Direction: 62.77 miles
Time: 6:01
Elevation Gain: 1,695 feet
While I was finishing setting up camp for the evening, another cyclist turned up looking for a flat piece of ground on which to pitch his tent, not an easy task at LOVE (Lofoten and Vesterålen Islands) Campsite. He was called Hans, and he was from Belgium, he was a seasoned touring cyclist who, after 30,000 km of use, was contemplating swapping out some of the componentry on his fancy Rohloff hub and gates belt drive touring bike set up. He’d never flown with his bike though, so he was inspired by the fact that I’d taken my bike to Vietnam and Morocco.
The next morning, I was in the campsite kitchen, talking to a pair of Swedish cousins, one of who I’d spoken to outside the shop in Melbu the day before. One of them asked me if I was doing the detour today, to which I responded that I probably would be.
After I’d set off though, I realised that they were referring to an alternative cycle route that would be a very long way around to Sortland, so having watched as the two Swedes and another big group of cyclists all headed off on the detour, I headed along Highway 82, wondering if I was the only cyclist planning on carrying on along the main road.
But on stopping to photograph the different aesthetic that the east side of the Vesterålen Islands was providing over the one the west had the day before, the group of 6 Norwegians from the previous few days yelled a greeting as they breezed on by, there were enough cyclists around for all the available routes it seemed.
On arriving in Sortland, after 16 miles, it was time for lunch, and taking inspiration from Hans, as he had done from me, I decided to copy his dinner from the night before, picking up some smoked salmon and cream cheese, and pairing them with some bread I was carrying in my pannier.
After Sortland, it was time to get my head down and power through a few miles. The closer I could get towards the ferry port of Andenes today, the better chance I had of getting there for a ferry earlier in the day tomorrow.
Still not quite able to shake off the urge to stop to take the odd photograph, however, I was soon passed by the squad of three that I’d last seen early the day before. But then, almost as soon as I’d started up again I found them stopped along the road, and that started a new game of leapfrog as we kept passing each other, until eventually, after we’d all surmounted the extra steep bridge over to Risøyhamn, we all ended up at the local Joker store at the same time. As I’d expected, the group was Polish, but what was a surprise, was that it was a family unit, father Conrad, his wife, and their 13 year old son. It was amazing that they were riding along so strongly together, and quite an undertaking for their son that they would be spending two and a half weeks travelling from Bodø to Nordkapp, apparently it had been a long time in the planning.
After Risøyhamn, it was all about banking a few extra miles for the day, but as the road crossed to the west coast, the landscape became something very special indeed, the land interfacing with the sea in a way that reminded me of, not only, those islands on the edge of the Atlantic in Scotland, the Outer Hebrides, but also where the Pacific meets the Oregon coastline, in America.
The area around Nøss was clearly a very popular wild camping area, with lots of great spots, but I was running low on water so looked to see if there were any public toilets up ahead. Then I found one just 1 km away, a toilet block, with sea views. I would be able to get water to cook my dinner, not that it mattered as it seemed I’d run out of gas.
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