Monday 2 July, 90 km Å-Reine-Ramberg-Nussfjord-Nappstraumen
tunnel-Utakleiv
At the campsite in Å a lot of cycle tourists have
gathered. On Sunday I meet the Swiss cyclist Mats
again. He'd cycled the same route and arrived one
day earlier in Bodø...
After a rest day I leave the picturesque
fishing village and head north along the scenic
coastal road E10. Seems a lot like cycling in the
high mountains, without having to climb a lot (all
roads stay here at sea level). The main obstacles
are the impressive bridges (up to 10% steep) and
the Nappstraumen tunnel. This is a tunnel under
the seafloor, connecting the islands of
Flakstadøya and Vestvågøya. In Utakleiv I camp
at a beautiful located primitive site along the
empty beach. Unfortunately, due to overcast
conditions there's no sunset to watch during
midnight..
 
Å
  
near Å - Reine - Nussjord
Utakleiv beach
Tuesday 3 July, 85 km 
Utakleiv-Leknes-Stamsund-Lyngvær
The next morning heavy wind gusts and showers
batter down my tent. As soon as the wind drops I
leave the beach, it was a narrow escape... Beyond
Leknes I ride along a pretty coastline near
Stamsund. The weather has improved and I'm
enjoying the beautiful landscape. Although there
are no forests on these islands, the vegetation
is lush and green; something I'd not expect in
this high arctic regions. The campsite at
Lyngvær, close to the impressive
Grimsøystraumen bridge, has good and clean
facilities. In the heated dining room with
kitchen I meet a a cycle touring couple who also
started from Å. The same evening the Dutch
camping ground inspectors arrive at the
campground (I'd met them earlier near Nesna).
Grimsøystraumen bridge
Wednesday 4 July, 77 km
Lyngvær-Henningsvær-Svolvær-Laukvik
This story becomes a bit boring: the road to
Henningsvær, the Venice of Lofoten, is very
spectaculair. After a short visit of this fishing
village I head to Svolvær, where I meet the
cyclists from Lyngvær campground again at the
Coop supermarket. Halfway of the Austnestfjord I
turn left to Laukvik, to find a campsite to watch
the sunset at midnight. Alas, no sun but rain
during midnight...
 
Lyngvær - Henningsvær
 
Svolvær -Austnestfjord
Thursday 5 July, 79 km
Laukvik-Fiskebøl-Melbu-Stokmarknes-Sortland
The road from Laukvik to Fiskebøl is a not
sealed. The gravel is rideable, until a huge
machine approaches me, reparing the road and
leaving a brown mess behind. With great effort I
try to cycle further through the mud, sometimes I
have to walk. After a few hours I arrive just in
time to catch the Fiskebøl-Melbu ferry. At the
port I meet the cycling couple from Lyngvær
again. They followed the E10 in pouring rain,
while I had a very dirt road but almost dry
weather on the other side of the island!
The island of Hadsel belongs to the
Vesterålen archipelago. In this dull weather the
landscape of Vesterålen seems less impessive as
Lofoten. On a rather boring highway I join the
other cyclists until Stokmarknes. Another dull
and busy stretch of E10 follows until I reach
Sortland, where I run across the Swiss cyclist
Mats for the third time! His bike is suffering
from a broken rim and he has to wait here a few
days for a new one.
Friday 6 July, 98 km
Sortland-Sigerfjord-Kaljord (ferry)-Hanøy-Fiskebøl-Vatterfjord
Sortland is the northern most point of my trip.
I decide to cycle back to Svolvær. Road 822 on
the isle of Hinnøya, turns out to be a much more
scenic route than the E10 on the opposite side of
the Sigerfjord. The winds has also changed
direction, blowing now from the east and bringing
more sunshine. In Kaljord I've to wait a while
for the first ferry to the isle Austvagøya. As
usual a very scenic trip across the fjord follows.
The wide, brand new highway to Fiskebøl is
not drawn on my map yet. It forms part of a new
ferry free connection of Lofoten with the
mainland. Because the road dead ends in Hanøy,
it's very quiet.
Just before Fiskebøl I come across a tunnel
that has an unexpected, long descent. Halfway
this undersea tunnel I have to climb again, back
to sea level...
Riding along the sunny Austnesfjord for the
second time, the impressive scenery looks totally
different compared with a few days ago... About
ten km before Svolvær I camp at a small campsite
along the Vatterfjord.
Grimsøystraumen
 Saturday 7 July,
106 km
Svolvær-Borge-Leknes-Flakstad
For a change, I follow the E10 instead of the
coastal road 815. However, I find out the E10 is
less scenic. After passing another undersea
tunnel (Nappstraumen) I pitch my tent at the
beach near Flakstad at a lovely and quite busy
campground. Around midnight the sky has cleared,
so that I finally can enjoy the midnight sun!
Sunday 8 July, 70 km
Flakstad-Ramberg-Fredvang-Selfjorden-Fredvang-Reine-Sørvågen-Å
After passing a few steep bridges across the
azure blue sea i reach Fredvang on the isle of
Moskenesøya. I'm heading for a dead ending
gravle road along the Selfjord. The weather is
perfect for one of the most spectacular rides of
my trip, along the fields full of wildflowers and
the jagged peaks of Moskenes in the distance.
  
Selfjord
Riding back to Norways most scenic town Reine
and campground in Å is a joyful experience as
well.
 
Reine
Monday 9 July
Å-Moskenes-ferry-Bodø-Trondheim (trein)-Oslo
(Tuesday)
My cycle tour comes to an end. Waiting in
sunny Moskenes for the delayed ferry back to
Bodø. In Bodø it starts to rain and I manage to
get a ticket for the evening train to Trondheim (with
a good connection to Oslo). The bicycle is stored
in the luggage waggon without any problem. The
first leg of the train ride is quite spectecular
along the uninhabited wild regions of Saltfjellet,
high above the E6. When the landscape changes to
(boring) forested hills I try to get some sleep.
In rainy Trondheim I change trains to Oslo, no
problems taking the bicycle either. Around 15hr.
we arrive in Oslo, it's sunny and warm. I try to
get a cheap ticket at the busy Stena Line
terminal, but unfortunately the overnight ferries
to Frederikshavn are all booked out for days. At
the next terminal of Color Line, a couple of
kilometers away, I manage to get a ticket to
Hirthals, departing the same evening. It costs
twice as much, even without a cabine though.
Wednesday 11 July, 98 km
Hirthals-Hjørring-Tårs-Hjallerup-Ålborg
Early in the morning I arrive at the Danish
port of Hirthals and head for the train station.
Unfortunately it seems not possible to get to the
Netherlands by train with a bicycle. Another
alternative, booking a bus with bicycle trailer,
is not possible either, all buses are booked out
this week.
Tired of the long journey by train and boat, I
decide to cycle a bit south. I find my way
through the lovely country side via local bike
routes. The public libraries and tourist offices
offer free brochures of those routes, published
by the province of North Jutland. Near Ålborg, I
have an address of a local recumbent cyclist, but
alas, he's on cycling holiday.
The next morning it's raining cats and dogs. I
head to Ålborg central station and make a
reservation for me and my bike for the express
train to Hamburg, Germany. Again, there's no
connection to the Netherlands but a very early
one (7.00 AM). In Hamburg I buy a cheap
Niedersachsen ticket to Leer, where I arrive late
in the evening. It's a very weird experience to
pitch my tent in the dark, being spoiled by
continuous daylight for several weeks...
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