fade and it
seems as though it will take some getting used to. A supermarket close by was
first on the list, to get a few supplies and something for breakfast. There
didn’t appear to be any cafes open in Turku before 11am, little did we know that
this would be the Finland normal. So, we had a nice breakfast in, and packed
the bikes ready to go. Our first few days would be following the Turku
archipelago route and while paved, we were looking forward to this as an intro
to Finland. It always takes a few days to find out how things work in a new
country. We didn’t know where we would end up today, we were just winging it.
Rolling out of Turku, the first thing we noticed was the
amazing cycling infrastructure that had cycle routes going everywhere. So, it
was easy to get out of town and finally get the legs going. Our first stop was
a picturesque little port town, Naantali. While beautiful, it started to rain
just as we rolled in. We thought we’d have a coffee, but couldn’t find anywhere
open here either. We waited out a heavy shower of rain under a café awning and
decided to kick on.
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| Cute Fishing Village |
Then disaster struck, I, Dave, clipped someone’s car mirror with my handlebars and tore the trim off it. I quickly turned around to check out the damage. The owner was sitting in the car and was not happy. It was only the trim which I quickly put back on, but she was convinced that it was damaged and needed to be fixed. Despite pointing out the white paint from the former damage it had received, no white paint on my bike, she would not be placated. She said she would call the cops, which is fine, but it’s not like a cyclist from Australia is insured for such things, well maybe. But in the end, a fist full of euros solved the problem.
Let’s get out of this town.
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| Quiet Roads aand Bike Trails |
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| Our First Real Ferry |
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| We'll Get The Hang Of It |
The riding was stunning, island to island, bridges initially
and later would be ferries, lots of ferries. We rode past a little humpy that
said Coffee, and Buffet on the sign. Oh what the hell, we needed a coffee after
that debacle. There was a big Jamaican guy running the place, Bob Marley
playing in the background. Weird, but cool. 2 black filter coffees please. The Reggae
music gets turned up and we chill out and forget about car mirrors etc.
Next up was our first inter island ferry to work out. Of
course, this one had 3 potential destinations and we were having real trouble
making sure that we got on the right one. A little help from a local had us on
the right one. We still worried when it went the wrong way and dropped a single
car off at a minor island before taking us back around to Hakkenpaa. We used
our 30minute ride to scope out a caravan park that was only a few ks off route,
so now we had a destination. Riding into Camp Mossala, it felt just so
Scandinavian. The red timber buildings on the waterfront with all the pine,
birch and cypress. We were shown to a campsite on a rise right at the waterfront.
It was a great spot, away from the campervans, and we got the tent set up for
the first time this trip. Now, what’s the protocol for Sauna here?
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| First Night's Camp, Despite being a proper campground, Just Fantastic |
Sunday June 9, Camp Mussalo to Naawa Nature Camp on Koro.
77.5km, 757m vert
We were awake at about 4:30, it was fully light. As rain was
forecast, we decided to pack up while the tent was dry. It started just as we
dropped the tent, so it didn’t get too wet luckily. We headed to the camp
kitchen and lingered over breakfast as it was flogging down.
Finally, we decided to ride. It was about 17ks to our first
ferry, and it rained all the way. Everything stayed dry except for feet and
hands. Arriving at the ferry port we found that the first ferry of the day
wasn’t until 11:45, 3 hours. We nearly froze as the hail started falling,
luckily there was a bus shelter to hide in, but the seat was all bent down so
that we couldn’t sit on it very well. All our layers came out to help keep us
warm. There was a café about 2 ks back so we thought we would head there but
fortunately we checked on google before and found it didn’t open till 11.
Bugger.
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| So Cold, at least we could make our own coffee |
Eventually the rain slowly stopped but the icy wind didn’t
let up for the next 3 days. Once the ferry arrived, we were amazed that they
had a little cabin on it with a tiny café. We were so keen for a hot drink and
a cinnamon bun, best ferry café ever. Of course I made a fool of myself as
usual. I ordered a cup of tea for Mary and when it arrived it was just water. I
said, your cup of tea looks like it’s just hot water! Thinking we’d lost
something in translation, it turned out that the tea bags were on the counter
for you to choose. We laughed very hard over that.
The rest of the day was, ride across an island, catch a
ferry, repeat. But despite the wind it was wonderful. All the islands have cute
little harbours and stunning small farms with traditional red houses and barns.
The seascape was a bit blown out, but still very picturesque.
Ferry time meant research time, so we could scope out places
to stay. We weren’t comfortable wild camping yet, anything flat was built up or
a farmer’s crop. So, it was paid campgrounds for now. We found one on Korpoo
island that looked good and turned out to be a quaint little forest camp with
just us there. Nice.
Monday June 10, Naawa to Pargas 56.3km, 512m vert
We slept well in the forest. The long daylight doesn’t seem
to be bothering us. We did however experience a few mosquitos and our first tick.
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| Pretty Weeds Apparently |
It was about 20ks to our first ferry this morning and our
legs felt good. We found a nice café in Nagu, just before the ferry and had
second breakfast. Then of course it was back to working out which of three
ferries we needed to get on without there being any signage. We are just meant
to know. The ferry system is free and awesome, don’t get me wrong, but between
the language barrier and the poor signage at times it can be quite confusing.
The closer we got back towards Turku the larger the ferries
and heavier traffic, but in classic Finn style, that meant bike paths. Their
cycling infrastructure is so good.
The wind was still up but today it was mostly tail wind. This
led us to a really nice caravan park at Pargas.
Tuesday June 11, Pargas to near Salo 66.6km, 496m vert
The wind died down overnight and we lingered over breakfast
for a little while before heading off. The bikes felt good again as we headed
on to a big day of cycleway riding. I was determined today to find a service
station that has air, as I can’t be bothered increasing tyre pressure with my
hand pump. But we do need to find out if airing up a bit will help us roll
better on the pavement.
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| Stunning weather |
We were aiming for another campground on an island just out
of Salo that looked nice. We are still discovering the intricacies of how
things work here. Lunch, or second breakfast seems hard to find something
simple. But we are getting the idea that cafes are a bit more like bakeries at
home and we can get something there. Otherwise, a restaurant is complicated and
very over priced. To keep cost down, we are trying to cook our own breakfast
and dinner while buying something on the road for lunch. So far there are
plenty of small towns, but still finding something open before 11am is a
challenge.
Our route took us out to follow the Eurovelo 10 for the
second half today. It was nice riding.
Our campground was a bit weird, very good, but it was in
like a public recreation park that was quite busy till late. There were a
couple of other cyclists camping there who were mostly following eurovelo 10
around the Gulf of Bothnia.
Wednesday June 12, Salo to Ekenas 82.15k, 984m vert
Following the coastal route today was going to add on about
20ks but was going to be much quieter, with a couple of gravel sections at
last. For the first 30ks or so there was loads of climbing, nothing long, but
continuous up and down. There were lovely stretches of forest though and later
farmland being very productive in early summer.
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| Another "Make Your Own Cafe" |
It was nice to ride some champagne gravel that was nearly smoother
than the bitumen roads.
After a bit more than 80ks and 1000metres vertical, we
arrived in Ekanas in good shape. Stopping in at a Kmarket on our way into town
meant we could pick up some fresh supplies for dinner. And of course, a cold
beer/ginger beer. It’s the only affordable way to have a beer. Restaurant
prices are insane.
The campground was on the beach, but the wind was up again
making it cold. It was a bit noisy.
We also worked out that it was now 2 days to Helsinki, so we
needed to book a hotel and the train to Rovaniemi.
Thursday June 13, Ekenas to Wild Camp 70.35km, 702m vert
We were using part of the south by cycle route today and had
spotted a National Park that the route went through that looked ideal to camp.
Once again, the going was great, bitumen for the first half, but then a bit of
gravel. The route twisted and turned a lot, crossing either side of the main
road a bit, sometimes frustratingly.
One of the final weird side trips took us to a weird little cafĂ© on a corner with quite loud music playing. We wanted to fill up water before camping which the nice owner allowed us to do. We bought camping beer as we only had about 10ks to go. We chatted for a while, also with another cyclist who was there. The owner was seriously into music and was very excited that “Sweet” was playing in the area next week.
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| Forrest Singletrack |
Into the National Park, we rode some beautiful single track
interspersed with some gnarly granite domes. There were two cool campsites
right on the sandy beach that looked great. We chose the second one and shared
it with one other camper who we never really saw. The wind was back again,
which made it hard for a swim, but we tried. Mary successfully.
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| Great Wild Camp |
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| Looking Back at Camp From Across The Bay |
Later we ended up deciding that it was a good idea to ride
back to the previous camp about 1k away as the toilet was in much better shape.
Riding the rock domes unloaded with road pressure tyres wasn’t fun, but it reminded
us how different these bikes are when unloaded. They definitely prefer to be
loaded up.
Friday June 14, Wild Camp to Helsinki 52.97km, 549m vert
Once again, the wind had dropped overnight, and the mozzies
turned up to bother us a bit while we packed up and had brekky.
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| Arriving in Helsinki |
Helsinki initially gave us the impression of being a bit
grey, despite being a nice sunny day. The hotel Mestari was nice but weren’t
very helpful with secure storage for the bikes. They ended up in their car park
which seemed ok, but we were worried. Fingers crossed, and we made sure to keep
an eye on the AirTags.
We would have two nights in Helsinki, with an overnight
train to Rovaniemi on the Sunday night.
Saturday and Sunday, June 15&16 Helsinki
First on the agenda was a couple of camping essentials. Mary
needed a new air mattress as hers was slowly deflating. Another sea to summit
ether light. This is the third one that has let us down.
Well, the outdoor stores in Helsinki are amazing. They’ve
got everything you need and more.
So with that sorted and a few other things like a gas bottle
and a spoon replacement had us finished very early. We spent the afternoon
walking and checking out the touristy sights and were very impressed. It still
lacked that colourful warmth of Stockholm, but we were enjoying it.
We were able to check out the inside of a very impressive
cathedral overlooking the harbour, and then loosely followed a published
walking trail that took us past some special places including a beer in the
main square that was very spectacular.
Late on Sunday we loaded our gear up in the train and found
our cabin, settling in for the night. We thoroughly enjoyed the train trip,
although we didn’t get a lot of sleep.
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| Tiny Seat Suits Mary |
Monday June 17, Rovaniemi to Santa’s Village, 9.3km, 120m
vert
7:30am saw us standing in light rain at the Rovaniemi train
station with a plan to find a good café for breakfast. So, a quick ride into
the centre of town was required and in the end, the best café decision was
based around which one had covered bike parking.
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| Hanging At Santa's Village |
We lingered over breakfast and luckily the rain stopped. We didn’t have far to go today, just to Santa’s Village which is just out of town. It was a nice ride out there though, following and crossing the Kemijoki River along the way. Now, touristy things aren’t normally our style, but when you go to Rovaniemi, you have to visit Santa right? Our Grandkids would never forgive us. So we put away our “kitch alarms” and off we went. The highlight for us really, was the crossing of the Arctic Circle Line. But we had a nice
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| Our Cabin at Santa's Village |
time and pretty quickly got bored as we wouldn’t be able to check in to our cabin until around 3pm. So many coffees later,,,,, Also we thought we should probably go and see the reindeer, as who knows if we would see any later in the trip. It was also nice to send postcards to the grandkids with that very special postmark. Also, a certain reindeer called Ralph decided that he was going to tag along.
Tuesday June 18, Santa’s Village to Wild Camp Western
Gravel loop, 73.62km, 412m vert
Despite having ridden nearly 500km in the South so far this
trip, in our minds, today was where the adventure really started. We were North
of the Arctic Circle and shit was about to get real.
We had to roll back through Rovaniemi, pick up some fresh
food and then officially start on the Arctic By Cycle’s Santa’s Western Loop,
the start of our Gravel route. Finally, out of town, we followed the river
south west for about ten ks before we turned off on the gravel. Arctic by
Cycle, have ride-with-gps files that you can upload to your device to navigate
the route, which was lucky because otherwise we would have had no hope of
following accurately as there is very little signage, and even less that we
could understand.
Only a few ks onto the gravel and the top of our first real climb, we came across our first Lavu.
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| How Cool is This Going To Be |
A Finnish log lean to shelter that we would encounter many times from here on. It was while stopped here, that our first swarm of mosquitoes found us, and while we knew it was going to be a problem, really, we had no idea just how bad they were going to be. Finnish Lapland is virtually a giant swamp in Summer, and well, those little bastards don’t have much time to breed.
But, getting along nicely on beautiful gravel roads through
the Birch, Pine and Spruce Forests was just magical as long as we didn’t slow
down enough for the mozzies to catch up.
The next challenge was lunch. Don’t worry, we had plenty of food, but stopping to eat it meant donating litres of blood. We were going to have to completely rethink the way that we organise our day. Then the rain started, oh so slowly.
The guide we were following had most of the Lavu marked on
it and we had picked out two potential camps for tonight. Despite the fact that
it was raining pretty hard now, we skipped the first one and headed for the one
at about the 74km mark. As we rolled into this Lavu it was still flogging down,
so we went straight for the shelter of the Lavu. It turned out that this was
where the Mozzies were also sheltering. So, there was nothing for it, we got
the tent up as quick as possible, chucked Mary and the bedding inside and Mary
set up the tent while I cooked a quick meal, covered up head to toe to protect
me from the mozzies and the rain. It felt urgent and stressful, but once I
realised that we were actually ok, wet, lumpy, but ok, we relaxed and started
to really think about a strategy.
We were warm and cozy in the tent, and well, as long as we
didn’t have to go back out again, we’d be fine. Haha.
Wednesday, June 19, Wild Camp to Pello River camp, 74km,
639m vert
So, the revised strategy was that we would prep second breakfast and lunch so that we could just eat it on the go if we had to. Also, for tonight, there was a caravan park at a town called Pello, so we aimed for that thinking that we needed to find out if the mozzies were as bad in the towns, because we really hadn’t noticed them in Rovaniemi.
While grey, the rain had stopped in the early hours and the
tent was actually quite dry. So, we got organised and hit the road. We had a
few light showers during the day, but it wasn’t much and with our long clothing
and head nets, we could tolerate stopping to make coffee and eat under our
nets,,,, carefully.
Arriving in Pello, we could pick up some fresh food for
dinner (beer) before heading to the campground which was lovely. Yes, there
were a few mozzies, but nothing like out in the forest, so now we knew that it
would be possible to escape them if we weren’t coping, but of course, we really
wanted to be wild camping.
The Pello River camp was on the banks of the Torne River, a famous Salmon fishery. It is also the border between Sweden and Finland for quite a while.
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| Salmon Boats |
There were a lot of very cool wooden salmon boats on the bank and a lot of people were going out to fish in the very wide and fast flowing river. Mary did see one person with a very large Salmon, and the camp kitchen smelled like fish, so they are real.
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| Hmmm, Land Of The Midnight Sun |
Thursday June 20, Pello to Kolari, 85.66km, 441m vert
With renewed confidence in our ability to deal with the
Mozzies, we headed out that morning, for what was initially an easy cruise
following the river on a back road. This gave us an opportunity to pop back into
Sweden for a minute, just because we could. We are still such children đ
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| Ahhh Sweden |
We found an amazing Lavu on the river’s edge to have second breakfast and the mozzies weren’t too bad. So, we started thinking that it would be fine to wild camp somewhere tonight. The trail left the river after that and went climbing back into the forest. The gravel was about 50% champagne, and 50% deep loose gravel that looked like it would be chopping our tyres the edges were so sharp. But it was very slow in these sections.
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We had noticed a lot of small timber platforms along the
trail and were a bit mystified as to what they were. They would remain a thing
for the next week. We could only assume that they were for hunters, as they
were always on sight lines down through the forest. This might explain why we
hadn’t seen any Moose yet.
Coming across a campsite that had a nice little cabin in the
forest, we thought that we might camp there. Pretty hungry, we decided to have
lunch and a coffee inside the cabin, this was fine, but by the time we
finished, the cabin was full of mozzies too, so we reluctantly kicked on. The
trail would take us back down to the river soon, so we decided that was probably
a better option.
Once back at the river, we couldn’t find anywhere good to
camp. Approaching the town of Kolari, there were a lot of small farms that
weren’t ok to camp. We resigned ourselves to seeing if we could get a room in
town somewhere, but we were aware that it was midsummer and very busy. Luckily the lady who runs the Kolari hotel
had a room, and we could stay there, but they were going to be closed tomorrow.
An excellent result, and they had a nice bistro for dinner as well. And no
mozzies.
Friday June 21, Kolari to Akassaivo Campsite, 70.1km, 463m
vert
Back on the road and heading away from the river, and Sweden for the last time, we started to really enjoy the forest once again. The trail meandered either side of the road to Akaslompolo for quite a while, and we took the time to light a fire and have second breakfast at a Lavu alongside a beautiful small river. We are reminding ourselves to take the time to manage our situation in a way that allows us to relax. The mozzies had been a huge stress point for a few days, but if we take the time to light a small fire and make some smoke, it really helps and allows us to slow down. It’s not like the sun is going down anytime soon, so there is no risk of not making it to camp before dark. In fact, we won’t experience a dark night now until we get home, in August.
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| Nice Smokey Fire |
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| Now We Are Learning How To Cope |
From here the trail got pretty gnarly for about the last
15ks into Akaslompolo, a ski resort town which is the beginning of the Arctic
Post Road. This tough 15ks is really what made up our minds as to whether to
tackle the gravel or MTB route. The going was tough, muddy and very technical
and we decided it would be just too wet on the ground for the MTB route.
So, after resupplying and lunch in Akaslompolo, we were off
on the beginning of the Arctic Post Road Gravel Route.
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| So Beautiful, And All Free |
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| The Lake Below Camp |
Once again, we lit a small fire to ward off the mozzies and
made camp. We were feeling that we were starting to find the wilderness vibe.
Saturday, June 22, Akassaivo to Lake Pallasjarvi,
53.77km, 540m vert
We had a lovely cruisy ride out of camp on the jeep track
this morning. We can’t believe we took the crazy trail in to there yesterday. This
morning was a mixture of gravel and bitumen, with the highlight of me spotting
a full unopened can of beer on the gravel track that must have bounced out of
someone’s quad bike esky. What a find.
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| Classic Lapland Bus Stop, Second Brekkie Stop |
We meandered through the arctic Fjell’s, low granite domes
that rise gently from the forested landscape. When out on the bitumen road
between gravel sections, we would avail ourselves of the cute little bus stops
as a rest/lunch/coffee spot. These cool bus stops were often personalised by
local people who cared, often with window flower boxes or kerosene lamps, one
was even carpeted.
We arrived quite early to Lake Pallasjarvi, which was lucky as the little campsite was quite accessible from the road and was quite busy. There was only enough space for about four tents, and while we got the first site, by the time we had finished lunch, they were all taken. The wind was quite strong and cold which had the lake looking quite dark and choppy, so a swim wasn’t really on the cards, but it did keep the mozzie numbers down. Once again, a nice little cabin, with an outside fireplace and a big wood store for free use. We just love the Finns and their attitude to making use of the outdoors.
Later that night, the wind dropped, and the lake turned to
glass and we actually were finally able to see the midnight sun, dancing across
the Northern Horizon.
Sunday June 23, Pallasjarvi to Hetta, 84.5km, 523m vert
Leaving camp and heading back to the main road, we had a great laugh at several reindeer using the Park Rangers carport as a shelter. When we stopped, they came out to investigate us, maybe they thought we had snacks.
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| Where The Rangers Park Their Reindeer |
The rest of the day would be on paved road, but honestly it
was still very beautiful. We saw lots of reindeer, birds of prey along the
river and then, arriving in Hetta, a really nice hamburger shop right across
the road from the supermarket. Resupply and a great feed, all in one place. We
decided to camp in the campground in town, which wasn’t great, but at least we
got a shower.
Monday June 24, Hetta to Kautokeino, 79.16km, 526m vert
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| When In Rome |
Hello Norway, and another adventure awaiting.
With excited legs, we seemed to cruise into Kautekeino, we had decided to camp in town and attempted to choose the best of two campgrounds and get our heads around the change of currency from Euros to Norwegian Kroner. We had some euros to get rid of still and found that most businesses in far north Norway were ok with being paid in Euro until we ran out. We really weren’t using cash at all, so we decided not to take any Kroner out and see how we went.
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| Late Night Coffee and Chat |
The camp ground here was really nice in an elevated location
and we ended up in their Lavu, drinking free campfire coffee and listening to a
lovely Sami lady chat about her heritage. This lasted till quite late at night
with her also being very interested in us as she hadn’t met any Australians
before.
Tuesday, June 25, Kautokeino to Suolovuopmi Fjellstue, 74.16km,
786m vert
We were excited about an all gravel day today as well as
heading up to the high arctic Tundra for a couple of days.
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| That First Stream, Keep Your Feet Dry |
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| The Arctic Tundra |
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| Choose Your Weapon |
The scenery was amazing, but we feel that we didn’t see that much of it as we were having to concentrate on our line so hard. We did explore some reindeer herders’ yards and a closed Fjellstue along the way.
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| Shit, Where's My Bike Gone? |
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| We've Got To Go Through It |
Our destination today was the Suolovopomi Fjellstue.
Fjellstues, are the original Travellers way points along the Arctic Post Road,
offering accommodation, meals and some resupply. The lady who ran this one
welcomed us with open arms, fed us, and offered us a simple room for the night.
This was something that we had really been wanting to experience. The beautiful
old timber bunkhouse had been made into private rooms, and the best thing was,
they had drying cupboards, which meant that by the time we left the next
morning, all our gear was dry again. What amazing luxury. And oh, did I mention
the hot shower?
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| The Power Of A Hot Shower, Feed and Sleep |
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| Suolovuopmi Fjellstue |
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| Best Hot Dinner Ever |
Wednesday, June 26, Suolovuopmi to Alta, 59.21km, 506m
vert
After dinner last night, our host asked if we wanted a
simple breakfast, or the full Swedish. We said that a simple breakfast would be
fine, but when we turned up this morning, we saw this amazing spread set out.
We assumed that this was for someone else, and poured ourselves a coffee while
we waited. It turned out that no, this was our simple breakfast. It was so
extensive that we wondered what the full Swedish would have been like.
It was almost disappointing when we finally began to descend
off the plateau down towards Alta, but it was an epic descent. The Arctic Post
road had delivered an amazing adventure, and as we hit the showers in the
mozzie free campground in coastal Alta, we realised how much we needed a day
off after nine very solid days on the bike.
Rest Day
The campground office sold fresh croissant, baguettes, and
coffee, so we had a relaxing morning in camp.
 |
| The rock art was extensive and worth a look |
In the evening we had a light dinner and cleaned the bikes.
We would be mostly on the road for a while now, so it would be nice to get the
dirt off.
Friday, June 28, Alta to Wild Camp near Skaidi, 84.71km,
849m vert
We had heard rumours of the massive climb heading back inland from Alta, back up to the Arctic Tundra. But we were so blown away by the scenery, that it wasn’t too bad. We found a great spot on the pass to have a break. There was quite a bit of remnant snow in the shady spots, but it was warm and sunny and we could see for miles. Theoretically it was down from here to Skaidi, but it was so gradual and with a head wind, it really didn’t feel like it.
 |
| The Pass |
 |
| Remnant Snow On The Roadside |
We stopped and got water at a very well made roadside stop
and considered camping here for the night, but it was a bit busy, so we decided
that we still had some ks in our legs, so we would push on while the weather
was so good. Only a few ks short of Skaidi we found a great little spot by a
side stream and put up the tent.
Saturday, June 29, Wild Camp to Wild camp near E69,
59.9km, 532m vert
The little village of Skaidi was a ghost town this morning,
but we did manage to top up water behind the closed service station. Then it
was a long climb up over another pass before a long brake burning descent down
to the coast at Olderfjord. There was a really nice roadhouse style café here,
so we lingered over a long second breakfast before heading out to ride north
along the coast. The forecast said that we would have a punishing head wind
from here and it wasn’t wrong.
 |
| Our First Tunnel |
 |
| Happy Reindeer |
A place next to a little fishing village had a sign out for
fresh waffles and coffee. It had only been an hour since second brekky, but you
never know when the next opportunity will arise, do you?
The coast road is spectacular, despite the wind. We had seen that there were a couple of official roadside camps along this section. There are a lot of campervans travelling this road. The first one we came to was a spectacular bayside place that was brand new with amazing facilities, but the wind was howling through here. We analysed the map and thought that the next one would be in a more sheltered position and it turned out to be an excellent decision. But before we got there, we experienced our first Norwegian Tunnel. We cannot underestimate how grateful we are to have invested in a really good dynamo hub lighting system. The tunnels are scary and very cold, and this was just the first of many.
 |
| Roadside Wild Camp |
Sunday June 30, Wild Camp to camp ground near
Honningsvag, 71.18km, 447m vert
The forecast was for fresh Northerlies again today, so we
got going early while it was calm. This is also a good strategy to avoid the
campervans for a while, as they rarely seem to be on the road before about 9:30am.
The riding was amazing, but our nerves were a little on edge as we knew the infamous undersea Nordkapp tunnel was approaching. Funnily, we arrived at the entrance to a tunnel and thought that it was the one before, so we sort of got thrown into it, and had no real time to even think about it. So, the Nordkapp Tunnel is 8km long and goes down to about 320 metres below sea level at a 9% grade and then goes up the same amount and just as steep. We began plummeting into the abyss. It was noisy, it was very cold. The thing about tunnels is that the noise from traffic reverberates around and what you think is a semi trailer coming up behind you turns out to be a Tesla. It’s very disorienting. Then, on the descent there was a bike race going the other way, with traffic banked up behind them. We bottomed out going very fast and then began the long relentless climb out the other side. With most climbs, you get a variation of the grade, a steep bit, a less steep bit, a flat corner, where you get a little rest. But this was a relentlessly increasing grade. All you could see was the tunnel ahead slowly increasing in grade and it was hard going. Luckily there were safety zones and we were able to pull over to take some layers off.
 |
| Nordkapp Tunnel Entrance |
Eventually, we could see daylight at the tunnel mouth and as
we popped out a huge sense of relief and achievement was enjoyed. We were quite
relieved that we weren’t going to have to ride it back the other way.
We were now on the island of Mageroya and the last 17km
through to Honningsvag was very enjoyable.
We enjoyed a good meal in Honningsvag before re supplying
and riding the last few ks to the campground.
Monday July 1, Honningsvag – Nordkapp – Honningsvag, 52.58km,
1245m vert
We had a choice to make. We had decided to take the
Hurtigruten (Norway’s coastal ferry) from Honningsvag to Tromso so that we
didn’t have to ride the same road back to Alta. Besides, this sounded like an
adventure anyway. But there was no boat on Wednesday. We had to either go at
6am Tuesday or Thursday. So, we booked Thursday to give us time to ride up to
Nordkapp and back. We wanted to do it at night to experience the midnight sun,
which made a 6am ferry tomorrow a bit problematic.
It turned out however, that the best weather window in the
next few days was tonight. We left our camp set up and just carried essential
gear as we knew there was lots of climbing to be done.
Leaving camp around 7pm, we were straight into the first
climb, but the scenery was spectacular looking back over the fjord. Once at the
top we had a long flat plateau to enjoy before a very long descent virtually
back to sea level. Then it was up again for the very long climb up to Nordkapp.
Loads of scenic photo opportunities along the way made it very enjoyable. There
were also lots of reindeer. The climb seemed to go on forever, with lots of
false summits, then we disappeared into the mist.
 |
| Fjord, looking North Towards Nordkapp |
Very few people have managed to arrive at Nordkapp without
being fogged in, we weren’t going to be one of them. But it was surreal, and we
really felt like we had achieved something. We had ridden through Arctic
Lapland to arrive at the most Northern point of the European continent, 71degrees,
10minutes, 21seconds North. Fun fact, further North than Russian Siberia.
 |
| The Holy Grail of European Bikepacking |
 |
| Midnight sun on the way back to camp |
Honningsvag – Tromso, cycle/ Hurtigruten
ferry. 8.25km, 57 m vert
Due to our early start and the rain, we had decided to get a
little cabin last night so that we could be packed up and ready to head to the
ferry terminal. This was a great decision and even though it was still raining
very lightly, it was an easy run into Honningsvag.
Of course we were early, and eventually there were another
eight bikepackers catching the ferry that day. When the ferry arrived, we
realised how much it is more a cruise ship than a ferry. We would be on board
for about 18 hours, so we didn’t have to book a cabin. While we are very much
not cruise ship people, this was an awesome experience. First there was the
buffet breakfast, our favourite meal of the day. There was always something to
see as the route followed the coast and the scenery was spectacular. We called
into six other ports along the way, and we were able to get off for about an
hour to walk around Hammerfest.
 |
| Hammerfest Locals |
We arrived in the stunning Fjord town of Tromso at midnight,
and rode the short distance to a hotel that we had booked and flopped into bed
exhausted.
Friday July 5, Tromso – wild camp 48.75km, 459m vert
The heritage wooden buildings of central Tromso were a
drawcard as we went about finding breakfast and a bit of resupply. We were very
excited about starting our ride today as we were heading towards the island of
Senja, and the Lofotens, loosely following the Eurovelo 1 route.
 |
| Wooden Church in Tromso |
We didn’t leave Tromso until around Midday, and as we rode
quietly out of town, we realised just how big Tromso is, mostly on the back
side of the island. A very large bridge took us across to the island of Kvaloya
and from there the riding was on easy paved cycle path for quite a while.
Eventually, an island must be crossed, and climbing had to be done. But with
fresh legs and the scenery dial turned up to eleven, the kilometres seemed to
melt away.
 |
| The Wild Camping Just Keeps Getting Better |
Once over the pass, we started thinking about possible
campsites for the night. We were about to drop down onto a Fjord and would
eventually arrive at the ferry across to Senja. After a great long descent to
sea level, we were really enjoying meandering around the Fjord. With about 12
ks to go to the ferry, I spotted a rough track going into a very cool spot
right on the water, so in we went. What a spot. As we settled into cooking
dinner, we just sat on the rocks over the water’s edge and watched all the fish
jumping and even had porpoises cruising around.
Saturday July 6, Wild Camp to Skaland (Senja), 53.2km,
523m vert
A nice cruise through to the ferry in the morning had us
waiting a while for the next ferry. We were very excited about heading across
to Senja, its reputation of epic scenery preceded it. The forecast however
might not be on our side, thunderstorms and heavy rain around lunch time.
 |
| Ralph Seems To Be Enjoying Himself |
Once off the ferry, we were speaking to two French
bikepackers who had decided to get a cabin early in case the weather forecast
was right. But of course, us Aussies tend to worry about the weather when it
actually happens, so we decided to kick on over the first pass and then
reassess. Once on the pass, we could see the weather building, as well as hear
rolling thunder in the distance. But it looked like it was going to go around
us. So, we had a brilliant fast descent off the pass, with the sounds of
thunder behind us, but we were still riding in short sleeves and sunshine.
Back on the coast road, we had ocean on our right and huge
vertical cliff faces on our left. We were loving it, and no sign of that storm.
 |
| Such Drama |
In the space of about thirty seconds, however, the storm
seamed to leap over the high crags to our left and seriously caught us out. It
smashed down with hail, then rain, and all we could do was get our tent ground
sheet out and huddle under it. But this wasn’t going to work, the wind was
flapping the tarp and bringing the rain in sideways and we were getting soaked.
So, all we could do was struggle into our wet gear and keep going, otherwise we
were going to go hyperthermic real fast.
After about a kilometre, there was a tunnel, and despite
this being very dangerous we huddled in there for about twenty minutes while we
got ourselves sorted out. Welcome to Senja.
We were very wet, but now warm enough to be ok. We decided
to head to Skaland, a small town with a campground where at least we would be
able to get a hot shower. The riding was still great, but it rained on and off
for the rest of the day. The hot shower was great, and they had a nice warm
camp kitchen to spend the afternoon in.
Sunday, July 7, Skaland to Bleik (Andoya), 51km, 658m
vert
More epic riding today, the rain was on and off a bit, but
we were having a great time. We encountered another architectural public loo
and slowly mad our way around headlands and various tunnels until popping out
into the stunning Gryllfjord, where we would be catching the ferry to Andoya.
 |
| All The Layers On |
The weather was just stunning and the fishing village of
 |
| Dark, Wet, Moody, Spectacular Senja |
 |
| Gryllfjord |
Being Sunday, there was only one supermarket open on the way
to our campground, and that turned out to be a 24hr self serve, which was a bit
limited, but we got what we needed.
The campground on the beach at Bleik turned out to be very busy and we were lucky to convince the owner that we would not take up much space. In the end we got a good spot in a very tightly packed tent only area. Later in the camp kitchen, we were chatting with the owner, who turned out to be a really cool guy and wished that everyone was as relaxed as we were.
Monday July 8, Bleik to Wild Camp, 49.64km, 311m vert
The forecast headwind was looking pretty horrific today, but
we had decided not to take the quickest route. There was a dirt road section on
the lower West Coast of Andoya that we had been warned against taking by some
German guy we met yesterday. He said he had driven it ten years ago and was the
roughest road he had ever been on. That was good enough for us, there would be
no one else there.
But first that coastal headwind. It was definitely as bad as
forecast, almost blowing us off the road when rounding the headlands.
Today we found another of Norway’s architectural rest stops,
it was all mirrored. There were some cave paintings to be found here, but try
as we might, we couldn’t find them. By the time it started to rain we had given
up and kept riding.
Turning off the main route across Andoya, we continued down
the beautiful coastline. Winding through sleepy villages we suddenly realised
the wind had dropped and we were having a wonderful cruise. As we approached
the turn off onto the dirt road, we couldn’t help but wonder if the warning
would be accurate.
 |
| Our Classic Norwegian Dinner |
It turned out that the road, which was closed to traffic at one end was a wonderful ride and certainly not rough by our standards. To top the day off, we found a beautiful camp site over a rocky beach with fabulous views. The only company we had were a few sheep who gently rang their bells throughout the night.
Tuesday July 9, Wild camp to Wild Camp near Forfjord,
67.12km, 481m vert
Riding out around the southern end of Andoya made for a very
chilled out morning. Our route was quite indirect but very nice. Rain jackets
were on and off, and we were hoping for a resupply and maybe a café second
breakfast at Risoyhamn. The mini supermarket had plenty of options and we did
manage a coffee and croissant in the little self-service café.
Then we had a huge bridge to traverse before getting onto a
quite busy road for a while. Looking out for a wild camp as we rounded several headlands
and small Fjords, we came across a perfect spot overlooking a picturesque bay.
While we were in view of the road, we were now becoming quite comfortable with
the idea, as no one really cares. It was quite smelly however, we blamed other campers,
but we only learned afterward that there was a Sea Lion colony just the other
side of the knoll.
Wednesday, July 10, Forfjord to Wild camp on Hadseloya, 63.91km,
460m vert
We are now very much in the groove of Wild Camp, pass through some
village or town to resupply during the day and onto wild camp again, today was
very typical. But once we crossed a very large bridge onto the island of
Hadseloya, we faced a little challenge. The Euro 1 took a right turn and did a
scenic lap of the whole island while the actual road went straight on to the
next ferry, 20ks shorter. We mentally struggled with this as the weather was a
little miserable. But it did look like clearing up.
Reminding ourselves that we were on no schedule, and we were here for the experience, we turned right, and damned lucky we did. Initially there was a little climbing on a very quiet road with the ocean out on our right. Then on the Northern most point of the island we were very close to the water when a pod of Orcas went cruising through, complete with two males showing off very tall dorsal fins. We watched them for quite a while until they left us, then we started looking for a camp site. We found a great spot, again, in a field of cloudberries, overlooking a little bay where we had a swim in the beautiful late afternoon sunshine.
 |
| Cloudberry Fields Forever |
Thursday, July 11, Hadseloya to Laukvik, 44.51km, 306m
vert
The morning was a bit drizzly, but we were up and going quite
early, heading to a ferry at the village of Melbu that would take us across to Austvagoya.
We had a little wait for the ferry and found an awesome bakery in town, so we
had second breakfast while we could. We were aiming for a small fishing village
called Laukvik that apparently has its own coffee roaster. So, we definitely
didn’t want to get there after closing.
But this didn’t mean that the riding wasn’t great, it was,
but it was a while since having real espresso and we were on the verge of
running out of our coffee too. The scenery skidded by and we arrived at this
most stunning little wharf side café, with the coffee roastery right next door.
We thought we had died and gone to heaven. Stripping off our wet weather gear
we headed inside for lunch, and we weren’t disappointed.
There was a little harbourside campground in town, so we
headed there in hope of a hot shower and a washing machine. We found both, and
spent the afternoon getting our gear clean, we were really starting to smell.
We had to camp on the rubble right next to the wharf’s edge, but we had a
picnic table and in the early evening a lady came around to collect camping
fees. This was to become quite normal. Local communities get together to
provide a campground somewhere in town and you just pull up and help yourself.
At some stage a committee member will come around with a mobile eftpos and ask
for payment. No permanent staff. It’s a great idea, and the committee shares
the responsibilities.
Friday July 12, Laukvik to Rystad Lofoten Camping, 62.44km,
616m vert
A nice climb up and over a small pass to the other side of
the island was really nice riding. This was followed by a long descent until we
hit the intersection with the E10, the bit that we weren’t looking forward to.
But on the fun side, at the intersection we met two kiwi
bikepackers who we had met in the far North a couple of weeks ago. We had a
chat and shared some stories and then we had to mix it with all the campervans
on the E10 for the rest of the day.
Being quite busy, we didn’t hold much hope for finding a
wild camp along this stretch, so we opted to take a little side trip to a
campground and found a great spot in an open field in the mid-afternoon. By 5pm
however, we were totally hemmed in by other campers and then the farmer next
door decided that it would be a great time to cut hay. Luckily it was quite
damp meadow hay, so there were no dust issues for me.
Saturday July 13, Rystad to wild camp near Molneva
waterfall, 69.67km, 629m vert
Oh, the Lofotens.
We got out of camp early and really enjoyed the quiet roads
while it lasted. Over a huge bridge straight out of camp we turned off the E10 on
to the 815 which was the most beautiful coast road we have ever ridden. Small
fjords, one after another, and then into the rather large town of Leknes where
we found a great bakery and lingered over lunch before kicking on.
 |
| Can You See Our Tent |
On the way out, we noticed that one of the Hurtigruten
Ferries was in port, then we disappeared into an undersea tunnel and then we
were on the E10 for quite a while. Once again, we thought that we probably
wouldn’t find a free camp, but really wanted to after last night’s camp. We
happened across a waterfall, Molneva Waterfall, and stopped for a look. There
was a beautiful small pool at the base, and we sat and watched small brown
trout feeding for a while. It would be a beautiful campsite despite being close
to the road, so all of a sudden, the tent was up, and we were off on a hike to
the top of the waterfall set in a huge natural amphitheatre which still had a
little remnant snow. Luckily there wasn’t much as it would have otherwise been
a very dangerous place to camp.
 |
| Top Of The Waterfall |
We count ourselves very lucky to have found this spot to
camp and it was even better when, despite a few people stopping to see the
waterfall, no one else camped.
Our last morning on the Lofotens. We didn’t want to leave.
Despite being on the E10, the riding was spectacular. We even found a cute little bakery
on the wharf of a little fishing port which was spectacularly idyllic. We just
chilled on a bench in the sun outside the tiny bakery, contemplating what we
had experienced over the past weeks and hoping that the final stage of the trip
would live up to it.
With a few ks to ride to the ferry and plenty of time to get
the port of Moskenes, we slowly made our way along. Then we were off on a three
and half our ferry ride from Moskenes to Bodo, back on the mainland.
We booked a hotel and got all our gear clean before heading
out for a lovely dinner in town.
Monday, July 15, Bodo to Saltstraumen, 36.36km, 382m vert.
With a shortish day planned, we decided to linger over the
included hotel breakfast. We planned to stay at one of two campgrounds at
Saltstraumen and slowly headed off in that direction. This ride tuned in to one
of the toughest 36ks we’ve done, and we couldn’t explain why. Yes, there was a
bit of headwind and some minor climbing, but pretty tame really. Perhaps we
were a little fatigued, this was day eleven since our last break. We hadn’t
felt like we needed one, but with two short days in a row we had been calling
this a semi rest day. Nope.
 |
| The Scenery Continued To Thrill |
 |
| 2000ks Done, Woohoo |
Saltstraumen is like
a tidal horizontal waterfall and was definitely worth seeing, but first, the
campground we chose,,,,,.
Our warning radar was up when we rode in, and the camp
seemed very busy. The sole guy who ran the place was amazing and put us on a
nice bit of lawn in front of his house. This guy was cashing in on a small
window of tourism business opportunity, and good on him. We sited our tent in a
way that hopefully wouldn’t allow anyone to camp too close to us and walked
back up to the bridge to see the tidal show.
By the time we got back we were hemmed in. Oh well. The
owner was packing everyone in like sardines. While this was ok, the noise that
happened all night as a result of great weather and the midnight sun, made sure
that we got no sleep on this night.
Tuesday July 16, Saltstraumen to Vallsjoen, 94.7km, 1203m
vert
The weather was amazing, so with very little sleep we headed
off, vowing to avoid formal campgronds where we can. I’m sure that everyone
else had a great time.
Now on the Helgeland coast of the Norwegian mainland,
mentally we had decided that having done the Lofotens, the rest was going to be
boring. Nothing could be further from the truth.
While the roads were perhaps a little busier, they were also
wider which actually felt a bit safer. The scenery continued to thrill. And
despite the fact that we were on the mainland the occasional ferry trip would
still be giving our legs a rest.
We were worried that we might not find much in the free
camping department, so we decided to put in a special effort. After a late
ferry ride which took us to a quiet section away from the main road, we began
our search. We had spotted a beach near Vallsjoen that looked like it had
potential, but when we got there, we didn’t feel comfortable with the exposure.
There was a walking trail out onto a headland, so we decided to explore that
and found a few potential spots.
Then we found a timber platform built right on the edge of a
fjord with incredible views across the water and beyond to a huge glacier. What
a spot. So, we sat for a little while to see if the trail was busy. After about
half an hour we had seen no one, so up went the tent and we even got a really
nice, but cold swim.
Wednesday, July 17, Vallsjoen to near Brattland, 67.72km,
921 vert
After a great sleep we were totally reinspired by staying in
such an awesome location.
We had a fairly long ferry ride at one point today, which meant an onboard cafĂ©, which we always found exciting. While on the ferry we passed a marker telling us that we were now South of the Arctic Circle. We weren’t sure how we felt about that as we had been having such an amazing experience. Officially we had left the Land Of The Midnight Sun. But it really didn’t make much difference.
 |
| Arctic Circle Marker |
Our wild camp mission for tonight was a road that avoided a
long tunnel, so we thought we would find something down there. But we were
nearly back to the road before we found a pretty ordinary spot on a very rocky
flat spot which turned out to be the demolition site of an old building. The
view was great though and we managed to scramble down some rocks to have a swim.
So, it all worked out fine.
 |
| How To Make a Demolition Site Look Like A Great Camp |
Thursday, July 18, Wild Camp to Nesna, 78.85km, 866m vert
First mission this morning tuned out to be getting back onto
the road which had a bikepacker proof fence in our way. We had to unload the
bikes to get them over before reloading to continue. It must have looked quite
a sight. We needed a small resupply today and we knew that there was a small
supermarket a few ks down the road. This turned out to be an unmanned 24hr shop
that turned out hilarious after Mary totally scared the owner when she thought
that she was the only one in the store.
The rest of the day became dark and drizzly, marked by
constantly changing in and out of our wet gear.
We knew tonight was going to have to be a campground as we
were not going to make it to Nesna after the afternoon ferry. But that was ok,
as we needed a shower and to do our laundry. It turned out to really cater for
bikepackers, with a quiet camp area away from the main park and a terrific camp
kitchen. We met some other bikepackers over dinner as everyone was hiding from
the rain in the kitchen.
Friday July 19, Nesna to Sandnessjoen, 43.97km, 431m vert
Straight onto the ferry this morning, the weather was calm,
but dark and misty, and I wasn’t feeling well. We had to cross this massive
bridge into Sandnessjohn in the misty drizzle. It was spectacularly high and
scary. We found a good café and sat down for a decent meal, hoping that was
what I needed. But as the morning wore on, and the rain set in, I just wasn’t
feeling like going on, something was settling onto my chest, and I know that that
is my kryptonite.
We noticed a campground with cabins just next to the small airport on the way out of town and went in to see if they had a room. Luckily they did, it was very basic, but dry and warm, we sat in the camp kitchen drinking coffee, trying to lift my spirits. In the end, sleeping bag out and a good rest was what I needed and as the afternoon wore on, I was feeling a lot better and was fine to keep going the next day.
Saturday, July 20, Sandnessjoen to Vennesund, 107.58km,
620 vert
We didn’t plan to do over 100k today, but by mid-afternoon, the weather was great, the climbing was done, and we had a good tail breeze, so we kicked on to Vennesund, where our friend Maddy was waiting to meet us. She wasn’t expecting us till the next day, so it was great fun to roll into camp and surprise her. This was a very busy campground, but it had a great vibe and we would have a great stay here.
 |
| It Did Cross Our Mind |
 |
| The Seven Sisters |
Maddy fed us and had also brought lots of beers and vodkas from home to entertain us. We had a great evening sitting on the grass eating Maddy’s sweets and doing shots until sleep could not be further delayed. It was ok, tomorrow had been declared an official rest day.
 |
| Finally Our First Elk/Moose With Calf |
Sunday July 21, Rest Day
And rest we did.
Monday July 22, Vennesund to Naustbukta, 45.85km, 707m
vert
Maddy had decided to shadow us in her car for a few days,
which would be interesting as we sort of had to have an idea of where we would
end up each day. This was fun though, and there would be plenty of laughs along
the way. We were onto a ferry straight out
of camp, then the road was awesome coastal riding before we accidentally took a
wrong turn after about 15ks. It was about 2ks before we realised our mistake
and had to back track. The funny thing was that there was a campground and café
back where we took the wrong turn, which now was open, so we stopped for coffee
and cake which was great. Every cloud has a silver lining.
Maddy caught up with us about here and we pointed out a
place where we would meet her in about 30ks. We had some climbing to do now,
but it was a beautiful quiet road.
We met Maddy at a small supermarket and grabbed some fresh
food while we decided where to camp tonight. There were two options, about 2ks
down the road or another 40ks. We decided that it looked like rain so we would
camp now.
The funny little campground was very quiet and had a cool
cooking shelter. Of course, Maddy was stocked up with bbq charcoal and lighter fluid,
so we cooked in the hut and had a great meal. This was another one of those
camps where the owner turns up in the evening to collect payment which works so
well.
Back at the tents we found another bikepacker had set up
nearby and we met Nina, a Norwegian woman who was riding from Nordkapp back to
her home in Stavanger, the entire length of Norway.
Tuesday July 23, Naustbuka to Salsnes, 64.82km, 287m vert
We woke up to a day that looked like it might turn out wet. While
having breakfast, Nina sat down with us and chatted for a while. We were ready
to go, so we said goodbyes and hoped we might see each other along the way.
It didn’t take long for the rain to start, Maddy was very
worried about us, but was having a great time taking photos and video of us
along the way. By the time we got into Kolvereid, we needed a break from the
rain. We found a nice café and hid out there for about an hour.
With the rain not letting up we decided it was time to
harden up and made our way back to the bikes and started pulling our wet gear
back on. As we rode off, we saw Nina coming in and stopped to see her. Nina was
having a hard lonely day in the rain, so we invited her to ride with us and see
if we could cheer her up. She readily agreed.
Luckily the rain didn’t last too much longer and by the time
we got to the ferry at Hofles things were looking up. But we were cold and wet.
The ferry service had two destinations from here and the attendant invited us onto
the boat for the first trip so that we could sit in the warm canteen rather
than on the dock. This was so great of him, and we all had a great rest.
We had picked out a community campground at Salsnes as a
potential stop for tonight, and despite the rain coming and going it was a very
scenic ride. When we arrived at the campground there was not another soul to be
seen. The ground was very wet, so we just had to pick the best spot that we
could and get the tent up. I was worried what it would be like if it rained
much longer.
The campground had a building with toilets, shower and
washing machine, but at the other end was a café that had been closed for some
time. However, there was a great covered shelter where we brought our food bags,
Maddy spread her tablecloth and we all settled in for an evening of food and stories.
We were very happy to see lots of smiles on everyone’s faces despite a quite
tough day.
Wednesday, July 24, Salsnes to Nyengfossen water fall, 76.06km,
1006m vert
Another day of epic coastal riding with a nice café stop and
eventually the search for a camp. We aimed for a campground that we had spotted
on the map, but when we arrived, we were told that they had been booked out by
a motorcycle group that was arriving soon.
We struggled to find another camp, Nina and Maddy weren’t
too keen on a wild camp, and to be fair it was harder to do in a larger group
with a car. But we spotted a waterfall on the map up a side road, and I
encouraged everyone to check it out. It was so cool that we did, and while the
camp spot itself wasn’t particularly spectacular, the short walk to the river and
waterfall was. I even got the fly rod out and went fishing. What a great find, but
I didn’t catch anything.
Thursday, July 25, Waterfall camp to Sunsand near
Straumen, 75.84km, 809m vert
The weather improved dramatically today. The riding was less
coastal and hillier. We decided to regroup for lunch in the large town of Steinkjer
where we would decide where to camp for the night. We had our eye on a beach
camp at Sunsand which was a bit of a side trip. Nina was feeling the need to
not go sideways, so she decided that this is where we would part ways. We had a
great few days with Nina and hope that we had helped her reset, to finish her
personal challenge. We later found that she arrived in her hometown of
Stavanger in good time, what an epic achievement.
The beach at Sunsand was a busy place and we weren’t really
sure if we could camp there, but in the end, we did, and it was fine. It was a
very lovely place and then we realised that we were looking out across the
Trondheim Fjord, and while not in view, we realised that our destination of
Trondheim was not that far away.
Friday, July 26, Straumen to Leksvik, 58km, 919m vert
We were in no hurry, as we had decided that we would catch
the train to Oslo once we had arrived in Trondheim. And then, as is often the
case, an easy day turns into a slog. The weather was fine, but the climbing
dragged on. There were some highlights, like the little town of Mosvik, where we
had lunch.
The free camp at Leksvik was a bit weird, no toilets, right
in town, and the idea that a toilet and shower was available in the little restaurant
just down the road that wasn’t open until 5pm. Oh well, then we felt obliged to
have dinner there, and had some nice pizzas. And beer.
Saturday, July 27, Leksvik to Flakk, 43.31km. 434m vert
It was all coastal riding down to the ferry terminal at
Rorvik, where we got the ferry across to Flakk, only a short ride into
Trondheim. But we weren’t quite ready to ride the last bit, so we camped at the
campground next to the ferry terminal and caught up with showers and laundry
and began using up the leftovers in our food bags.
Sunday July 28, Flakk to Trondheim, 13.88km, 101m vert.
A mixture of excitement and sadness always haunts us on our
last riding day. Thoughts of what is probably the most scenic trip we have been
on. We were also looking forward to really good food and coffee experiences while
we spent a few days with Maddy before we caught the train to Oslo.
 |
| Trip Total 2747klm |
Trondheim was amazing, with loads of historic buildings, the
cathedral and waterfront cafes. But we were already missing our tent.
Maddy and Vinja would be heading home to Stockholm from here,
it was so awesome to spend some good time with them.
The train ride to Oslo was very scenic and we enjoyed a few
days seeing the sights and eating in nice restaurants.
One of the highlights of Oslo is definitely the Framm museum,
commemorating the journeys of such an amazing exploration vessel.
We had no trouble finding bike boxes and packed the bikes up
ready for the flight home and began dreaming of the next adventure.
