From Trondheim to Örnsköldsvik

Hello Norway, or better hello Sweden because I’m already in Sweden for ten days. My intention was to update my site in Tromsø, Norway and have a break there. To my/our sorrow (I met a young German lady just about 50 KM before Trondheim) the campground was not very inviting. Side by side RV’s and the official tiny place for the tents was already occupied by bikers. Some spots (not very even and lots of tree roots) were in the woods. We had no choice so we stayed there for one night. But definitely not a place for a rest day. I don’t know haw many RV pitches the campground had, but 4 working showers of 5 were definitely not enough. Long queue of people were waiting for the shower. I/we decided to take a shower later and have dinner first. At past 11 pm I still had to wait over 10 minutes. The only positive aspect in my eye was the kitchen. In excellent condition and fully equipped.

But let me begin from Trondheim. The weather the next few days was fine. On third day after leaving Trondheim the temperature reached over 30 degrees. Actually to hot for cycling. But fortunately only for one day. An unusual warm summer but definitely by far better than rain and cold weather. On the way to Bodø there were several ferry crossings. Some less than 30 minutes and some longer. One ferry (travel time less than 20 minutes) had an accident and the former ferry had to service the crossing. So we saved about 40 – 50 KM of cycling. On this ferry I met lots of cyclists heading to were I already was in 2006, North Cape. Sure, because of the accident the ferry was late and instead of crossing (probably) every 2 hours there was just 2 crossings this day. I heard about the accident 90 Km before the ferry terminal by an RV driver (Netherlander?). In the town were I was nobody had a clue about the accident because the accident just happened one day ago. A friendly postwoman in a mail van could help me out. She made an over 15 minutes long telephone call and on the other line they said there will be one departure today at 6pm. On one stretch (about 15 KM) some car and RV drivers were very rude. Some overtake you even when cars/RV’s come from the other side. What the hell is going on? They are on holiday. The car/RV queue at the terminal was very long. Some were waiting already over 5 hours when I arrived there at about 5:15pm. I don’t know if all of them made it onto the ferry this day when the ferry left at about 6:45pm. We cyclist (and pedestrians/hikers) do not have such worries. This evening we crossed the arctic circle on the ferry. Amazing how nature can be. In some fjords it’s foggy and in others it’s sunny and blue skies. At the ferry destination it was the latter and warm. At the departure terminal it was foggy. Some cyclist told me about a nice camping spot just about 10 Km from the terminal, but uphill. It wasn’t that bad. Nice smooth climb and less than 10 Km. At the camping spot (actually “just” a rest area) there was grass and two? picnic tables (and the obligatory vampires). The view at the top was priceless. Down the fjord surrounded by high mountains some of them still covered in snow. When I see such beautiful spots I always have to think about an over 20? years old credit card commercial.

The next day was foggy and to the next ferry just 2 or 3 hours of cycling. No RV’s passed me or came from the other direction. I was concerned about the ferry. Is it running? Later I realized that most cars and RV’s take the main highway. It’s an E (European route) blah blah blah. Closed for cyclists due a tunnel. Really not unhappy about that fact. At about 10:30pm I arrived at the terminal. There was just a Norwegian couple in a car. The man told me that the next departure is scheduled for 3pm. They left. Fortunately there was at the terminal a small shelter where I could warm up. As I told it was foggy this morning. I brewed some coffee and had some obligatory cake. I even almost fell asleep this morning and noon in my folding chair. It was so pleasant. Later several cyclists from the day before and others arrived at the terminal. One German guy living in Switzerland I already met in Åheim, couple 100 KM further south. The waiting for the ferry went fast. Two Swiss guys even had a lure and caught some fish for supper. A bunch of cyclist from France (with trailer and shepherd), Switzerland (lure), Netherlands (older couple), Germans (Göttingen and Bremen) and probably more countries. In the afternoon I just cycled few kilometers. As I reckon just to the next campground. I saw there the older couple from the Netherlands. I felt a little bit guilty to stop there for the day because my odometer on the phone showed just 38? KM. But my last laundry was in Åheim (two? weeks ago) and the campground had a laundry and a drier. For the drier I had to wait some time because a not very smart older lady had put probably 10 Kg of laundry in the drier. Simply stupid. But she gave up to dry her laundry completely.

Next day was a relative long cycling day. Probably 130 KM to Bodø. In Bodø leaves a ferry to the Lofoten. The distance from Bodø to Moskenes on the Lofoten is 100 Km and free of charge for non-motorized people. The crossing in the evening was simply fantastic. Blue sky and warm. We had very calm sea. Even on the deck it was pleasant warm. The crossing takes about 3:45 hours. Just less than 2 Km from Moskenes there was a nice spot for camping. Again with lots of cyclist I met the day before. Unfortunately the Lofoten is a place of over tourism. To many cars and RV’s. In the south of the Lofoten there are lots of “No camping” signs. Probably to many of the motorized tourists overnight/camp wherever they like to the disturbance of the locals. Further north it’s getting better due to remoter roads and less tourists. Perhaps it’s the ferry crossing from Andenes on the Lofoten to Gryllefjord on mainland Norway with much less departures. In Gryllefjord there was a huge queue of cars and RV’s. Not all of them will make it onto the next ferry. The crossing takes over 1.5 hours. But his time it was really heavy seas and the ferry relative small. Just 1 – 2 Km from Gryllefjord there was a nice place for camping. Fenced, so not accessible for motorized persons. Only accessible by cyclists and hikers. Even nice picnic tables were available. Drinking water and toilet just a 2 minute walk away. Sure, the place was free of charge. Next day was overcast/foggy as the day before. As I remember not much traffic to Tromsø. Mostly on back country roads. The road after the ferry crossing from Botnhamn to Brensholmen was closed due to road construction work. But the young German lady I met at the closed road an I could pass. The road construction worker even put some sand/gravel on the washed out areas. So I could pass safely. I almost forgot to mention that I could see the ferry at the terminal about 6 – 7 Km before arriving there. As I came closer and closer the ferry was still there. Due to the few traffic on the road I was concerned about the departure frequency. Not unlikely to wait couple hours before the next departure. Just about 100 m from the terminal I saw cars and RV’s waiting for the ferry. My first thought was there is still plenty of time for the ferry departure. But no, the ferry was already full and some cars and RV’s had to wait for the next departure. Luckily I could still catch the ferry. In Tromsø I got camping gas at Jula. They sell the big (450 g) bottle for 69Kr. A very fair price. There are two long bridges in Tromsø. Fortunately both with separated cycle ways. The other long bridges in Norway lacked (except one) cycle ways. After Tromsø there were some stretches on heavy traffic roads. On some I could take a (usually longer) detour. But definitely worth. I already cycled about 1000 Km in Sweden and just stayed on two commercial campgrounds. The first in Kerasuando (the one south of town). I paid 300Kr for a tent. The owner was very unfriendly. She disliked that I charged my phone and power bank in the kitchen. For charging electronic devices I have to take a hut. The next day I had tail wind and cycled 187 Km to Pajala. I paid 200 Kr for the campground. A fair price but the kitchen had just a fridge and two cooking plates. But a sauna. Which I didn’t use. After a long day of cycling you are usually not in the mood for a sauna. The sauna takes to much of your precious time. After 2 commercial campgrounds I stayed 6 nights off the road. Fortunately there is a kind of youth hostel in Örnsköldsvik. Nice single room with two beds (bunk bed) for 400 Kr. I decided to stay a second night in Örnsköldsvik. I really slept very well last night

Below is the cycled route from Trondheim to Örnsköldsvik.