Cycling through Norway - North Cape to Bodø

When I was preparing for this trip I searched for experiences from others on how to get to and cycle within Norway. With much pre-trip enjoyment I read some travel blogs about cyclists doing a similar tour. This blog is foremost a practical guide and teaser for who wants a glimpse of what can be expected in northern Norway.

Period: June-July 2016

Travel: by airplane, train, hurtigruten, local ferries and mostly by bicycle

Method: paper maps and exchanging route and camping experiences with fellow travelers

Route: North Cape - Alta - Tromsø - Senja island - Vesteralen islands - Lofoten islands

Island Senja, (c)  F. Davids

Landscape and weather

I will only briefly describe Norway itself because you will want to go explore yourself of course. I was amazed by the ongoing beautiful landscape. Fjord after fjord, different vistas every hour. The mountains rise steeply from the ocean, the roads wind along the edges of the fjords going continuously up and down and now and then climbing to cross a pass. Patches of snow litter the hills. Waterfalls gurgle, rush and clatter downwards from the numerous bogs, snowpatches, glaciers and lakes, sometimes cooling the air around them with several degrees because the water is so cold. 

In Finnmark, Norways most northern province, one is truly in the arctic. The landscape is rough and bare. There is no cover. The weather can change within hours from breezy and sunny to cold drizzle or harsh cold winds with rain. The wind changes in every valley and can not be predicted well. The weather can make a simple day really hard so take note and be flexible with your plans. I found yr.no to be the best local weather app around.  You will need to prepare for getting wet and not being able to dry your clothes in a tent. The humidity is continuously > 95%, even when the weather is nice. The only times that I have managed to dry something outside of a building is if the sun shone directly for several hours. Most days I just started with clammy clothes warming them up as I went along.

Animals

You will almost certainly encounter some reindeer crossing the roads in the North. They are naturally amusing animals carousing over the roads. Going south I saw them less and less and they were slowly replaced by sheep and cows. I saw ospreys or fish eagles several times circling by steep cliff faces. There are several places to go and look at puffins and other sea bird colonies. If you have the time and like such things I would recommend a whale safari boat trip in Andenes. It is one of those places where whales are in abundance. A sighting from the boat is almost guaranteed and even just on the ferry from Senja to Andoya you have a good chance of seeing them. Look for spouts. I also saw porpoises and dolphins several times in fjords and on the ferry from Moskenes to Bodo. If it is quiet you can hear them spout. Fish are in abundance and waiting to be caught if you are so inclined. Unfortunately there are also mosquitos and bad stingers similar to horse flies. Get a good mosquito repellent!

Animals in northern Norway (c)  F. Davids

Camping

I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that pretty much all campsites have kitchens with electric cookers and sometimes also pots and pans to use. This can be ideal when it is really cold and or wet outside. And it gives you an opportunity to dry yourself and possibly some clothes. Most campsites are really expensive for a solo traveller by bike since they seam to think that you charge the same for one tent with one person as for one campervan (or bobil as they are called) with 4 people in it using electricity. Some other travellers managed to negotiate lower prices... I didn't. I tried several times but was deterred by the dull incomprehending looks from the indifferent teenagers that had been hired to man the reception. Anyway prices varied between 100 and 240 krone per night. 

Wild camping was an odd experience. In Norway you have right of way and can camp as long as you are not on someones property or close to a house. However, when you are cycling on the only road that is available around there loads of people, including hordes of people with cars and campervans, are looking for a cheap place to camp. I do not call this wildcamping anymore because it is just like a campsite only then on a parking or passing place just beside the road. This makes it challenging to find a reall secluded spot. Nevertheless, sometimes you do find these wonderful spots, especially on the quieter roads. 

You need to realise that campsites or cabins (hytte or rorbuer) are not always available on every stretch. Cabins were often booked full on the campsites in high season. Either consider (wild) camping or book ahead. 

Also there are very few places to buy food or have a warm drink in the north. You might have to plan several days ahead. Do not expect to be able to buy food on most campsites.

Gear

Crucials in my opinion.

- repair tools for bike. Without your bike you are nowhere.

- duc tape. For packing your bike and various bits for on the plane and for all kinds of fixing stuff on the road.

- mosquito repellent

- bungee cords (very handy for attaching your bike to the ferry and for attaching additional luggage on your back rack)

- water filter

- drypacks / waterproof bags

- maps/gps, but certainly a backup map minimally I would say (I like maps and they don't run out of battery)

- waterproof shoes. The grass will be wet 95% of the time that you are packing up and about 50% when you are putting up your tent.

- bike lights back and front for in the tunnels

- some cash, but most places on northern Norway you can pay by card these days, and you will need 10 or 20 krone coins for the showers on the campsites

Tunnels

It is a strange atmosphere in the dark. Some tunnels are dry, some drip continuously. The first time a car approaches you in the tunnel it will sound like an airplane is just about to take flight over your shoulder. That takes some getting used to... but I did. Most tunnels were alright, especially on the quieter roads. Slightly unnerving were the lights that sometimes would just turn off. In one tunnel I experienced this four times just as I was cycling under one of those lights it would switch off. Of course there are enough other lights and I had my own bicycle lights but still that provided me with an adrenaline kick.

There were two tunnels that were awful. The tunnel between Honningsvog and the mainland is 7 km long and descends to 212m under sea level. That means that you go down and up a 10% hill. Since the North Cape is a big tourist attraction it can be quite busy on the road, even in the evenings since people also come for the midnight sun. However, there is a side curb through the whole tunnel so you can walk if you want. I cycled downhill but felt safer walking uphill.

The tunnel from the island Magerøya to the mainland (c) F. Davids

In the Honningsvog tunnel (c) F. Davids

The second bad tunnel that I encountered  is just north of Olderfjord. It is a tunnel with bends which makes you not visible as a slow moving cyclist. The touring car buses, mobile homes, and lorries all come through this tunnel and they drive fast. Unfortunately Finnmark does not post signs for the road users to watch out for cyclists, they do do that in the Vesteralen and Lofoten.

Some other travellers avoided the Honningsvog tunnel by taking the bus. The bus goes once a day or so. Some other people took the ferry (once a day) one stop west to Havoysund and cycled on the other side of the peninsula. That covers about the same distance but is a much quieter road.

I found I enjoyed the tunnels most while loudly singing Zap Mama. 

Route

I used Freytag & Berndt 1:200 000 maps. They give a good overview of roads and places. I largely followed European Atlantic coastal route, EuroVelo 1, or R1 in Norway. This route is still in development and does not have signs everywhere in the north. I used the cycling guide from Paul Zandveld (Noorwegen - langs de kust naar de Noordkaap) for planning the trip. It had useful information on the route although the guide and maps itself are pretty minimal. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the free app Navida that contains beautifully detailed topographic maps of Norway. I used that mainly on campsites with wifi to plan the day and climbs ahead.

Fitness

You need to have either experience of tour cycling and/or be fit. You can plan the days however long you like building up to longer distances. Try to take the climbing into account for although you are mostly on coastal roads you are continuously going up and down little steep climbs, often making more than 1000 climbing meters in a day. In my experience I usually cycle between 10-15 km per hour in hilly terrain with luggage. Then again I like to take note of my surroundings, make photos, watch for animals, and chat with other travellers. Some people cycle much faster. Because I wasn't very fit this year I started out the first week with cycling around 50 km a day, increasing that later to about a 100 km. 

Travelling to and from Norway

I like getting a feel for how much I travel so I did not take the fastest route.

Amsterdam Schiphol - Oslo Gardermoen. I took a flight to Oslo with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). They allow bikes packed or unpacked on the flight. Going outwards I bought a bicycle box on Schiphol Airport (downstairs by the luggage lockers) and going back I just covered my bike in a cover. For the flight you will have to adjust the steering wheel, take of the pedals and empty the air out of the tubes. I also put a derailleur protector in for the journey.

Oslo Gardermoen - Bodo

I took the train from Oslo airport to Bodo with an hour transfer at Trondheim that goes twice daily in summer. This takes about 17 hours in total and takes you through some amazing landscapes. One part is a night train. You can book a sleeping couch or if you do not book anything you just sleep in the chair and you get a blanket and eye cover. You have to reserve a place for your bicycle on the train. You cannot do that online, you will have to call them to arrange it. Very easily done. In summer the trains are often fully booked for the limitd bicycle places so do this on time.

Bodo - Honningsvag (North Cape)

I decided to take the hurtigruten (ferry cruise boat) from Bodo to Honningsvag. That takes two days. If you stay on the boat for more than 18 hours you are obliged to book a sleeping cabin. This makes it rather expensive. However it is certainly an experience steaming past the northern coast line of Norway. 

A faster way to get to the north cape would be to fly to Kirkenes and take the ferry from there to Honningsvag or start cycling there. Alternatively you can also fly to a lot of places in northern Norway with Wideroe from one of the bigger airport onwards.

The local ferries between islands always had place for cyclists. Cars were regularly left waiting for the next ferry to leave. Some ferries only leave a couple of times per day. So check the recent schedule before you leave on your trip. The Hurtigruten ferry was a unique experience. However, I learnt afterwards that you can make it a lot cheaper if you plan your trip on hurtigruten for a maximum of 18 hours because then you do not have to book a cabin, which is expensive, but only the costs for the travel.

Disclaimer. This blogs reflects my experiences on this particular route in this particular season with my preferences for camping. Of course you will have to decide what is applicable for you and your journey and what not. Have fun and ride safe!