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Across Europe

April - June 2023
On a bike Read more
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  • TravelerAcross Europe
    Day 136

    The power of the bike

    August 21, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Long overdue is a review , an end piece, a coda to my trip across Europe. And as you can see from the delay, trying to make some order to it has so far eluded me. But I feel obliged to try before I set off on my next adventure...

    the recent UCI World Cup in Glasgow has lent the tagline " the power of the bike" and I guess this should be the theme. My bike has been the link, the thread, that runs throughout this adventure. It has not only been my transport, my ultimately reliable constant. It has been my link into other cultures , riding alongside bicycle commuters, kids going to school, old wives shopping, guys going fishing, as well as the Lycra clad weekend warriors and a small army of cycle tourers. The bike has been the starting point of conversation and an entry ticket to people's homes and lives through the warm showers network.

    The journey has reminded me -even in this post brexit landscape 🤯) how we are all linked . How we're all different but all the same.I loved seeing how, alongside the landscape changing, so did accents, languages, architecture, flora and fauna.
    I learnt there are snakes in all European countries. I learnt that dead hedgehogs look the same throughout the continent. I wondered how many flies I swallowed ?( they all taste the same)! I learnt reindeer are like sheep with antlers instead of brains.

    If there's one thing I want to have learnt from this trip it would be how advanced some cycling cultures are - especially Denmark and the Netherlands . But key to developing a cycling culture doesn't start with more cycle lanes ( though they help): it has to be removing the assumption that a journey has to be done by car and asking yourself- can I do this journey by bike?

    People have asked regarding the highlights- it's easy to pick out the west coast of Norway. Apart from northern Portugal , and squeezing around the western end of the Pyrenees the journey was largely flat and I do feel the relief provided by hills, painful those these sometimes might be, adds context, substance, structure to the journey. Then I guess I've always looked to the mountains for my battery re-charge. More specifically the scenery of the Lofoten islands justify their popularity- and of course Ewen joined me for this leg and to brighten up this part of the journey.

     Much like its geography, Norway provided the low points as well as the high- and the abrupt return to winter as I traversed the spine of Norway was where I had to dig deepest and came closest to wondering whether the whole trip was possible. I guess I reminded myself here that if it's tough going it always will get better( eventually). Within a day I went from locals complaining about the worst summer for 20 years to a mini heat wave north of the arctic circle. Just dig a little deeper. Of course the converse also applies- if it's good it might not last. Enjoy it whilst you can. Give a ( little) whoop! It took me most of the journey to appreciate this mindfulness meditative state. Sometimes nothing happened; simultaneously everything was happening.

    I've described the trip as a selfish indulgence and there is truth to this. I recognise how lucky I have been to stop everything else in my life to free up the time to do this trip. For nearly 3 months all I had to think about was me: where I slept, where I ate. My only stresses were external deadlines like catching ferries. Indulgent indeed.

    I recognise I had and have good health but perhaps I took this for granted: I never really thought the journey would be a physical challenge. The logistics were pretty straightforward too. I worried about being by myself and being lonely but rarely felt this. I wondered if id be bored. Like a schoolchild approaching the long summer holiday I hoped this might stimulate something creative or a deeper metaphysical exploration: spoiler alert - I found nothing in there!
    If I set off looking for the answer to "why"? I never found that answer, however I did find the answer to "when"? Now.

    The start of this journey was the end of a significant phase of my life- as a GP partner in central Scotland . The end of this journey is also a start: looking forward to whatever the next phase of my life conjures up. Hopefully a new bike!

    N+1😉    Read more

  • TravelerAcross Europe
    111
    Day 79

    Nordkaap

    June 25, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    so difficult to know what to write today. So many emotions and feelings , all jumbled up and incoherent. So I'll stick to the practical and think about a philosophical post later....
    Inevitably I didn't sleep so well so an early start was not an issue... but early morning was cold and overcast- but the hills were clear. Perhaps more fitting to reach the most northerly point of Europe in such conditions rather than the t shirt weather of the last few days?There was only 30km+ to cover but noteably hilly and barren- very reminiscent of Shetland. And the early start meant I almost literally had the road to myself. More reindeer than you could shake a stick at with bells on. After 800m of climbing the broad promontory of Nordkaap appeared in the distance and I immediately had a wee blubber. But as I approached I clocked the size of the camper van-choked parking lot ( someone counted at least 150), the barrier at entrance and the bloke peeing at the side of the road!
    Not so different from lands end.inc. However free entry to the super heated visted century lobby- though, of course, the cafe not open 😞
    But the early start was also ahead of all the tour buses that meet the hurtigruten and other cruise ships and I had the iconic "globe" pretty much to myself. I have to qualify pretty much as there was one other guy there who appeared to have never seen a smartphone before ( apologies for the photo quality😞) . My timing was pretty good though: within 15 minutes the cloud had closed in and reduced visibility to 20 metres.
    I hung around the visitor centre for a wee while, trying to organise my thoughts and work out how to reverse the magnetic attraction of heading further North. Turning South was made more challenging my a head wind and pea- soup fog- -and the campervans and your buses emerging from the mark at regular intervals. I emerged unscathed and reasonably dry and returned to the bussum of my cycle touring buddies in the youth hostel and a celebratory beer 🍻

    67 days cycling
    78 days total
    7692km south to north
    71,253m climbing
    2 legs

    If you've been vaguely entertained/ impressed by this blog- or just feel sorry for me- or are just feeling generous, please think about sending a donation to :
    https://www.justgiving.com/ochils-mrt

    Thank you    Read more

  • TravelerAcross Europe
    1
    Day 78

    Honningswag

    June 24, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    I went to bed with the sage advice from Jean and Gerard the kiwi couple-no, doubleact- ringing in my ears: if you want to avoid the wind you can always ride through the "night". So when I was up for my pee at 4am and saw the sun streaming through the window, I thought bugger the free breakfast , I'm off! ( no free breakfast? -mum would be turning in her grave!)
    What an excellent idea that was. The coastal road, likely to have been a chore fighting into a headwind choking on the exhaust fumes of the millions of motor homes, was a delight: no wind , cool, clear blue skies with a low sun providing stunning light. 2 cars in the first 40km! And I was at the dreaded Nordkaap Tunnel by 8am. The tunnel is 7km long, drops to -200m under the sea, has steep inclines down and up- up to 10%, is notoriously busy and is freezing cold.
    So it's no wonder this challenge hangs over any nordkaap bound tourist. There's no direct ferry- the only option being a 100k detour and a costly trip for one stop on the hurtigruten ferry. So I was pretty chuffed to ride through early enough to be passed by only 2 motor homes and one ( huge, frighteningly noisy) truck. There were several other tunnels today - one of 3km and one of 4km, but nothing compares to the NK tunnel: you really feel your descending into the bowels of the world, and are t very welcome.
    Whilst there were few vehicles on the road at that time of day, there were no shortage of motor homes parked up roadside. Some amazing spots, but SO many!! I did my best to wake a few, initially with my pitch perfect singing as I cycled merry along. Later I had an amazing spectacle of a huge pod of whales spouting, broaching,and generally having a good time in the distant, sun dappled fjord. I shouted to a few sleepy campers " wake up! There's whales out there!" But to no response. Lost in translation?
    I also saw fish jumping, an otter, an arctic hare, 2 sea eagles and lots of reindeer. But still no moose.
    So I arrived at the youth hostel somewhat early -10am- and they kindly let me check in so I had a quick nap before an even quicker, yet extensive, tour of the highlights of Honningswag 🤔
    35 km to go : just THIRTY FIVE KILOMETRES!!    Read more

  • TravelerAcross Europe
    1
    11
    Day 77

    Olderfjord

    June 23, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Well that was fun!! A slightly overcast start made it a bit cooler and I was able to get my teeth into the main climb of the day before I started to bake. I had a brilliant tailwind pretty much all day- a little gusty and wobbly across the summits - but otherwise an almost effortless blow across the peninsula- average speed 26kmh is probably the quickest day I've had- and it included 1000m of climbing!! The terrain has changed again. More fir forest, although still plenty of straggly dwarf birch. But across the plateau a bleak nothingness of rolling hills, lakes and the occasional settlement. These were a mixture of the ubiquitous Norwegian cabins but also Sami settlements- some with traditional wigwam like tents beside. Long straight roads stretching to the horizon: so thankful the wind was in my favour. Dropped down into Olderfjord and will have the unique pleasure of riding with the sea to my right tomorrow. Olderfjord is a crossroads- Hamerfest, Northcape and kirkenes ( Russian border) and towards Finland tooRead more

  • TravelerAcross Europe
    1
    121
    Day 76

    Alta

    June 22, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After the freezing rain of Trondheim it seems a million miles away as I now have to contend with a heatwave in the arctic! Is that the very definition of global warming?🤔 after checking out the midnight sun- it does exist I had a fantastic fast start - a 400m descent the fjord side and over an inevitable hill to a supermarket refuel. Met Jan once again who had had an eventful 24 hrs- shredded tyre only to find a shop selling the same 1km away( what are the chances?) then whale spotting from his beach side camping spot. Whilst I do t regret binning the camping option it might have been more flexible, cheaper, more sociable and likely to involve encounters with nature. But I get a comfy bed, a shower, an enviably light bike on the hills ....and an empty wallet🤔
    Today dragged. It was always going to be long but the heat was unexpected. Refuelling is difficult here. But I was on lovely fjord side roads with amazing views. I found myself looking forward to the tunnels- there were several biggies today- for their cool shade. Approaching Alta I passed the UNESCO Sami rock carving site and was more than ready for the 21st century cafe. Still had waffles with brown cheese though: old habits die hard    Read more

  • TravelerAcross Europe
    111
    Day 75

    Guildetun

    June 21, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Heading back north again!! Another beautiful day, near perfect for cycling. Had to pinch myself! Over lyngen fjord on the ferry first thing then northwards -past Lyngen lodge where Helen and I stayed for our 25 th wedding anniversary treat last year. Popped in but closed for the season ( or hiding from the smelly cyclist?) then a series of fjord side flat/ undulations interspersed with significant hills over to the next fjord. And the next. And the next. Caught up with Jan and shared a coffee then was caught up by Patrick the Swiss cyclist going quite a bit quicker than me but his lively chat had me pushing the pace and got me up the final 400m hill. The scenery is much more austere here- above the tree line, with extensive snow patches and lots of reindeer. Accommodation is pretty much on top of the hill with extensive views of endless rolling mountains. Midsummers "night" tonight...And the first signpost to Nordkaap!!Read more

  • TravelerAcross Europe
    11
    Day 74

    Lyngen

    June 20, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Great to have Ewen with me for the week- the best week of the whole trip- but all good things come to an end and I waved Ewen off to the airport and a return to the UK. There was even a brief consolation rain shower after he left- but it soon cleared and it remained warm all day. Tried to sort out front brakes- unsuccessful- but reassured they aren't likely to worsen and might improve....🤞.
    So a leisurely start and back over the bridge to the mainland. Fast heading south along the fjord then a nasty bit of
    shared main road before cutting off and up through the first range of mountains to the first ferry. Big waterfalls and rivers from very active snowmelt. Met Jan on the ferry and again as I arrived in Lyngseidet. Familiar here as this is where I stayed with Simon and Tom Kenny ski touring last year. Indeed Kavringtinden, where Si broke his leg, is perfectly framed from my bedroom window here at Magic Mountain Lodge . Magic indeed. I was assuming I would be less impressed by the mountains by now but they never cease to impress: now looking more alpine in nature.
    Went for a walk up the ridiculously steep Sherpa steps. Great views. Found a keg of " the worlds most northerly distillerys" product, and even more bizzare was the pop up library at the top- free coffee and biscuits.
    Of note todays leg was the first time in the whole trip where my destination was further south than my starting point!    Read more

  • TravelerAcross Europe
    1
    Day 73

    Tromso

    June 19, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Another scorchio day. My theory is that when it's hot here it gets very hot as it doesn't cool down in the nighttime - because there isn't any night time. Early sauna and swim then a large breakfast with doggy bags and timed ride to perfection to pick up the allowed transit through some road works. At the front of the queue waiting were a couple of reindeer. Probably about as interesting for the locals as we might find spotting sheep. But we were happy. Brief glimpse of a sea eagle too. Dropped into the Tromso valley and immediately everything was busier . A couple of bridges took us to the Arctic cathedral, a fitting end to Ewen's journey.
    A bit of admin ensued- dropping off / sorting out bikes. Looks like my front brakes' hydraulics have a leak and are as good as useless: lucky it's all uphill from here🤪.    Read more

  • TravelerAcross Europe
    1
    Day 72

    Sommaroy

    June 18, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Just when you thought it couldn't get any better... there was Senja. What an amazing island, especially the north west which has a series of spoke-like ridges between deep fjords and sandy bays. We traversed these like a roller coaster, sometimes with the help of tunnels, sometimes not. The hills were steep and the tunnels often long and cold, but all this was done under a faultless blue sky with the temperature cranked up to 20deg - and no wind. You could not ask for more perfect conditions.
    The mountains, once again, were beyond belief; I have run out of superlatives. They culminated in the wall of rock reaching out to the mountains of Hesten and Segla- vertically falling into the fjord on one side. So spectacular that we readily accepted a boggy side tramp to a better view point of this amazing ridge. Where the mountains were slightly less steep there were snow fields - even one small glacier, and multiple waterfalls. Some of the best beaches I've seen so far on this trip lay at their bases. Truely a mountain wonderland.
    We even saw reindeer today. The only fly in the ointment was concerns regarding the lack of food options along the way, but ewen spotted sengahopen which was a bit of a life saver ( or we would have been on the emergency brown cheese rations..). Crossing to Sammaroy was like arriving in a different world- beautiful sandy beaches almost crowded with the start of the Norwegian summer vacations . But this also signified the proximity of Tromso and the end of Ewen's journey tomorrow.    Read more

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