ANC1801 - Conquering the North Cape

Welcome to the land of the trolls... Norway awaits us and we are anxious to discover and experience this adventure to the most norther point of Europe that can be reached by road. All good plans begin with a little organisation... Paul's morning briefing Riding Day 1 - Ålesund to Sunndalsøra The adventure begins by heading east, then north for the next 12 days. Breathtaking scenery and views that tempt you to forget you have to keep your eyes on the road. Straigt off a challenge! Narrow and windy and wet... A rainy start is a sure fire measure for hightening the mood and wet the appetites for what's to come: a stunning abundance of nature is awaiting us with Reindeer, Bears, Wolves, Elks and much more... Forests, rivers, lakes and fjords. Mountains and valleys and water falls that plunge from high plateaus - which beg the question, if that water is coming from the top, how did it get up ther to start with. Trollstigen we did in the fog. Trollvegen we gazed at through the clouds. Ledgends that remain for the day even more of a mystery.  Riding Day 2 - Sunndalsøra to Trondheim The second day takes us away from the Fjord through the mountains and up to Orkanger. This is where the Orks come from. In the afternoon, we took a nice little walk around Trondheim with weather that seems to have been sent from an angel. Look at the colours, the light, the happy faces... Norway at its best! Riding Day 3 - Trondheim to Overhalla The first ferry! This is always a nice little break, to put your bike on an boat and let others do the transportation while enjoying the scenery. Wonderful weather with 30+ C°! Yes, in Norway. Some took the chance to go for a short adventure but reunited at the dinner in the hotel again. Riding Day 4 - From sunny Overhalla to sunny Sandnesjoen Imagine coming to Norway and the summer is already here. 32 °C! A perfect day for the beach and the Torghatten. We had wonderful views, nice dry roads and nearly no traffic. This is riding at its best.   Riding Day 5 - Sandnesjoen to Bodö Crossing the Arctic Circle at 66°33′ today. What a scenerie! The highest point is 692 m. above sealevel and it is still snow to be seen up there. Day 6 - Bodö to Svolvaer Starting off late, as we had to wait for the 3-hour-ferry-ride over to the Lofoten. So a very relaxed day. On the Lofoten, we visited A, a nice little Fishermens town and had the famous cinamon rolls. After a short stop at Reine, we went on to the beaches. Sometimes it felt like in Italy, as there where people everywhere. No wonder, it was still more than 30 C°. After the beaches and some very nice riding, we visited the Viking Museum and learned a lot about them. In the evening we took a nice ride of some 60 km along the coast line to the hotel, where dinner was waiting for us. A great day on the Lofoten and we used until the last minute. Riding Day 7 - Svolvaer to Harstad Today we dabbled a bit into Norwegian history by visiting the famous Hurtigruten ship Finnemark and then on to Harstad where we visited one of the few remaining Mega-Cannons that Hitler had built to form th so-called "Atlantic Wall".  Riding Day 8 - Harstad to Gildetun Riding the North Cape Edelweiss tour feels like spending 12 days riding in a screensaver! This glorious day started of with a 2 hour ride along the coast on very small and narrow roads with without any traffic. We visited a Polar Animal Park where we saw some great animals, and then had our lunch break at the food of the Lyngen Alps before arrived in Gildetun just around 7pm. It felt like somewhere really special in the middle of nowhere. Riding Day 9 - Gildetun to Alta A relativly short riding-day awaits us with some great museums to visit and and a brush with the nomadic Sami culture by shopping at one of their road-side markets. All this in the middle of a once-in-a-century Norwegian summer. Following a streatch of 30+C° days, today we are rewarded with a cooling moderate 13 C°. This feels nordic. Riding Day 10 - Alta to the North Cape This has been the goal of our journey, and now it is papalbly near. 300 km north but on a day which starts out wiht quite dodgy weather.  Riding Day 11 - Lakselv to Enontekiö We are going to Finnland. Starting of with some rain in the morning, visiting a Sami Museum and also Juhl´s Silversmith. Today is really riding the outback of Norway. Riding Day 12 - Enontekiö to Tromsö The Final Chapter Back to Norway, and in one day a kind of review of the triip condensed into the few hours of riding from Finnland back to the mountains and coastline of Norway. A special day of great riding lots of remembering!