WEEK 39 LOFOTEN BIKE TRIP - ALEX

 

July 5 to July 13 - The Bike Trip

Morgan and I have been blessed with so many people coming to visit us over the last couple of months. While it has been great to see so many people on our temporary home turf, at times it felt like we were joining someone else’s vacation more than our own. Something we had talked about since we got our bikes last fall was about using them to travel in Norway just the two of us. We ended up electing to go from Tromso to Bodo via the Lofoten islands over 8 days based on photos we’ve seen, people we’ve talked to, and the novelty of being north of the Arctic Circle.

We flew to Tromso and planned to train back from Bodo. With the exception of our stop in Sortland we moved further south everyday. The sun did not set for the entirety of our trip. As we moved south the date that sun set again moved up by about a day. We totaled a little more than 420 miles on our bike with distances decreasing as we moved south. Roads were fairly flat as they more or less followed the coastline. The only mountain passes we had to climb were on Senja which is also where we had a number of tunnels to contend with. Luckily car traffic was quite low during that stretch so going through mile plus long tunnels wasn’t that stressful. 

Typically bikepacking is done by camping, but we elected to go for an easier method of staying in cabins on campgrounds, shared Airbnbs, and DNT huts, whatever was the cheapest option in the area. This meant we would need to buy/borrow less stuff that we either don’t currently own or is being stored in Seattle. It also is more straightforward and less stressful for us to plan, since we haven’t done this type of traveling before. We packed one set of clothes to bike in and one set of clothes to sleep in and by the end of our trip everything was smelly. If we needed anything else we would always be close enough to a town to buy it.

The trip could be summed up by one word, wow. We said it nonstop for over 8 days. It was beautiful the entire time. Everywhere we looked there were mountains diving into the ocean, white sand beaches, and the water so clear and blue it looked like the Caribbean. We saw 3 reindeer and 2 moose. There was a lot more snow hanging on than either one of us expected and there were more people out bikepacking than we thought. As we moved south highway traffic increased and the number of bikers on the road seemed to decrease as well. Our weather was so-so, which sometimes was a downer. We started in the high 60s and sunshine, but as the week progressed 50s, overcast rain and wind became more common. Stopping and hanging out along the roadside became less enticing. 

I would travel back to Senja and Lofoten in a heartbeat. I’m not sure I’d bike on Lofoten again given the traffic volume. Everywhere would be great places to ski and it would be cool to see the landscape in the late winter/spring. Bikepacking was a success and something we will do again. It was a good trip and a good way to punctuate our time here.

July 5 - The Start of the Trip

Our day started early, 3:15am early. Within 20 minutes of getting out of bed we were walking down to the bus stop, bikes boxed up and ready to fly in order to catch the 3:57 bus. We could have got an extra 30 minutes of shut eye, but after a bus mysteriously didn’t show up for our friend Hannah in the early morning last December we didn’t want to take any chances. 

Between picking up friends and family and the few times we’ve flown since being here the airport has been reliably quiet. Cue the first Saturday of July, the month Norwegians take a summer holiday, and the airport was an absolute madhouse. We were thankful we woke up a little earlier and had the extra time to navigate the airport. On the other side of security the domestic gates were empty signaling that the locals were taking their summer vacations abroad.

When we got to Tromsø we had one last thing to do before we were off and rolling and it was the one thing giving me the most anxiety, reassembling the bikes. To our benefit, the bike boxes we got from the local bike shop were on the larger side, so we were able to leave most of the bike intact. Still, I don’t have the most faith in baggage handlers and that they will care as much about our bikes as we do, especially when cardboard is the major protective barrier. After being forgotten about and waiting close to 40 minutes for our bikes to be brought out the moment of truth arrived, despite some damage to the boxes themselves all the cargo was in good shape. From there it took us about 90 minutes to get everything put together, pack our bags the way we wanted, and to do some test laps in the parking lot to make sure everything was working when we left the city. The whole process of assembling and organizing our entire life at the airport just to immediately start pedaling away felt a little strange.

Clockwise from upper left: Morgan walking her bike down to the bus stop at 3:40am, Morgan assembling her bike in the Tromso airport, me cleaning up after our mess and leaving our bike boxes next to a couple other boxes that left from previous travellers, Morgan outside Tromso airport ready to go.

Due to the delay in getting our bikes and the protracted recombulation time we knew that we weren’t going to make the earlier 12:45 ferry to Senja. Instead we’d be catching the later 5:00pm boat. In some ways this was a relief and gave us the chance to bike the 50km at a relaxed pace and to enjoy the scenery. The only downside was that we had to get whatever groceries we wanted before boarding the ferry because there weren’t going to be any grocery stores open by the time we got to Andenes that evening. The extra time gave us the chance to tack on a few extra miles near the ferry terminal on the island chain of Sommerøya. Our initial impression was that we had been transported to the Caribbean. Crystal clear cerulean waters and white sand beaches abound. The temperature wasn’t appropriate and neither were the snow capped mountains in the near distance, but if I looked in the right direction I would have never guessed that we were north of the Arctic Circle.

Clockwise from upper left: The beaches at Sommeroya, two reindeer we saw crossing the road in Tromso, Morgan before our big climb on Kvaloya, looking back at one of the many fjords we crossed, looking out the islands making up the Sommeroya chain, enjoying an ice cream while we wait for the ferry to Senja.

The 45 minutes ferry took us to Senja, a remote and in the summer a popular tourist destination for camper vans, motor cycles, and bikers. From the ferry terminal we had a short bike ride to the campground at Fjordbotn where we had a cabin. It was a long day for us and by the time we had cleaned up, cooked and ate we were ready for bed. Morgan had been starting to feel sick and we were hoping that a good night rest would cure her.

Outside our tiny cabin at Fjordbotn and the view from our front porch.

July 6 - Senja

It has been light in Oslo, but at this latitude the sun truly does not set. Given the sunny weather yesterday and today it was tough to tell what time it was. We don’t have very good blinds in Oslo, but after enjoying more blackout style curtains we hope that our accommodations will continue to have them. As a result of our early wake up call the day before and Morgan feeling ill we stayed in bed quite late, which was nice. Our ride today was set to be across the northern side of Senja including some additional jaunts out to some of the island's fingers.

The water and sheer cliff faces were spectacular. The weather and relatively low car traffic only made the ride better. From our campsite we rode to the nearest store in Fjordgard to get some coffee, about 9 miles away. Along the way we passed through 3 tunnels including one over 2km in length. The longer tunnel was older, dark, and cold enough to see your breath. In Fjordgård we stopped at a 24/7 self service general store, something we continued to see on Senja as the day progressed and that we guess is quite useful to the locals and tourists. During our break I went for a hike to the base of Segla and to look over the cliff face to the fjord below. Morgan stayed behind and rested up, still feeling a little under the weather.

Photos from my hike to the saddle between Hesten and Segla, one of the most iconic peaks on Senja. The tiny town of Fjordgard is at the bottom of the hill on the upper photo.

When I came down from my hike Morgan had met a fellow bike packer from Switzerland who was doing some grocery shopping. We were headed in the same direction and we biked the 12 miles to Mefjordvær together and enjoyed socializing. We stopped at a bakery for a quick sweet treat together before dropping him off at his campground.

After dropping off our new Swiss friend we knew we had to start getting moving. We were only 38km into our ride and had 68km to go to get to the ferry terminal where we had to catch the boat that evening or risk being left on Senja without anywhere to stay.

From our day on Senja, we encountered a number of tunnels on Senja, but in most instances were able to alert cars that bikers were present through signage at the portals.

The next few hours of pedaling were incredible, as we continued going past sandy beaches, blue water, and tall mountains. We had a fun couple mile long mountain climb that included a mile plus long uphill stretch through a tunnel. Traffic stayed consistently quiet throughout the whole adding to the experience.

More landscape photos of Senja.

We got into Gryllefjord right when we were hoping at 6:00pm and an hour before the last ferry of the day. The boat that services this route is on the smaller side and only runs a couple times a day. People with vehicles  can expect to wait up to 24 hours to make the crossing. Having the bikes meant we didn’t have this stress, but overheard multiple people having conversations that involved turning around and driving the long way around.

The ferry was an hour and 40 minutes and made an open ocean crossing to the island of Andøya. It was a little bumpy and we both slept for a good chunk of the ride. On the other side in Andenes we had a short ride to our Airbnb in Bleik where we were greeted by our Airbnb hosts with homemade pizza. We did not ask for the food, in fact we requested they don’t make anything, but we were so hungry and the pizza was quite good that we were happy with the gesture.

Top is looking back towards Senja on our way to Andoya. The bottom photograph is of Morgan biking from the ferry terminal in Andenes towards our evening’s accommodations in Bleik.

July 7 - Andøya to Sortland

After a long day on Senja we slept in again the next morning. We went for a walk on the beach in Bleik and I went for a short swim in the Arctic Ocean. I didn’t want to get any of my clothes wet before I had to pack them away for the day so I went sans clothes, which was fine given that the temperature and time of day meant that no one else was at the beach. After eating breakfast at the local grocery store/cafe we set off on our bikes to the town of Sortland 100km away. Today was the first overcast day and the temperature was a little cooler. The first stretch of biking we did on the west side of Andøya was pretty incredible and one of the cycling highlights of the trip. There are a number of couture rest stops along the national scenic ways. One such rest stop was along our route and was something that our Bleik Airbnb hosts were rolling their eyes at because of the cost.

The Arctic Ocean beachfront of Bleik where we had morning walk and where I went for a quick swim.

We stopped in Risøyhamn for lunch where we made cheese sandwiches and ate outside trying to stay warm. The 50 degree temperatures weren’t exactly what we were expecting for our summer bike holiday. The rest of the afternoon we rode at a good pace, but as the mileage increased we were definitely starting to slow. After 3 days in the saddle we were starting to get sore and by the end of the day we had the singular goal of getting to Sortland as fast as possible. As a result we stopped less frequently that afternoon for photos and to gaze in amazement. Along this stretch we were also flagged down by a Norwegian woman helping get a Finnish man and his car out of the ditch along the highway. We helped them by stopping traffic while she pulled him out and we were given a chocolate bar in exchange for our help.

Upper left are the toilets at the Bukkekjerka rest area, which were reflective at some angles and see-through in others. Engaging the privacy switch that fogged the windows was a must. The other photos were taken throughout the day on our way from Bleik to Sortland.

Our accommodations in Sortland were similar to those in Bleik, a room in someone else’s house. As opposed to our hosts the previous night, this host was much more interested in avoiding us than making us food, talking, etc. which was perfectly acceptable to us. Despite sharing common areas for two nights we each largely succeeded in keeping to ourselves.

Prior to our trip Morgan had been told that there were a number of cute towns in Lofoten with nice bakeries, local art, and a couple of shops. We were expecting that this would extend to other communities in the region as well and were thus far disappointed. Everything we had passed thus far in our first 300km would not qualify as such. Most towns had a strong industrial footprint tied to the fishing industry. Few towns had a commercial footprint, and the ones that did were generally limited to one general store. We had hopes for Sortland, a large city by northern standards and were also disappointed. In any event we had chosen a bike trip to be closer to nature, and therefore were happy with the quality of that.

July 8 - Sortland

Our 4th day was scheduled as a break/recovery day. We went for an 80km ride outside of Sortland. Again beautiful, but again left wanting more from the coffee shop/restaurant/general store we stopped at in Myre. General uncomfort, especially for Morgan, was continuing to increase and by the end of our ride a part of us were both secretly dreading the upcoming days of riding. At this point the weather was also a contributing factor. It was about 50 degrees and cloudy the entire day and the forecast didn’t show much improvement. Had it been warmer, sunnier, and overall more enjoyable to be relaxing outside we would have been more interested in spending time outside on and off the bike than hunkering down in our Airbnb. On the brighter side Morgan was beginning to feel much better.

Upper left is Morgan knitting as a way to procrastinate our day’s scheduled bike ride. The other photos are from our loop to Myre. A lot of great riding on quiet roads in this area.

The benefit of being in less commercialized parts of the country means that these are not outright tourist destinations. Even Senja, the most touristy of the places we have biked thus far, are quite remote and experience little traffic. The locals rely on centralized services, and so small population centers of 30-300 are common but have no commercial footprint. The quiet roads of this stretch were something we both appreciated. As we worked south we noticed that we were in more populated areas, but they were less touristy, so car traffic had decreased.

July 9 - Sortland to Laukvika

Uncomfortable, in pain, and looking forward to getting to Lofoten, we compromised on our day’s bike plan. I, despite the saddle sores, wanted to maximize mileage while Morgan wanted to get to our destination as fast as possible.

The first part of the day’s ride covered 70km and was an absolute slog. We struggled to get in a rhythm, the weather was again subpar, and our asses hurt. The first half of the morning was spent along a stretch of highway that was rolling and curvy and devoid of any landmarks, giving it a treadmill sensation. We didn’t feel like we were moving in any direction, which wore on our minds a bit. By the time we got to Melbu, where we were going to catch a ferry to Lofoten, we were exhausted and in need of a break.

In Melbu we visited only our second bakery of the trip so far. Considering we had been expecting to have one long coffee ride this was a bit of disappointment. However, looking forward to Lofoten we knew we would have more options to pick from then we could realistically stop at.

Photos of our morning 70km slog to Melbu where we rewarded ourselves with baked goods. This was only our 2nd bakery of the trip even though we had been on the road for 5 days, one of the few let downs thus far.

From Melbu we took a ferry to Fiskebol and the Lofoten archipelago. How a quick break, some sunshine, and a cinnamon bun can improve our moods. The afternoon was an absolute delight. It would be inappropriate to downplay the morning’s scenery, but what we biked through in the afternoon was quite remarkable. It was much greener, as opposed to the rockier coastline of Langoya, and the sunshine breathed new life into us. Our butts were still sore, but for the afternoon we were able to forget about all that and enjoy the biking. It was something really special.

An afternoon to remember as we rode from Fiskebol to Laukvika. The sun came back out and brought us back to life. The photo in the upper right is from Grunnforfjord where we stopped to take a photo of a Dutch couple. They returned the favor and gave us one of the few photos we have together from the trip.

We spent the night in an RV outside someone's home in the quiet farming community of Laukvika. We really enjoyed our stay here. The RV part was whatever, but the quiet farming community set between the ocean and mountains was exactly what we were looking for after the last few nights spent in a neighborhood setting. Funny enough, despite the quiet setting we were kept up by kids taking advantage of the midnight sun playing outside long after we fell asleep.

Morgan outside the RV we stayed in during our night in Laukvika. Outside our window we had a view looking back at the islands we biked earlier that day.

July 10 - Laukvika to Knutstad

Today marked our first day on the E10 highway, the major thoroughfare through Lofoten. This meant considerably more traffic passing us at higher speeds than we had encountered the previous 5 days. First off, Lofoten is beautiful. However, it is a major tourist destination and thus busy. Norwegians we have met and talked to have mixed feelings about it, mostly because of the foreigners in camper vans that are omnipresent. We saw most of the EU represented on the license plates that passed us, but Sweden, Finland, France, and Germany dominated. Norwegians generally speak positively about tourists, with the exception being Germans. They are known for driving the biggest campers, parking in inappropriate places, and bringing all their groceries and fuel into the country so that they don’t have to buy anything in Norway. A Scottish couple we met on this trip expressed the same negative sentiment towards camper van driving Germans.

Outside of the increase of traffic to contend with we also had weather conditions that were suboptimal. It lightly rained in the morning, which was annoying but not the end of the world. Later in the day the wind came in and blew away the precipitation, but left us fighting sustained 20mph when we were headed in the wrong direction, which for most of the afternoon we were. On one particularly exposed bridge crossing where the wind meter was showing speeds approaching 30mph Morgan elected to walk over the half mile long bridge, I rode and by the time I got to the other side I was wishing I would have walked too.

Clockwise from upper: turning onto the E10 and officially beginning the Lofoten stage of our trip, Morgan hiding in bed to avoid biking in the rain, the quiet road we had to ourselves before turning on the E10 highway.

While we have heard our fair share of eye-rolling Norwegians express their disappointment in how Lofoten has become a playground for German camper vans, we have also heard about how good the food was on the islands. Morgan was especially excited for all the small bakeries that were along the route. Today was the first day we were able to put the anecdotes to the test and our taste buds were happy with the results. We stopped in Kabelvag and Henningsvaer and in both places had really good food.

Our morning bike to Svolvaer and a bakery in Kabelvag. The rain had stopped and spirits were high.

The bike excursion to Henningsvaer was a trip highlight for us. Looking at photos before we left, it didn’t look real. As we experienced first hand here and at a couple of other fishing villages, Nusfjord and Reine, the Norwegian fisherman set up any place they could. Today the towns still exist as fishing villages where cod is air dried to make stockfish, while also catering to tourists. The fish is dried from February to the beginning of June, so we didn’t get the chance to see this year’s harvest.

Clockwise from upper left: The charming fishing village of Henningsvaer, biking out to Henningsvaer, returning to E10 from Henningsvaer, looking south along the Lofoten coast, the bridge that Morgan walked and I should have in winds approaching 30mph, the lake that our hostel sat on outside of Knutstad.

To great success Morgan tested out wearing two bike shorts today, which greatly improved her cycling experience. After hearing her positive reviews I did the same for the rest of the trip, also helping me enjoy the remaining cycling aspect a little more. We packed very minimalistic, but did pack extra shorts, which came in very handy.

We had been staying in shared Airbnb houses largely to save money. No where we had traveled thus far had this been so important as Lofoten, which was the most expensive area along our route. As luck would have it our host for this night had to cancel last minute, leaving us in a lurch. We found one of the next cheapest available options for 3x the cost, which was a private apartment to ourselves at the hiker hostel Furu. Surprisingly, the food here was also very good and Morgan was so impressed by the hummus that we left with the recipe.

The hummus recipe Morgan requested at Furu.

In the evening I braved the wind to go for an hour bike ride under the midnight sun. Clouds were covering the sun, but I still had to wear my sunglasses anyway. Aside from no traffic on the road I could have believed that it was 6:00pm. I am not sure I would ever get used to the sunlight conditions here. The wind was blowing at a sustained 15-20mph so half of my ride was spent getting beat into submission. Still the novelty of it all made it worth it.

My hour-long ride under the midnight sun from the Furu hostel. Sunglasses were helpful and worn the entire time.

July 11 - Knutstad to Selfjord

Windy. We rode the first 17km into a 15-20 mph headwind with gusts touching 30mph. Despite the delicious cinnamon buns we started our day with and the two moose we saw within the first mile, morale was low. There was also the issue of our safety riding in windy conditions on a major road. While cars, trucks, and camper vans have been more respectful of cyclists than any other place I’ve ridden, there is still a baseline level of concern when gusts make you a little shaky, trucks are passing you at 50mph, and the road isn’t wide enough for a centerline let alone a shoulder.

At the 17km mark we cut our losses and caught a passing bus. It was pretty defeating, but the 20 miles we skipped would have taken us 2 hours and been absolutely miserable. We also would have gone through a mile long tunnel under the ocean that after seeing on the bus would never have been something we would have wanted to cycle through anyways. We took the bus to Lofoten Beach Camp where we regrouped by booking one of the campground’s saunas and swimming in the Arctic Ocean. This time I wore clothes and Morgan joined me. The water was in the low 50 degree range, so too cold to comfortably swim without being uncomfortably hot first. We had both hoped for more summery weather, that with the exception of the first two sunny days in the high 60s low 70s, but it had been much too cold to even think about stopping at a beach along the way for an hour break and potential swim.

Left: Waiting for the bus outside the sleepy town of Borg after a morning of making slow progress and getting beat down by the wind.

Right: the beach at Lofoten Beach Camp where we saunaed, swam, and rejuvenated ourselves.

After enjoying a sauna and a swim our morale greatly improved. So had the weather, at least in the protected fjord valley we were in. We decided to take our new found energy and apply it to biking 14 miles roundtrip in the opposite direction of the evening’s lodgings to visit a fishing village that had been on our radar as a place with a positively reviewed bakery. We were rewarded with one of the best stretches of road of the entire trip that ended in another implausible fishing village. The village of Nusfjord has been very well preserved and today is a resort that makes use of the old buildings. We were very happy we made the effort to cycle out of our way here and enjoyed a sweet treat as our reward.

Photos from our detour trip to Nusfjord, one of the best bike stretches of our week.

Clockwise from left: Walking towards the central harbor in Nusfjord, Hansines Bakeri that has been open since the 1800s, at its peak it helped feed 1,200 fisherman a year during the winter fishing season, the dry racks that are used to dry cod and other fish to make stockfish.

This evening we stayed in the DNT cabin at Selfjord. It was past the end of the road, in the most secluded quiet place we had stayed in over a week. When we pulled up Morgan remarked that she hoped we were by ourselves so that we didn’t have to socialize. That didn’t end up being the case, but as far as cabin mates go the older Scottish couple we shared the hut with were very nice.

July 12 - Selfjord to Moskenes

Another day with weather that left something to be desired. It was a misty rain all morning that kept us hunkered down and waiting for it to break. Thankfully, the wind that had been such an annoying factor of the last day and a half had largely dissipated. I was in a hiking mood, so with a little cajoling I convinced Morgan to join me for a short 2.5 mile roundtrip hike to the secluded white sand beach of Kvalvika whose trailhead was only a few miles down the road in the direction we were heading. The photos made me think it would be empty. However it was quite a busy hike due to its short distance and relative ease compared to other hikes in the area. We didn’t end up going all the way to the beach, but it was nice to walk to get a different perspective of the landscape. The fact that we were wearing tennis shoes that were actively falling apart and would be thrown away before we made it home (Alex) and Tevas (Morgan) didn’t help the hiking over wet rocks and through mud and dampened our enthusiasm for making it all the way down to the water.

Hiking to Kvalvika Beach where conditions were slippery and wrong footwear was worn. 

After hiking for 2 hours and stopping again shortly after for an absolutely delicious fish sandwich on homemade focaccia, probably our favorite meal of the whole trip, we finally started biking for the day. This was our shortest ride and we made relatively quick work of it. We had another stop in another beautiful fishing village of Reine at yet another bakery before finishing at the southern terminus of the Lofoten road in A. We had a little bit of time to spare taking photos and relaxing, but generally timed the day well in order to take the 6:00pm ferry from Lofoten to Bodo that evening.

Photos from our final bike ride between Selfjord and A. The natural harbor of Reine is pictured in the upper left.

Riding our bikes on the ferry meant we had the first choice of seats on the 4 hour long ferry. This came in handy because there weren’t enough seats for everyone, so a number of people had to sit outside or stand if they wanted to be inside. A pod of orcas had been in this area for the last couple of weeks and we were hoping we’d get to see them, but we weren’t so lucky. Upon arrival in Bodo we were treated to the best weather of our entire trip with warm sunny weather, the benefits of the mainland.

Clockwise from upper left: Morgan at pavement’s end in A, Alex being photogenic with Reine in the background, another photo looking towards Reine, photo with the A sign, the town is tied for having the shortest name of any municipality in the world, eating a celebratory ice cream on our ferry ride to Bodo.

July 13 - Return Journey to Oslo

Our return journey to Oslo was supposed to be via train. The first leg of the journey was a 10+ hour jaunt from Bodo to Trondheim. In Trondheim we were supposed to switch trains for the final leg to Oslo and enjoy the comforts of a sleeper cabin for the remaining 7.5 overnight hours. We were looking forward to this for many reasons. The combination of preferring train travel, getting our bikes onboard would be easier than flying, and after 8 days of consistently moving it was going to be a nice way to relax and sleep for 18 hours.

Looking at the train map between Bodo and Oslo and what could have been.

This did not come to fruition. About 4 hours into our journey the ambient air temperature of about 80 degrees made it unsafe for the train to continue. In the town of Mo i Rana everyone disembarked the train and we were put onto buses to continue our journey. The real kicker to all this was that the buses would not get to Trondheim in time for us to make the Oslo bound night train, meaning we would have to also bus that leg. After completing this journey for ourselves we can safely say that we do not recommend anyone take a bus from Mo i Rana to Oslo.

Highway time ended up totalling a little more than 13 hours, of which we slept very little. Since it was Sunday everything was closed in Mo i Rana and the rail line didn’t provide any food or water until Trondheim. There was little accommodation for our bikes, so we had to stack them on top of each other. Communication was sparse and confusion was plentiful. There were multiple buses to board in Mo i Rana and no one was effectively telling anyone what the plan was for each bus and who should board what. The information that was being provided was ignored by the mob. All of this made the return trip pretty miserable. We did a good job of moving past it and accepting our unpleasant fate. Morgan having never taken an overnight train journey was disappointed she wouldn’t get that opportunity on this trip either. 

Upon arriving in Oslo we worked through a Monday as if it was business as usual. I cleaned up everything after our trip and submitted our reimbursement request for the train trip home. Morgan worked from our apartment. Within a couple of days we had recovered from the bus trip and were only remembering our happy memories.