Thursday 11th June - Never mind the rain dear!

Couldn’t get on the internet to do a post last night so got a bit of catching up to do. That and my being incredible tired after today’s ride means I ask you to forgive this being a bit factual.

I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed to a lovely morning so made an early start. It was dry and I actually saw some sun.

So, for the first hour I again enjoyed some decent riding through terrific scenery although as the road follows the coast and the fjord sides any photographs look similar.

Then though I began to climb and it deteriorated rapidly. It was some of the worst riding I’ve had this trip, in fact had ever and if there had been a bus home I would have taken it.

But, what goes up and all that, as I dropped down again I saw this sign. Now, I’ve seen hundreds of the Moose signs and nary a moose and I’ve only seen one reindeer in 1000 miles odd so I though the sign erector was having a laugh here but ....

 

My first real herd of reindeer – I’ve given moose up as a bad job.

The old road joins up lots of little town at the heads of fjords which, when they were first populated would have only been accessible by boat. 

You can see from this shot that until tunnelling became possible there couldn’t have been any decent road connection.

And this is what I mean about the trouble they are going to to cut out climbs and bends. These would be majior works in the UK, here they seem everywhere.

Another difficulty today has been riding through their road works. They have such a short weather gap to repair the frost damage that they don’t mess about patching up they just rip up the whole bit of road and re-lay it.  Only trouble is they can’t close the road while they do, there’s no diversions available so you have to drive – or in my case ride - over it. They seem to lay temporary layers of either fine rock chippings or fine grit, and pretty deep layers at that. The bike just digs in and doesn’t want to go. Yes, lots of people on bikes must do it, but on my road bike fully ladened it’s a bit of an ordeal and it goes on for miles in some cases.

I don't like it!

I pulled into Alta and hung out with the local boys – actually I didn’t see them but at least I felt confident leaving the bike while I grabbed something to eat.

And now a confession – please cover the ears of my younger followers – having seen there were still plenty around I had smoked reindeer salad – it was delicious, with cranberry sauce, feta and the works! Won’t discuss the price though, that is still too painful.

I then climbed again, this time up on to the Finnmarksvidda, a vast plateau which spreads out south east into Finland.

At first there were some trees, little scrawny birch and I saw more reindeer grazing amongst them.

But on the plateau itself it was just like the Prairies of Canada or the deserts of Route 66 – only with snow. 

There were no trees at all and only brown, fern like scrub. The reindeer though must love it because now I began to see herds of them though from a distance.

I should have kept on traversing the plateau towards the north east if I was heading straight to Nordkapp but I turned left and headed north, dropping down to the sea again as I was going to see a Methodist Church – yes another one, sorry – in Hammerfest.

Putting Hammerfest into perspective it is some 1200 miles north of where I live. It is further north than mainland Canada, Alaska and a lot of Greenland. More pertinently it lays claim to being the northernmost "town" in the world. Yes, there are some remote communities further north but, Hammerfestians argue, these are too small to be called towns. Certainly it is the most northern town in mainland Europe although it actually wouldn’t be mainland if the magnificent bridge fell down.

So, when a Methodist congregation was established in Hammerfest in 1890 it was – and probably still is – the world’s most northerly Methodist congregation.  That means its Methodist Church must be the world’s most northerly one!  So, “being the world’s most …”  I have to see it so I can include it in my article for the Newsletter. I’m meeting the pastor to have a look round tomorrow.

I didn't plan to see this one, but it must be one of the worlds most isolated..... 

I’m glad I did drop down off the plateau because as the trees started again small settlements sprung up where they farmed reindeer – letting them run free most of the year – as with some of our farmers on the moors. That meant I got a better view of them – nearly eye ball to eye ball with this akward  male – who was just showing off to his girlfriends - what is it about testosterone?

Then on into Hammerfest where I've checked into a lovely hotel with a shower and a ar and acomfy bed and sheets ..........

And the room has black-out blinds - perhaps I'll get some sleep, we'll see.

Wednesday 10th June

Look at this photo. Nothing remarkable you may say – and I would agree, except it was taken at 20 past 12 – midnight, last night.

How they ever get to sleep in this place is beyond me. On advice I’ve brought one of those airline night flight eye masks and am so glad I did.

My cabin looked like a Chinese laundry – can I say that? – last night. I’ve perfected the art of getting just enough clothes on the electric radiator to make it worthwhile but not too many to make it cut out – great. Boots and gloves are a lost cause though. Still wet through. And I look like some southern hemisphere tribesman, my hands are stained blue – from my gloves.

Made no visits today other than a few photo stops, just wanted to get on north.

Experience has taught me there are two types of Norwegian drivers. There’s the mad man – it has always been men – who ignore speed limits, double white lines – except they are yellow here – and oncoming traffic. And then there’s the totally over cautious who crawl along at 10 miles an hour below the speed limit – and remember is mainly 47mph – and who are aware that around every bend there may be a parked tractor, a herd of reindeer, school children crossing the road etc. etc. so slow down just in case! I don’t know how this nation bred the Vikings – obviously they were from the first category. If it had been the second there wouldn’t have been much pillaging going on. You would have had Bjorn calling Erik back and saying be careful round that corner mate there may be a tree, could have your eye out!

Hadn’t gone far this morning when the road ran out. I hadn’t realised that there is still one point where the only route is by ferry – you can put ”Avoid Ferries” in the sat nav but it adds 1100km!!!. 

This little one only took about half an hour to get from Bognes to Skarberget  and cost the princely sum of £5.  It looked like a happy little whale.  Can’t make a profit this time of year though, they were hardly overflowing.

I came across this site and a couple more later in the Narvik region – there are 6 in total erected by the Norwegian Army in thanks to, and memory of, the British, French and Polish soldiers who fought the Nazis in  an attempt to drive back their invasion in 1940. In the end it was decided that Norway could not be protected so the King took refuge in England and the Allies withdrew.

I won’t go on about the weather again – it’s all relative – it was a fine drizzle so compared to yesterday I was happy. It was cold though, got down to 2°C at one point and many of the lakes and some rivers were still frozen over.

As I’ve said previously, I don’t know what we are doing wrong in our country. Norway’s roads are brilliant and there’s bridge building and tunnelling going on all over the place as routes are made shorter, quicker and safer. And these aren’t piddling little bridges, they span wide, deep fjords and the tunnels are awesome. I use that word deliberately because depending on the weather – sorry will just mention it in context – going through them is either a trauma or a relief, and they are sooo long.

If it is ok outside then going through the tunnels is terrifying. Most have no coating on the inside so are just hewn rock weeping slime on the road surface. The lighting is dim sodium, they are 2 way and there’s often no divide marking. Obviously your head tells you it must be wide enough for 2 trucks to pass but as traffic approaches and their headlights bounce off the slime it don’t seem like that and the bike seems awfully small. I tell myself I’m not worried but I am so relieved to get out the other side.

However when the Norwegian Goddess of rain and hail is throwing stuff at your face so thick and fast that if you have your visor down you can’t see and if you have it up you get a facial skin peel  you not only enjoy the blessed relief the tunnels give but find yourself racing for the next entrance. The warm air in there then is like a balmy breeze, and has a kind of soporific effect – I think the technical term is carbon monoxide poisoning.

I was told that May was the start of the season here but have found that except in the towns not much is open yet. I stopped at old farmstead now a museum and would have liked to look around – old buildings are another of my nerdish interests. But it was shut – look at the buildings though – made to last.

Similarly this was a collection of Sami – the correct term for Laplander I am told – tents, though I can’t imagine they carry wooden porches around with them as they follow their reindeer herds. I did stop to take a photo but not too long as I had the distinct feeling my bike wouldn’t have any wheels left if I hung around!

In the car park were these – another “I have no idea” photo!.

Know what this is though – I was told by it’s proud owner – he only got it yesterday. It’s 6 wheel drive and I want one!     

Now the good news – it stopped raining about 100 miles from tonight’s camp site so I  had a long dry run along the side of fjords and the speed limit went up to 90kph. Add a bit for the fact I’m in the Arctic Circle and so the earth’s surface speed is slower than home and that’s why I love biking!

Arrived at the campsite just passed Skibotn, east of Tromso. 

 A much more basic camp than the previous two but amazingly warm  cabins – they apparently always switch on the electric heaters prior to guests arriving – they have at the other two too – Hydroelectric power is cheap!

Coffee made and pasta on.

(No wi-fi though so talk tomorrow)

Good night!

Tuesday 9th June - A Dream Realised - crossed the Arctic Circle!

I could have kissed her. No, she wasn’t a a Norwegian blonde goddess – hey I can dream – but a rather matronly lady behind the reception desk of Tømmerneset Camping in Innhavet. 

The reason for my amorous urges – well, she'd apologised and said “Sorry, but I though you would like a shower and toilet in your cabin and put you in there!” and I was wetter than I can ever remember being. You know that bit I said about not getting wet if you are moving, well that obviously only applies to English rain – Norwegian rain, like a lot of these foreign types, doesn't play by the rules.  But, I digress, more of that later….

I was going to start my blog today The weather is crap….. but then I thought about it and you know what, the weather IS crap, and has been all day. Apart from a very few breaks it has bucketed it down, turning to sleet at one point.

I set off in the rain and I’ve told you how I feel about that so forgive me any grouses.

There were a couple of German bikers in the cabin next to me and they were standing smoking as I left. Now, I never like pulling away fully loaded in front of other bikers, makes me nervous. That’s when I’ll drop it or stall or something but it has to be done so you take a deep breath and look as though you know what you’re doing – a bit like breathing in when you walk past a  woman sunbathing on the beach – oh we do that you know ladies, why go to the gym twice a week if you can hold your breath for 30 seconds!  

And, I nearly pulled it off, put on my helmet, strode manfully to the bike, gave a macho wave goodbye and set off. Stopped suddenly several yards into my journey as I realised that it wasn’t that foggy, I’d just left my glasses on the patio table when I put my helmet on. So had to go skulking back – bummer!

A few miles after leaving my nice warm dry cabin I came across some road works and because the roads are so narrow and bendy they don’t use traffic lights but have men with little ping pong type bats at each end. This morning the guys doing that duty were totally enclosed in yellow PVC or whatever it is nowadays, with big woolly hats and thick gloves. I waved thanks to one poor chap and I could see from his response that he was wishing he was still back in bed with Agnetha and wondering why that English prat in tights is out in this for fun.

To be fair, I wouldn’t have got all that wet if I had kept moving but the trouble is I stop too much to take photos or read plaques and then those pernicious drops of Norwegian rain do their worst.

My first call was at a place called Mosjøen – have you noticed I’ve found the ø symbol on my computer, who says you’re too old to learn -  as I’d read it had a lovely old town with 19^th  century houses. Well, it did but they perhaps didn’t seem so lovely with water overflowing from their 19^th Century guttering – just look at this scene, shows you what it was like. 

And look at that sculpture – as usual I have no idea what it was for but judging by the way these two gorgeous kids are dressed I don’t think today’s weather was a novelty in Mosjøen, they are sou’westers not sun hats!

The houses don’t really look much in photos but in reality are impressive – all wood.

I called in for petrol and got talking to an old guy – probably my age – who asked where I came from. When I said Yorkshire he said “I have a Holy Hour a day”. Oh dear I thought, why do I find them but instead of telling me I didn’t deserve to have escaped from that  town  with the short name I visited yesterday he said that he watched “Heartbeat” every day without fail – apparently it’s on Norwegian telly every day!

As with Route 66, the path of The Arctic Highway is constantly changing as engineering developments allow more bridges and tunnels and, again as with Route 66, I want to follow the old route as much as possible so forgoing the luxury of a nice warm dry tunnel through the  Korgfjellet mountains I followed the old route over the top. It was an amazing drive although cold and kind of scary although I admit I do look a bit smug.

 At the top was a stark reminder of the grim history of the road much of which was built by the Germans in World War 2 as a supply road when they invaded Norway. The labour was provided by prisoners of war and the monument remembers the 550 Yugoslavian prisoners of war who died building this particular stretch. We may have heard of the Burmese Railway but how many of us have heard of this road. I’m sorry that some of the photos taken today are blurred – blame that rain again.

The route was supposed to provide panoramic views but views, panoramic or otherwise were in short supply today.

But then I dropped down to the valley again and a real treat – I saw my first reindeer!

After that excitement I went on to a place called Mo-I-Rana.I wanted to see a couple of things here.

The first was the old church which had in its grounds the graves of 8 Scots Guards. The German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 was sudden and widespread and despite Allied intervention, the entire country was under German occupation by early June. Mo I Rana was apparently protected the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards from 4 May 1940 and held until the Germans entered it on 18 May.  

There are no war grave cemeteries in Norway and all soldiers killed, including these, were buried in civilian cemeteries. The youngest was 19! 

Alongside the graves is communal tomb of unknown Russian prisoners of war- who presumably died whilst being forced to work on the road.   

The second thing I wanted to see was a statue by Antony Gormley entitled “Man of the Sea” which apparently stand in the water and “gazes determinedly down the fjord”. But by now I was well and truly wet and I couldn’t be bothered. Talk about milking an idea – I’d rather go back to Salford and see scores of ‘em.

So I set off north towards the Arctic Circle – oh I know I’ve been going there ever since I left the UK but now it was now in smelling distance. Wasn’t where I thought though and at one point I thought perhaps I’d crossed it without noticing, the road just seemed to go on and on without any sign of it. And I was getting wetter and wetter so when I came across an original café from 1939, when this bit of road was opened and a signed said Midday Buffet – in Norwegian – even though it was 3 o’clock the temptation to stop was too great. 

So glad I did, had an hour in the dry getting on the outside of meatballs, potatoes, fish, chips, mushy peas – yes honest and - pudding and all the coffee I could drink. Had to apologise for leaving the floor sopping wet though.  The lady behind the counter must have got fed up of answering the question because when I asked how far the Arctic Circle was she produced a mileage chart she’d written out on a card from under the counter – 18 kilometres!

The Arctic Circle Centre

Found it – and my little froggy friend – no a real one, the Frenchman with the overloaded bike – caught up with him again at the Centre so we could take the obligatory pictures of each other. I’d heard the centre was commercialised but it wasn’t that bad. Of course they sold souvenirs, why wouldn’t they and perhaps two reindeers are coming home to two little girls I know.

The circle was marked by elaborate sculptures and more basic stone markers BUT I’VE CROSSED IT so another dream realised!  

Froggy on the Arctic Circle

Again there were monuments to the Yugoslav and Soviet Prisoners of War who died on this road.    

So chuffed to bits I rode on to my destination for the night and that’s where I came in – took the cabin allocated in error with very good grace, parked the bike under cover and spent at least 10 minutes under a hot shower. 

Life is good again…….