Bergen to Voss 5 August

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Bergen was busy and clearly an old trading port. Still quaint but looking like it will become "modern" and be like everywhere else.

Today was the day I caught up with Thom a fellow rider on the Globeriders Tour from China to Germany. We did some chores at the local bike shop and headed off on a ride that he had discovered. It was good to be on the road again with Thom after the rather miserable ride with Goatriders. Thom did not get to finish as his chain decided to leave the sprockets about 2 hours from Munich. No one bothered to even ask what happened to him, they just left him to his own devices, which pretty much summed up the attitude of our "escourts". A less professional performance would be hard to imagine. It was a inadequate in all aspects, but I will write about that on a separate blog nzl07.

So we set off up a fjord over a mountain pass and yes there are many of them, all special and all dramatic.

Arrived at Voss and stopped the night.

nzl04

Storen to Bergen 4 August

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After the freezing ride over the line of the Arctic Circle I was expecting a much easier ride today. My pig farmer had told me of a scenic ride which I expected to be down a fjord....wrong it was over the tallest mountain in Norway, and it was wet and cold at the top. Oh yes I forgot lonely, as they say !

It was up one side where the rivers flow beautifully clear, rocky bottoms where you can count the stones, then across "the top" which is glacial, freezing lakes, solid frozen snow and ice and high rocky mountain sides. Dramatic intense scenery. Then down the other side and the rivers are now white foaming torrents as they crash down the mountain full of glacier water. Then the valleys below the mountain top unfold, first narrow, steep sided, then wider with fjords and villages nestled on the sides near the water.

I had no expectation as to what Norway was, but it is totally a suprise. The beauty of this place is spectacular. Add to that the colour of the houses and the contrast between the "wine dark sea" if I may quote Homer out of context, against the blue white grey of the sky and the stone grey cliffs. All pretty good stuff really. I hope I can capture it with these words and the pictures which are hard to select from so many different perspectives, and there are only so many waterfalls that one can get excited about !

nzl04

Lofoton to Storen 3 August

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This day started early and lasted long. After the ferry ride .from the wonderful Island of Lofoton I arrived in Bodo.

I headed south but first I had to go to the head of the fjord and then ride up a mountain. In fact it was 698 metres and it was close to freezing ( not true but very cold) and I also passed south over the arctic circle.

I was heading south toward Trondhiem and it really was a good ride. I actually made 750 k and found a place called Storen which I later found has the "best" salmon river in Europe. No wonder the lobby had shelves of clothing rods and flies for sale !

nzl04

Gryllfjord tp "heaven" 2 August

I left on the ferry the pict was posted on yesterdays post. The trip across was pretty rolly, pity help these fishermen, what tough conditions, however landfall on the island was another contrast. From Andenes it was flat and easy riding round the high picturesque outcrops, as I made my way down the Island to Sortland. Roads were good in fact a great ride in the setting sun, well it would have been if it had set. As I went further south into more picturesque countryside it just got better until it became the most spectacular scenery you are likely to see. High snow splattered peaks in golden sunlight and cute as can be little fishing villages nestled in small bays. The red houses built to the water in a backdrop of rock and green sided foothills. It was a fantastic ride.

I went all the way south to the last port, well it was dramatic and too good to miss, where the ferry had left an hour or so before, ( no midnight sailing on Saturday night). So I was thankful for a Shell stop and a hot dog earlier in the day. The garages here dispense fuel and you pay for it at the pump by card. The service station is now a shop, and fast food outlet, my principal food supply while on the road. I can get a coffee and some sort of food, sandwich, hot dog, panini, and be back on the road quite quickly. So I spent a cool night camped out, eating dried fish, in bright daylight, waiting for the 6 am sailing.

However nothing will diminish my memory of the beauty of Lofoton Island and the many little magical villages with the classic Norge boats, built to withstand terrible seas, and the bridges, and the tunnels, which are round every corner in this picturesque island. I owe a thankyou to the pig farmer in Finland for making me promise not to miss this place. However it is in the Arctic circle and it does get very cold even in the "summer".

nzl04

Alta to Gryllfjord 1 August

The ride was as different from last nights trip across the desolation as could be. Steep sided fjords huge rock mountains, with snow pockets, waterfalls, villages along the waterds edge, with towering forboding cliffs that appear as if they call fall on top any time. Reassuringly they seem not to. The blue ranges of mountains with the green sea in front, with sometimes glimpses of blue through the clouds and mist. Very nordic. I am told that the Vikings came from all 3 countries, the Swedes did little, the Danes sent out war parties, and the Norges actually invaded and occupied Britain, particularly York, so my friend Rolf at the Tourist information office informed me. A very helpful chap that found me a place to stay then took me drinking in some fine company. The light at 3 am I can now report was not sunlit but was bright enough to read by.
This little fishing village of Gryllfjord is at the end of the line. Only the ferry goes beyond here.
It is a short fjord by my experience and gets the wind from every quarter. plus clouds, fog rain you name it..and it is cold. Population about 100, and all involved in fishing or the ferry, ie accommodation.
The last NZ'er here for any time was a bit of a legend as a sheep shearer. The austere nature of this part of Norway makes it a place for the very robust. They love fishing and beer. I met the headmaster and the Mayor both in the pub about 2.30 am. Its rather a community. The "pub" is above the cafe which does a pretty good fish soup.
nzl04

Nordkapp 31 July

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I left Inari once again in cool but dry weather. The ride again was uneventful as the climate is not the best for interesting growth and the lanscape fairly rough.

As a result of the EEC there are no "borders" no passport stamps, nothing. So I had high hopes when stopped at the Norway border, but alas only a student doing a survey on tourism for Finland.

The landscape became fantastic once at the foot of the first fjiord. They are beautiful places to me, lots of water, rocks, high rocky outcrops jutting into the sea, rocky shores, and sandy bays, a very picturesque place. And yes lots of reindeer.

For those that remember the Beatles the Mull of Kintyre was echoing through my mind once I arrived at Nordkapp. The building there became totally obscured from 75 metres away, as the mist rolled in from the North sea. Hence the picture, to not only record this was the start of my southern journey but the elements of the arctic as well.

The other pic is the structure at the top. Its possibly well known and taken by all that visit, but not before by me and probably not again !

So farewell to the top.

I was hoping to ride and follow the sun through the night but the weather had other plans.

The ride south was by now wet and bitterly cold. I had 5 layers on and still miserable. The lanscape south of the top is bleak and barren. Lots of unthawed snow, rivers that only a keen fisherman would love, and barren hillside, some pretty high but still not mountains in my view.

Alta is my home for the night, on yet another fjiord, with a feel for those that know it, like Lake Taupo, in the winter.....in a stiff southerly. I am grateful for the sauna.

nzl04

Rovanieme to Inari 30 July

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The ride from Rovanieme started in glorious sunshine, cool but sunny. It was a "motorway" day as it seemed I had about 400k to ride but it turned out to nearer 300k. The road itself is the only road through Lapland it seems so a real tourist route. Lots of Camper vans, motor bikes, and some trucks. The road was actually pretty good. It seems the EEC fund these main tourist routes. The first stop was for breakfast at the Sany Claus town. There is no reason for this place to exist but it does, right on the actic circle, and for the gps fans its about 66 degrees north.
The road was flat, the view was pretty much the same, flat, birch trees, and grass with the odd house, painted red. I sidetracked to the town where the amethyst mine is, which was mainly a ski town and not much happens in the summer, well there is no snow if thats summer, other than seeing my first reindeer. The thrill soon wore off as there were lots of them and they liked to walk down the road. They are a stange animal. Hence the pictures
And thats about it, so the mind starts to wander. Some things repeatable some not. I recall our headmaster explaining why the cavalry dismounted and walked every 40 minutes or so, thats one of the unrepeatables. Then I got to wondering about morality, which I do a lot after having experienced some of the worst behaviour in commerce imaginable. The legal fraternity ( are they a profession ?) to name but one, are a sad greedy lot, and the finance sector would make the crime scene in russian ( which I hear is pretty tough) stand in awe. I read recently that the next PM of Britain made a strong statement about morality. I hope the next PM of New Zealand and everywhere else as well, takes note. I was contemplating the downfall of Rome and the widely attributed moral decay of the time, well, as they say history repeats itself.
The north of Finland which they call Lapland is a pretty place. Lots of trees and lakes and swift rocky rivers. If the "thaw" ie no snow, lasted longer than a few months this would be a tourist mecca.
So I made it to Inari. Not without geting rained on sadly. Its not the rain so much its getting all the clothing on. An extra layer on everything and getting gloves on top of gloves is frustrating. However as Billy Connolly says there is no such thing as bad weather, just inadequate clothing !
I chose a Hotel for my last night in Finland, and the Sauna by the river was good, however the salted reindeer stew I had for dinner was excellent.
nzl04