I love the kickstand. It holds up the bike, as well.
Hike-a-bike will be tougher, for sure. I might want to avoid steep hills. This adds 20 pounds to your total weight. When cycling, however, you don’t notice the weight.
Expensive at U.S. $500. As little as $350 if you get a deal.
About 200k tourists travel to Nordkapp (North Cape) each year.
The municipality is named after Nordkapp (North Cape), a 307-metre-high (1,007 ft) cliff that is commonly referred to as the northernmost point of Europe.
However, the true northernmost point of the European mainland is Cape Nordkinn (Kinnarodden), at 71° 08′ 02″ N, located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the village of Mehamn on the Nordkinn Peninsula.
If Europe’s northernmost point is allowed to be on an island, then it still is not the North Cape. It would be Cape Fligely on Rudolf Island, Franz Josef Land in Russia, which is located much further north at 81° 48′ 24″ N.
If Franz Josef Land is not considered to be in Europe, then Europe’s northernmost point is the northern point of the island of Rossøya, an islet in Svalbard, north of Spitsbergen at 80° 49′ 44.41″ N.
And my first 3 weeks in Norway were certainly unexpected. I arrived far north of the Arctic Circle with no bicycle. No luggage. Both were stuck at Heathrow airport where I checked in with SAS (Scandinavian Airlines).
I could give up. Or make do with my carry-on.
WHY not simply go to an all-inclusive beach resort and start drinking at noon?
Here’s a good answer from Jedidiah Jenkins who cycled Oregon to the southern tip of South America.
My original plan was to cycle the Senja National Tourist Road — the scenic and BEST parts shown in brown below. Sadly, summer 2022, the section marked RED below was closed due to construction of a new landslide superstructure.
I’d hoped that only motor vehicles were going to be blocked — BUT a Swiss cyclists told me he didn’t get through. The only folks who made it cycled at night and carried bikes around checkpoints.
THEREFORE I was forced to take the long way around. Less scenic. And a LOT more traffic.
I caught the fast ferry back to Tromsø from Finnsenes. Fed up with rain and wind.
Disappointing — but I did climb Sengla, one of my highest priorities for this trip.
My best campsite (free) was in Sommarøy. A wooden platform with a wind break is ideal in Norway.
Disappointed in having to do a much longer trip hitting Finnestes twice, I decided to take an $80 room in this old house. And was glad I did. A nice break from cycling in the rain.
A friendly truck driver on a ferry tipped me off to this — a rare free hot shower in Norway. Actually, I had 2 free hot showers because I cycled through Botnhamm twice.
My final night I camped in a troll themed free campsite near Hamn. Weird. But a good spot.
Expecting the bad weather to improve, it got worse and worse. And worse.
I finally QUIT en route to Skaland which is the trailhead for one of the great hikes. After days of hard rain, that route would have been too muddy to enjoy. Also — no vista from the top.
Summing up ➙ I need to return to Senja once the scenic road is open again.
My rental bike was pretty good, actually. Perhaps I’ll BUY a used bike like this in Tromsø and ride it south as far as it will go. Next time.
… over 5 months after SAS did not deliver all my luggage to Norway ➙ I finally was sent an airline voucher for CAD $940. And I’m happily surprised I got anything.
Scandinavian Airlines did EVERYTHING to pretend they hadn’t let my luggage sit untouched in Heathrow airport last summer — while I waited day-after-day in Tromsø, Norway. Wanting to start my long cycling tour. No reply to dozens of my attempts to contact them.
After weeks I finally got the camping & cycling gear — but not the bike. It was (finally) sent back to Canada.
Scandinavian Airlines did EVERYTHING to ignore my compensation claim, as well. Pretended I had not sent receipts, for example. I had.
Someone there finally got fed up of my pestering and reluctantly sent a voucher.
I’ll use it to get back to Tromsø, Norway this summer as it’s only valid until 2024-01-13. And try to start my cycling trip again.
I enjoyed wandering the streets, some bleak but interesting landscapes. And some ultramodern looking buildings.
With long, dark winters, libraries are popular here.
ME at my Bibliotek hangout. 😀
Historically, this was the furthest outpost of “Norweigans” in an area mainly populated by the Sámi.
Explorers like Roald Amundsen recruited their teams from here. Here’s a statue of Helmer Hanssen from nearby Andøya. (He’s unrelated to the Helly Hansen company, originally based out of Norway, purchased by retail chain Canadian Tire in 2009.)
Amundsen disappeared in June 1928 while flying on a rescue mission for the airship Italia in the Arctic. The search for his remains, which have not been found, was called off in September of that year.
It’s tempting to fly to Tromsø in winter. Very unique. The northern lights are visible most clear nights.
I stayed at the only hostel in town. About US $35 / night. They treated me well.
I flew to Tromsø to start south on a long cycling adventure. Sadly my bike and gear got stranded at Heathrow airport. I watched them unmoved for … weeks.
It’s an excellent adventure hotel that also offers dorm beds for about $35 / night.
I’ll never forget their reindeer stew with lingonberries served me on night #2.
I cycled to enjoy the best views I could get of the Lyngen Alps. Finishing in Nord-Lenangen where I caught the fast ferry back to Tromsø late on a Sunday night.
I’d first tried to start in Porto — but couldn’t find a bike to rent on short notice.
In Santiago itself I found Cycling the Camino, a shop that pretty much NEVER runs out of rentals.
I took the train to León, picking up the rental there. They will deliver almost anywhere you want to start — charging additional shipping to mainland Spain (30€/bike), Portugal (37€/bike) and France (65€/bike).
The cost of the bike itself is around 30€/day.
Inexpensive, in my opinion. And WAY easier than flying your own bike.
I booked 7 days to make the 300+km return which I assumed would be EASY. I did make it in 6 days, finding the adventure more challenging than expected. I was on the bike about 6-7 hours each day.
My short video includes a LOT of drone footage as that’s the easiest way to show the landscape.
Compared with most long distance cycling routes, this one is very civilized. Regular folks have been walking it for over 1000 years. The infrastructure very well developed.
It’s very social with both walkers and cyclists meeting up each evening.
Folks of all ages and fitness levels are pilgrims on The Way.
Though no book, map or app is needed, I did carry a paper copy of the newest Cicerone guidebook.
I took the train to León where I’d be starting a week long cycling trip to Santiago de Compostela on the French Camino. A pilgrimage people have been doing for over 1000 years.
It’s very walkable, a small city with most of the attractions close together.
León’s Cathedral is one of the finest in Europe.
Panorama of Plaza de Regla and Leon Cathedral, Castile and Leon, SpainMe and the cops.
My official start is this Cathedral. I’ll finish at the Cathedral in Santiago.
Rick McCharles 