Day 24: Sandhornøya-Bodø (66 km)

Finally, after many days of grey weather and rain, the good weather is back. We left our camp at Sandhornøya right after nine o’clock this morning and headed towards Bodø. This was going to be a short day since we had gone longer than planned yesterday. 

After a bit more than thirty kilometres, we reached Saltstraumen – a narrow sound with very strong currents caused by the tides. This is a paradise for fishermen. We only enjoyed the view and continued without fishing. 

We reached Bodø at three and checked in at a nice small guesthouse close to the centre. After I got my clothes washed at a cleaning service, we enjoyed grilled salmon at a restaurant and took a little walk through the harbour. I also started working on my fourth video, but this won’t be finished by tomorrow morning as I hoped since I’ve got WiFi here. So I can use the time on the boat to Lofoten tomorrow. 

Up and down towards Bodø

Saltstraumen

Bodø marina at sunset (or does it set?)

Bodø marina with “skyline”

Day 23: Jektvik-Sandhornøya (111 km)

We left this morning at 8:30 – half an hour earlier than my normal time because we had two ferries on our way today, and the second one had very few departures. 

It was raining in the morning on our way to the first ferry from Ågskardet to Forøy. When we arrived there, we stopped for a croissant and coffee at the local shop.

Shortly before we wanted to take a lunch break, another cyclist approached us from behind. This was Harald from Austria – a crazy and very nice guy. He had started in Austria, cycled through Germany, Sweden and Norway, and this was day 20 (!) for him. This means that he cycles 180 kilometres per day in average. We had lunch with him, took the next ferry from Vassdalsvik to Ørnes together and continued for another few kilometres which was really fun. Then we took a break and he continued – he was a bit faster than us. I have to check his blog now to see if he actually cycled to Bodø today – wouldn’t surprise me. 

When we reached our planned destination for today, we found out that there wasn’t any village, let alone a shop. So we filled up our water bottles at a small creek and started looking out for a tent spot. Here we met Wolfgang from Cologne who was coming from the opposite direction. He was 74 years old and had been cycling since April. He told us that there was a motel 11 kilometres from where we met where he had had fish & chips. This was so tempting that we continued even if we had cycled 100 kilometres already and actually were ready for camp. We preferred to sleep in our tents, so we sat up our tents on the island Sandhornøya very close to this motel/restaurant. Here we just had fish & chips and a waffle so that we have enough energy for our way to Bodø tomorrow. 

Harald, the Austrian who cycled from Austria to Bodø in twenty days

Quite cloudy today still

View after the ferry to Ørnes

Close to the finish line today

Day 22: Nesna-Jektvik (97 km)

When we woke up this morning, it was very cloudy and grey again. During breakfast in my tent, it was also raining, but by the time we took down the tents, it had stopped. Wolf and I cycled together again today. We started the day with a coffee at the local petrol station in Nesna before we headed north again. 

After few minutes, it started raining again so that we stopped to take on our overshoes. Unfortunately, my helmet fell down here and the mount with my GoPro camera fell off. It was fixed with a self-adhesive tape, so I tried to attach it again, but I’m not sure how solid this is. So I filmed mostly handheld today (which has the advantage that I could film myself from time to time, too). 

After around twenty kilometres, we had to cycle over a pass of 350 metres altitude. Down on the other side, we were hoping for a petrol station and a coffee, but since there wasn’t any, we had a short break in a bus stop which offered shelter from the rain. 

When we continued, the rain got heavier, but it was a nice ride really along the beautiful Helgeland coast which looked a bit dramatic in the grey rainy weather. After 70 kilometres, we reached a museum where we could finally have a longer break and sit inside in a warm place. After this break, the weather also got better, so we could cycle the last twenty kilometres to the ferry from Kilboghavn to Jektvik without rain. 

From Jektvik, we continued slowly for a couple of more kilometres, always looking out for potential tent spots. We finally found a nice spot directly by the sea at a small pier. We had dinner and a beer together outside before it started dripping again and we went back to our tents. 

We are now less than 200 kilometres away from Bodø and still on schedule for Bodø on Thursday and the boat to Lofoten on Friday. The weather forecast for Thursday and Friday is excellent. So tomorrow might be the last cloudy and maybe rainy day for a while (knocking on wood).

View back from the first pass

Raining again

Reindeer

Dinner on the pier

A well-deserved beer after a rainy day

Day 21: Brønnøysund-Nesna (104 km)

After a quick breakfast (but with a waffle) at my hotel in Brønnøysund this morning, I left at 8:30 – rather early because I wanted to catch a ferry at 9:15, 14 kilometres away from Brønnøysund. At the ferry harbour, I met Wolf – another cyclist from the Black Forest region who seemed very nice. He started his trip in Germany and is going to cycle to Narvik. We had the same route today, so we cycled together. 

The first ferry took us from Horn to Andalsvågen. From here we had a 20 kilometres’ ride to the next ferry, Forvik-Tjøtta. Since that ferry doesn’t depart that often, we also had time for a coffee and second breakfast at a Coop shop. 

After this second ferry, we had a long section along the beautiful Helgeland Coast. We saw among other things the mountain formation Seven Sisters and crossed the 1065 metres long Helgeland bridge. 

Finally, after almost exactly 100 kilometres, we reached the third and last ferry for today which took us from Levang to Nesna. Right before we reached the harbour, I spotted a nice meadow from the ferry where we set up our tents now. 

Waiting for the first of three ferries today

View from the second ferry to Tjøtta

Helgeland Bridge

Camping close to the ferry harbour

Day 20: Hofles-Brønnøysund (129 km)

Today, I wasn’t quite sure how far I would get. The weather forecast was really bad, so I wanted at least to take the ferry from Holm to Vennesund after eighty kilometres and maybe continue a bit further towards Brønnøysund. The ferry goes not very often on Sundays. I could have aimed either for the 13:00 or 15:20 departure. In order to make it by 13:00, I needed to leave at eight, according to my estimation. So I set my alarm to 6:40 and planned to be efficient in the morning. 

When I woke up, it was raining outside. I considered for a moment to take the later ferry, but it stopped raining after a while. When I was taking down my tent and getting packed, a heavy rainstorm started. I needed to finish packing and then took shelter at a parking lot nearby. Here I waited for almost thirty minutes. Then I decided I would get cold if I stood here any longer, so I just started cycling. 

It rained almost without a break for the first three hours. I figured soon that I would not make the 13:00 ferry because I lost time in the beginning when I was waiting, and I cycled more slowly in the rain than I would have otherwise. 

When I approached the ferry harbour at twenty past one, however, I saw a boat coming towards this harbour. I thought that there was a small chance that the ferry was actually delayed, so I increased my pace and reached the ferry just when they started boarding. This was very fortunate because it saved me almost two hours. 

With new energy after a sausage and a svele on board, I continued my ride. It had stopped raining now, but the sky was very cloudy still. As long as it was dry though, I thought that I could continue for a couple of more hours and maybe even reach Brønnøysund which was 50 kilometres away from the ferry. 

Thirty kilometres before Brønnøysund, I passed a petrol station. I wondered if I should stop for a coffee or continue as long as it was dry. I went for the coffee – fortunately, because after five minutes, another heavy shower started. This one took fifteen minutes. Then I continued, and after five more minutes, the sun was actually out again. 

I continued in more or less sunny conditions to Brønnøysund where I checked in a hotel. (No wonder that Olav Thon became a billionaire when they sell rooms in a Thon Hotel in Brønnøysund for 1350 kr!)

At Brønnøysund, I am approximately half way to Nordkapp now. I have in total cycled 1650 kilometres and am a bit ahead of my time plan. Tomorrow, I will continue towards Sandnessjøen. Bodø, from where I am going to take a boat to Lofoten, is less than 400 kilometres away. 

A glimpse of a blue sky – very rare today

Entering Nordland – half way to Nordkapp

View from Brønnøysund at sunset

Stone marking the middle between Lindesnes and Nordkapp

Day 19: Malm-Hofles (122 km)

I was going to start one hour earlier today, at eight o’clock, in order to catch a ferry in the afternoon, so I changed my alarm to 6:40. However, I had forgotten that it was Saturday, so my alarm didn’t go off. I woke up at 7:20 anyway and checked the time on my mobile. Breakfast and packing took a bit more time than planned. So I finally started cycling today at 8:50. 

Since I had a slightly higher average speed to start with, I soon gained back some of the lost time. I first cycled towards Namsos in sunny weather. In Namdalseid, I took a short hot chocolate break at a Shell station (free hot drinks with my cup), and in Namsos, I had my lunch break at a Circe K station – quick and easy today. 

North of Namsos, the landscape changed. There were many small bays I passed and sounds I had to cross. At Salsnes, I could see the open sea again. 

I saw my first reindeer today – first a group of five or six which quickly fled into the forest, then a single one which wasn’t quite that shy. I also met many more cyclists today than in the previous days (most of them German). It seems like there are many different routes to choose in the south, but that most people choose the route I am currently on which connects the North Trøndelag region with Bodø along the coast. 

I caught the ferry from Lund to Hofles as planned at 17:10 and even had some time for a piece of apple cake with cream at the restaurant next to the ferry harbour. On the other side, there was also a restaurant. I decided to have dinner there so that I could save my dinners for the next days. 

I considered to continue for a few more kilometres, but then I would have left the coast. The weather was so fine so that I wanted to stay close to the coast, so I set up my tent two kilometres behind the ferry harbour at Hofles. 

Tomorrow I will go towards Brønnøysund which I will not reach though, most likely. The plan is to get as close as possible. 

Surrounded by water today

The not so shy reindeer

Green fields everywhere

Back at the coast

Barley field

Yesterday, I had a rest day in Trondheim. My friend Harry, whom I shared a tent with during our Greenland crossing in 2013, picked me up at my hotel in the centre. We first had a coffee in a café nearby and then took a tram up to Byåsen where he lives with his family. After a quick lunch, Harry, his wife Heidi and I went for a short hike in Bymarka – the forests around Trondheim. After a short power nap on the couch and a delicious pasta dinner with homemade pesto, Harry showed me his video from our Greenland trip. It was great to see those clips again. He also showed me a video of another ski trip they had at Hardangervidda which looked really nice and made me think about another ski trip. 

Day 18: Trondheim-Malm (111 km)

I left Trondheim right before nine o’clock this morning. It was raining when I left, so Harry who had considered to join me to the ferry harbour, stayed at home after all. I had another really close call with this ferry from Flakk to Rørvik and reached it a few seconds before departure. It would have gone every thirty minutes, but it is always nice not having to wait at the harbour. 

On the other side I met a German cyclist again who I had already met two days earlier. We cycled a few kilometres together, but he was constantly complaining about the weather and other things, so when we reached the foot of a longer hill, I told him I wanted to go a bit faster and continued alone. 

Shortly after, I had a short, but heavy rain shower. I was planning to have a lunch break at Verrabotn after 67 kilometres, which I had seen on the map. But when I arrived there, there was nothing there – no petrol station, no shop. So I only ate a banana, some chocolate and some peanut m&m’s and continued. 

Instead, I had a coffee break at a Coop Marked shop in Follafoss. There was a small café-like room next to the shop. When I arrived there, two older ladies told me that there was free coffee and cake today sponsored by Norsk tipping (lottery company) because someone from the village had won a million kroner. I was happy for this person and happy about my free coffee and cake. 

I continued a bit further and set up my tent at the fjord right before the village Malm. Tomorrow, I will pass through Namsos and see how far I come. 

Short hike to Grønnlia on my rest day

With Harry outside their house

Beitstadfjorden

Done for today – I saw the final distance first after I set up my tent

Kyrksæterøra-Trondheim (101 km)

Today, I was prepared for a lot of rain on my way to Trondheim. It had been raining through the night, and the forecast was pretty bad. When I woke up, it was not raining though. So I started today’s ride in cloudy, but dry conditions.

I first followed Snillfjorden (literally the kind fjord) out of Kyrksæterøra. There was very little traffic on this road. After a while the road left the fjord and led me over a 400 metres’ pass towards Orkanger. 

The sky was, if not in fifty shades, then at least in the darkest shades of grey. The roads were constantly wet showing that it had been raining recently, and I could see rain on the horizon all the time. I managed, however, to come to Orkanger with only a few raindrops on my helmet. When I was just outside a shopping centre and ready for lunch break, a heavy rainstorm started. I enjoyed my lunch watching the rain outside. And when I had finished lunch, it had stopped raining again. 

I continued towards Trondheim along the wide Trondheimsfjorden. The zoological highlight of the day was when a fox trotted by, only a few metres ahead of me. When I got closer, he said “hatee-hatee-hatee-ho” and disappeared. 

The last kilometres into Trondheim were on nice cycling paths (way better than in Oslo). I reached my hotel, which is nice, central and affordable, at 4:30. Right when I parked my bike, it started raining. Somehow I had managed despite the very rainy weather to avoid all rain showers and get dry to Trondheim. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day. Next update probably on Saturday. 

Yesterday, I didn’t have time to write a blog post because I was busy finishing the second video. 

Here comes the summary of day 14 and 15:

Day 14: Finnøy-Kristiansund (117 km)

I had an early start on Finnøy because I had a long stage ahead of me to Kristiansund, including two ferries. So without any breakfast in the tent, I boarded the first boat from Finnøy to Småge on the island Gossa. Fortunately, they had coffee and sveler (Norwegian pancakes) on this boat, so I could enjoy my breakfast on board. 

From Småge, I hurried the 10 kilometres across this island to catch the next boat forty minutes later. I saw a small deer on my way and caught the next boat from Aukra to Hollingsholmen. 

Here I had two options: either go south and make a detour to Molde or head north and go directly to Kristiansund. I decided not to take the detour this time and go directly to Kristiansund. 

The route followed the coastline almost all day. First I cycled along Harøyfjorden and Frænfjorden. Then, from a small place called Bud, the road followed the open sea. This part of the route is called Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road). Especially, the last part from Vevang, crossing a number of bridges and small islands, is very scenic and has been voted Norway’s construction of the century by the Norwegian people and the world’s most beautiful road for cars by The Guardian. 

The last part of this stretch led me to the north of the island Averøy. From here, there is a long tunnel (Atlanterhavstunnelen) towards Kristiansund, which is forbidden for bikes. The local public transport has a taxi service, so I covered this last part by taxi and stayed in a hotel in Kristiansund. 

Here, I finished the video above and tried to upload it on YouTube, but it was blocked there because of background music which the rights owner has protected – thus the GoPro link above. I need to change the music on the original file and upload on YouTube later again. 

Day 15: Kristiansund-Kyrksæterøra (102 km)

Today was supposed to be overcast, but dry, according to the Yr weather forecast. But the day started with heavy rain. I started early at 8:20 from Kristiansund eastwards and took a ferry from Seivika to Tømmervåg after ten kilometres. 

After the ferry, it still rained heavily, so I changed quickly from my cycling jacket to my Gore Tex jacket with hood. At this point, I was doubting if I could go the planned 100 kilometres to Kyrksæterøra which is midway between Kristiansund and Trondheim. But the weather report for tomorrow was even worse, so I decided to continue. 

Fortunately, the rain became less after one hour, and eventually it stopped. The route went along a couple of fjords and sounds today and was very nice despite the grey weather. It was also rather hilly, so I was taking it rather slow today. 

Around lunch time, I reached the village Aure where I found a Thai food truck (they seem to exist everywhere!). I had a 45 minutes’ lunch break before I continued. 

About one hour before Kyrksæterøra, it started raining again. So instead of continuing a few kilometres along the next fjord to get out of this small place, I set up my tent rather close to the centre on a small piece of grass right next to the fjord. 

I had dinner in the tent, but enjoyed a warm chocolate and a glass of red wine in a café now. The weather report for tomorrow is still very bad, but a hotel room and a rest day are waiting for me in Trondheim. 

Boat arriving at Finnøy

View from the boat

Atlanterhavsveien

Atlanterhavsveien

View from Jørnøya between Kristiansund and Kyrksæterøra

Årvågfjorden

Day 10: Runde-Ulsteinvik (43 km)

After my amazing stay at Runde island, I continued Thursday morning towards Ulsteinvik. This was a short distance to cover – only a bit more than 40 kilometres, in other words: half a rest day. 

I arrived in Ulsteinvik around two o’clock and had a late lunch. Then I sat in the restaurant until Vegar came home from work. Vegar was our expedition leader on Greenland 2013. I was invited to his mother’s house where we enjoyed a nice grill dinner with the whole family. After dinner, Vegar took me on a sightseeing trip around Ulsteinvik, which is a really nice small town with an amazing location, and to Flø, a small village nearby which has become very hip among artists and other people in recent years. 

Great view from Ulsteinvik

Sunset in Flø

Great to see Vegar again

Day 11: Ulsteinvik-Ålesund (42 km)

The next day, I continued towards Ålesund. Before I came to the city centre, I stopped at the shopping centre at Moa and bought some supplies and equipment. Among other things I invested into a new rear light (since the other is broken), a LED rear light for the helmet, and a reflex vest with LED stripes. This will make me much more visible in the tunnels which I sometimes need to take. 

I was going to take a rest day in Ålesund and stay in one of the nicest hotels in town: Hotel Brosundet. I checked in at one o’clock, parked my bike and went for lunch first. Then I returned to the hotel to install the new light and fix some other small things on my bike. 

Later in the afternoon, Ioanna arrived who was visiting me here. We had a very nice dinner at XL Diner, a restaurant famous for their Bacalao. 

On Saturday, we went to Atlanterhavsparken, a big aquarium, and had an amazing four-course dinner in the evening at Maki, the restaurant belonging to Brosundet hotel. 

View over Ålesund

Hungry otter eating lunch

Day 13: Ålesund-Finnøya (12 km)

Today, we went on a boat trip into the Hjørundfjord – the neighbour fjord to Geiranger fjord, so to speak. Here we enjoyed lunch and Hotel Union Øye, a beautiful old hotel with lots of history, and returned to Ålesund right in time for Ioanna to catch the airport bus to return to Oslo. 

My plan was originally to take a boat to Hamnsund, cycle to Brattvåg, and take another boat to Harøya island. Due to heavy rain, however, I skipped the 20 kilometres’ detour from Hamnsund to Brattvåg, and stayed on the boat which continued directly to Harøya. 

From here it was a very short ride over a bridge to the next island, Finnøya, where I will stay for the night. I was lucky to find a Thai food truck next to the marina, so I can save my Real Turmat for the next days. Tomorrow, my plan is to continue towards Kristiansund. 

Back on track

Rainbow over the Thai food truck