Tuesday 17th July. 60miles

I cann t believe how hot is has been today! I have my winter gloves and cold weather gear packed at the bottom of my panniers. I expected to be wearing them at this stage. Have passed families playing in the fjords, at the edge, not actually seen anybody swimming, but I have heard of some cyclists who have.
A new road has/is being built; not a lot of traffic. The new road is good because it is smooth to cycle on and many of the sharp bends have been blasted away, but bad because like all new highways there is no shade as surrounding vegetation has not grown back yet. A few new tunnels- one 2.5 km one I had to cycle through
Others required a detour, which provided shade but also mean a big climb.
Passing stalls selling Sami made trinkets and reindeer skins. Also on one detour passed an old church built for the copper miners. A big mining operation in the past.
Also talking to a lot of people during my frequent stops. I enjoyed my break with a pleasantly drunk pair of well alcoholics. Good to see things which are not squeaky clean! Mind, I just had a coke- not sure what was in. their bottle
Then through to Alta, so am now in Finmark. Alta is a very modern town and looked good in the sunshine. The church is a landmark.
Camping about 10 km past the town at the first site I found. My neighbours are a lovely family with a toddler who is 5 days younger than Neil.

They have cycled from Germany. The little boy is all smiles and is now walking on his own, in fact he is very speedy.

Actually seen some reindeer walking along......

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Monday 25th.71miles

I returned to Ulsteinvik from my detour campsite. I went into the Remix supermarket, which looked remarkably like a Lidl, although being Norway, the prices are higher. Then it was the main road to the next ferry at Hareid. There was a shared route cycle path which was nice, but I got off it to give space to a group of nursery age children who were walking along holding hands in lines of 3 . Coming off the ferry, my road became busy. Alesund not far away is a surprisingly large place and I hit the dreaded E39 the main arterial road/duel carriageway going North. There are cycle paths and between mio and me we got through.( Though why mio took me off the cycle path, hrough an industrial estate only to return to the same road is questionable). My route then led me along quiet roads up a fiord side, round it and back down the other side. Then I cycled 3 sides of the square which made up a peninsula in order to avoid a large tunn...

Sunday 10th Jun

I seem to have a lot of gear to take with me. Plus a lot of cables and leads, for phone, camera, etc. I leave for Orkney on Wednesday with Keith then am booked onto the overnight ferry to Shetland on Saturday. Will cycle as far north in the U. K. as roads allow, then I take the Loganair flight to Bergen on Wed. 20th Am taking my warm but bulky Norwegian sleeping bag - if I can fit it somewhere!

Monday 9th July 63 miles to just before Svolvaer

Mist to begin with. Aimed for Leknes which was on my route, I thought it would be a small fishing town-wrong... it was a town made up of shopping malls! In retrospect I can understand this; it will be dark in the winter, so not having to leave a heated complex makes sense. Sat out the mist and had a coffee. Then it was the quiet Eastern route around the island of Vestvagoya passing other cyclists on route. I met one organised group with a leader who told me that I must detour to see Henningsvaer, an old fishing town on the point. So I did. A bit of a tourist trap, but old traditional buildings and still fishing going on. More racks of dried cod heads! A couple of tunnels today- including one which went under the sea between two islands which I was not keen on. Actually the scenery would have been the same if I had been cycling around Achiltibuie...

Cycling North

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