Leaving the harbor at Bodø The white spotted dorsal fin of the mountain porpoises through the skyline of Bodø as we leave the harbor. I felt some sadness as I left those mountains that I could only occasionally see but always feel, whose presence I outwardly cursed while inwardly admiring. Only as the ferry motors away from land on a clear day can I see how far the mountains extend, how…
Gert is no stranger to ferries. We've been on several adventures which required them (Catalina Island, southeast Alaska, Orcas Island, Seattle to Whistler, San Francisco Bay). This trip has significantly increased the number of ferries taken but it's always the same. Roll onto the car deck, stash the bike somewhere relatively secure, find someplace to watch as you pass through an incredible landscape. Eventually you dock and you walk back to…
There are no thieves in Norway, yet, the kind campground manager informed me as he gave me the key to a cabin and told me it would be fine to leave my bike on the covered porch outside. So far he's been right. Even the gulls aren't thieves here. I leave my food out and walk away for a few minutes and they don't even eye it. One of the reasons…
Failing to plan is planning to fail. I've always understood that on some level but I never felt that I did anything that required advanced planning. Nothing to plan for means you can't fail at planning. I think I expected the ride out of Bergen to be like most things in my life where I've succeeded: there's one main road, someone points me down it, then I get there. I can…
After spending my first day in Norway sleeping, I roll out of bed and down the hill to the National Day parade. Norwegians are dressed up in their finest traditional clothes or their best suits, everyone is waving a flag, and the sound of a drum corps echos throughout the city. Everyone is out. I hear a Swede complain that Norway is just so much more crowded than where she lives.…
What the hell am I doing? I'm sitting on the floor of the Bergen airport at 1am trying to reattach my rear derailleur. I've done this dozens of times before but my sleep and food deprived brain can't make sense of the problem. I google "how to install a rear derailleur" and "what should a rear derailleur look like" and watch several videos before my free wifi disconnects. Eventually I get…
I've become a bit of an expert at reading travels blogs over the last few years and I find that there are a few levels of detail and most blogs focus on one of these levels. Some are practically turn by turn directions of a location, some are more thematic, and others are in the weeds of their tools. As someone looking for inspiration I am drawn towards the thematic posts,…
When I mention to people that I'm going to ride my bike around Scandinavia this summer the first question they usually ask is if I'm going alone. When I say yes the reactions tend to be split. The first group reacts somewhere along the lines of, "that's awesome and I wish I was that brave" while the second is closer to "aren't you scared that something bad will happen to you."…
Las Vegas may not seem like the perfect spot for a test run for my summer trip to Northern Europe. I had a few things I needed to test out: handling a loaded packraft with my bike, my new bike bag, and my new stove. I ended up there during a winter storm, so the conditions were much closer to what I expect to face in Europe that I could have…
This post may contain affiliate links. Scandinavia is one of the most expensive regions of the world but seeing it by bike is one of the most economical ways to see the region and, from what I've been reading, one of the best ways to experience the region as Scandinavians do. Camping most nights and foraging when possible will reduce the cost of this trip significantly. It doesn't hurt that I…