Mevik to Jektvik

Day 17
I had company with Kim to the ferry from Örnes. Just when we arrived it started raining heavily and this continued most of the day. Today I met the first female solo biker so I had to stop and talk to her! Her name was Mathilde and she's from France. She was going the opposite direction, heading for North Cape. Then there was a second ferry from Foröy to Ågskaret and the third and last ferry was from Jektvik. I arrived at 5 pm and the ferry was to leave at 6 so I had a coffee and charged while waiting. The ferry was delayed so it was nearly 7 when it finally came. Then I saw Ove (again) in the ferry queue. So we had company on the ferry which took an hour. When we arrived at Kilboghamn the rain was pouring down. Ove went ahead and found a good tentspot. I'll admit not everyday is fun and this was one of those because my tent got wet inside and all other things got wet. Luckily I found one set of clothes that were dry and my sleepingbag go humid from everything around. I really didn't feel like making dinner because this feels like misery. So we just made tea, talked a lot and then tried to sleep. Distance today 82,4

Tunnels passed : 3

Leaving Mevik.

Kim.

Almost there.

Örnes.

Kim in the rain.

Ferry time.

Mathilde.

Shelter from the rain for a while.

Helgelandskysten

Day 16
I slept like a baby, actually 2 hours more than I usually do. Then I had breakfast and waited for my laundry to dry but it never did because it's so humid and there was some more rain and thunder this morning. I got restless and left by 10 even though checkout was not until 12. I was ready to hit the road. Today was perfect biking weather; dark clouds hanging over the sky but the rain never came back and the temperature was perfect. Today I have reached Helgelandskysten Nord and found my self a dreamspot on the beach just after Storvika. I hang all my wet laundry to dry and I actually had some evening sun while doing all this and having a fantastic meal! Suddenly I see that I've got company so I went over to say hello. It was Kim from Trondheim who took the train to Bodö and just started today heading back to Trondheim. Today's distance was 70 km.

Tunnels passed: 4

 

 

 

 

 

Too much rain...

Day 15
I was on the road at 8, it was dark and cloudy. I stopped in Fauske to buy gas and then to the library, my favourite place in every town. They even had free coffee here, what more can you ask? Then I continued towards Saltstraumen and it started to rain really heavy and it just continued. I was getting closer to my destination and the rain stopped and the sun suddenly came out.  By this time I've decided that I would take a cabin if I found one. The first camping was full but on the other side of the bridge I found Elvegård and I was lucky! Karibua just stood there and waited for me. It's time to treat myself even though it's expensive but it's been 8 days since my last shower so that was really nice and I washed some clothes, made dinner and I could use free wifi! At midnight came the thunderstorm with heavy rain and I'm so glad that I was not alone in my tent at this moment. I like thunder but I think I would feel very small and insecure in the tent on
my own. Today's distance was 72,6 km

Tunnels passed: 2

Morning at my camp.

Taking shelter from the rain.

Saltstraumen.

Saltstraumen.

Karibua.

Karibua.

Saltstraumen is a small strait with the strongest tidal current in the world. It is located in the municipality of Bodø in Nordland county, Norway. It is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southeast of the town of Bodø. The narrow channel connects the outer Saltfjorden to the large Skjerstadfjorden between the islands of Straumøya and Knaplundsøya. The Saltstraumen Bridge on Norwegian County Road 17 crosses the Saltstraumen.

Tunnel day

Day 14
A bird woke me up today, it got inside the outer tent and could not go out so I opened up. I was on the road by 8 am. Dark clouds were hanging over me and the sun was playing peek-a-boo. What a day this turned out to be. 3 mountain passes and it was really hot so on one of those I had to jump in the river to cool my self off. It was really refreshing. I stopped at Kobbelven Vertshus since I needed to charge. I ordered a vegetarian omelette and I think it was the biggest one I ever got but I ate all of it and I was gonna need it...11 tunnels and 110 km later I finally found a spot where I could pitch my tent. It was not my best one but it was definitely time to stop. I had a really hard time finding a spot, either it was steep as hell down to the water or too close to houses.

Tunnels passed: 11 (3 others I managed to go around)

 

 

 

 

Bognes

This morning it was raining and since I was pretty tired today I didn't leave until 11.30 and I thought all would go well today but apparently I was so worn that I had to walk some parts of a mountain pass because it was so heavy getting up there. I think I need to have a restday soon. Distance today was therefore only 47.8 km. So I camped early by the ocean, made some dinner and read my book.

Tunnels passed: 0

 

 

Heading for Lödingen

Today it was a bit harder to start since it was raining heavy all night and still raining in the morning. Anyway I had breakfast and started packing and the rain paused so at 8 I was ready to go. Once you're all packed it's no problem. Today it was a mix of showers, a little sun and headwinds. I went to Sortland library since I needed to charge my phone and Ipod. Library was on the second floor. Downstairs was a cafe which was crowded so I thought it must be a very popular place to have lunch. I brought 2 cups of coffee with me upstairs, I said I'll just take the refill right away since I didn't wanna leave my stuff. Then the librarian told me it was going to be a concert. That's really cool, it was a liveband playing 60's music while I was upstairs online and charging with 2 cups of coffee. Then I continued to Sigerfjorden just to avoid the tunnel and that was an idyllic place and an amazing road to ride but then I had to head back on E10 and it was heavy traffic. Later on also strong headwinds and it felt for a while like I didn't get anywhere. But obviously I did because then I saw the Lofoten sign. But this time I'm heading for Lödingen instead and it seemed like an endless time until I got there. It was one hour until next ferry 9.15 pm so I put on my downjacket and had something to eat while I was waiting. Then I started to read my book, but hey time flies and the ferry is arriving! I got off the ferry in Bognes. It was dark and gloomy and I wanted a tentspot as soon as possible but realised I had to ride a little while. But not for long until I found it. A good but weird place with a mix of moss, rocks and rusty barrels.  So I made my self at home. Today distance was 95.5 km.

Tunnels passed: 0

 

 

 

 

Andenes

I woke up at 7. Made breakfast and packed my stuff together then we left for the grocery store and the ferry to Andenes. Then we met John from the US and Ole (again). That was fun and we all had company on the ferry trip which was 1 hour and 40 minutes. Weather was lovely today, sun and no rain! There were headwinds but I'll rather have that instead of rain, which I had a lot yesterday. We said goodbye and all departed in different directions. I met John again a few times  in the beginning but then I think he was a lot faster than me. At 9 pm I was looking for a tentspot since I didn't wanna stop so late today and enjoy the basecamp life. I did for a short while and then it started to rain while I was making dinner so I had to move everything inside. By 11 pm the rain got very intense but now I am all cozy and dry inside. Distance today was 75 km

Tunnels passed: 1