It started to rain during the night and the wind got stronger and now blew coldly from the east. Neither wind nor rain stopped when we woke up. We decided to wait a bit and see whether there was any change. It was still pouring at 4pm and we left anyway. It was quite cold and we had only short breaks. I’ve never cycled so much with so little stops and food. To speed up the cycling, like yesterday, we kept pushing Andrea every now and then, especially downhill. We came to the tunnel that connects Norway mainland with the island of Magerøya. It has an impressive length of 7860m and goes down to 212m below sea level. After 101km of cycling we reached the campsite at Skipsfjord, 9km after Honningsvåg, at half past 11pm.

Andrea left in the morning to check with local bike shops about getting her bike fixed. Torsten and I went to town a little later, too, to stock up on food. Andrea had no luck with the bike shops. She decided to go on to the North Cape with the broken derailleur anyway, and we left in the afternoon.

Right after Alta we climbed up to a plateau and followed it for a few hours. Stopped in a small settlement with an unpronouncable name, Áisároaivi, and had dinner. At first we wanted to stop there for the night but later felt like going on, persuaded by the mosquitoes.

It was night by now but still quit lightish. The ride was awesome, across the fjell in twilight, with a light south-western tail wind, almost no other traffic, and the occasional reindeer. We finally reached Olderfjord near the junction of E6 and E69 after about 110km of cycling in the middle of the night. Put up the tents not far from the road and went to sleep pretty much immediately.

Preparing dinner near Áisároaivi

We crossed into the Finnmark fylke (county) and had a brief stop at a car park a little later, where we met our Polish friends once more.

In the afternoon, we stopped in Talvik for lunch. Talked to a (different) Polish cyclist briefly who was going in the opposite direction.

When we left Talvik, Philip and I sprinted ahead up the first hill and saw the Polish couple, sprinted even more and almost caught up to them at the top of the next hill, but decided to wait for Andrea and Torsten first. And waited. And waited. Eventually, Torsten appeared alone. Andrea’s bike had broken down a kilometer back.

Didn’t look good at all. The derailleur was bent into the wheel and the frame was bent a little, too, where the derailleur attaches. There was no way to fix that properly. So Andrea decided to remove the derailleur altogether, shorten the chain, and cycle on with a single gear. Easier said than done, but an hour later the bike was ready to roll again.

Soon we started to push her a little to increase the average speed a bit. We made it to Alta, after 103km of riding, where Andrea hoped to find a bike shop that could fix the bike, at least to some degree.

Having a much needed break

"Oh look, a reindeer!"

A fjord

Picture postcard reindeer

Andrea's broken bike

It was a wet and cool day today. Reached Alteidet after 104km.

Old wharf

Cloudy day

Fishing boats

A friend of Torsten and Philip’s, Andrea, joined us for the final ~550 kilometers to the North Cape.

We cycled in a more or less eastish direction, crossed two fjords by ferry, and stopped after 102km near a place called Rotsundelva.

Great view

A glacier in the distance

Rainy day

Spent two days in Tromsø.

So we cycled along the coast of Senja Sázzá past tiny villages and settlements. In between there were a couple of passes and tunnels to master. Took another ferry to the island of Kvaløya and reached the city of Tromsø after 149km of cycling.

Gryllefjord

Philip and Torsten

Some bizzare peaks

Talked to the Germans, Philip and Torsten, before leaving and it turned out they were going to the North Cape, too, on pretty much the same route I’d planned on taking as well. So we decided to cycle together for the time being.

We cycled northwards, crossed to the island of Andøya, and reached the town of Andenes at the very top of the island after about 110km. From there we took a ferry to Gryllefjord on the island of Senja Sázzá. On the boat we met two more Germans who were riding their Vespas to the North Cape. We pitched tents right outside Gryllefjord at a small lake that was warm enough for a swim.

Flat land!

Our campsite near Gryllefjord

Had a few emails to reply to so I stopped at the first campsite that offered Internet access, which was just 35km from Stokmarknes, near Sortland. In the evening some German cyclists arrived, but I didn’t pay much attention. It was a hot day today and I used the rain fly I’d bought back in Bodø to have some shade for the tent.

Continued to cycle north on the Lofoten, past Svolvæer, where I had a short break. Later I met another Swiss cyclist who recommended a detour but also warned me that the road conditions were bad there. He was right. Took a ferry from Fiskebøl to Melbu, which is located on the Vesterålen group of islands. Met a cycling Polish couple at the wharf at Fiskebøl. They’re on their way to the North Cape as well. Reached Stokmarknes after 139km.

Decaying boat

From the village of Moskenes I cycled south for a few kilometers, to Å, the southern-most settlement on the island of Moskenes. Then I turned around and cycled north for 90km.

The village of Å

Woke up early, packed some food, and followed the narrow track along the northern shore of the island.

At a low pass I crossed to a bay on the southern side. On my left some cliffs led to a sandy beach with a huge cave, on my right a path led to an old and intermittently abandoned fishing village, Måstad. I’d read about prehistoric paintings in that cave so I tried to climb along the cliffs but gave up after some hundred meters. Turned right instead towards the couple of houses still standing.

At the southern end of the village a track leads up to the peaks of the mountains in the back. Had a wonderful view from the top!

Back down near the village I met Manu, a French photographer. Talked for a while, then I walked back to the cliffs and gave it another try to get to the cave. Managed it this time, saw some ‘fish’ that possibly could have been porpoises, but didn’t find the rock paintings/carvings.

Returned to the tent, tired, hungry, with wet feet, but incredibly happy about the day. Packed my stuff and rode back to the wharf from where the ferry brought me to the Lofoten island of Moskenes. Pitched tent on a campsite near the wharf.

The tent

The beach

Across the bay

The village (Måstad)

The cave

The view - to Moskes (middle) and Moskenes (background)

Took the ferry to Værøy. Stopped at Røst first. Røst is amazingly flat and quite a contrast to the mountainous landscape everywhere around it.

In the evening they dropped me off at Værøy and I cycled along the north coast looking for a place to pitch the tent. The sky was still quite bright even at midnight, but I was too late in the year for the real midnight sun.

Røst

Værøy

View from the tent at half past 12am

Another day in Bodø.

Bodø

Enjoyed a break in Bodø’s Café Kafka today.

Café Kafka