The Arctic Rider

Hey! Welcome to Day 12 of my Arctic Ride blog. I've been on the road so long now I'm forgetting the week days and the day numbers of my trip! I arrived in Alta about 7pm and set up camp for the night next to a fjord with some Dutch and German bikers next to me. It's obvious I'm getting close to Nordkapp as the number of tourists is rocketing and campsites are getting full. This morning, with a heavy heart, I said goodbye to the amazing city of Tromsø (don't worry, I'll be back), and my hosts and new friends. It was great to get back on the bike after a rest day and I felt fully refreshed. Making use of the local knowledge, Geir suggested I take the scenic route East via the Lyngen Alps, and my it was worth the detour. Geir and Anniken road the first 30 miles with me to my first (quick) ferry, which was great fun. I then spent the next few hours riding and stoping frequently in awe of the high mountains which were simply stunning. As I carried onto Alta I passed ...

Hi everyone, Welcome to the Day 11 blog of Arctic Ride 2014! So I'm at the half way point of my adventure now and I scheduled in a rest day. I've ridden nearly 3,000miles in 10 days and it has taken its toll on my body and my mind, so my rest day is to recharge my batteries and just be off the bike. Luckily I'm staying with Geir and his family in Tromsø meaning that I have had my own personal tour guides for the day. My first stop was Tronsø's famous cable car which, once at the top, gives the best view of the island city. 🚡 The weather was again marvellous with little wind and about 25 degrees in the sun. I've truely been blessed with the weather here in Norway on the first part of my trip. And long may it continue. After the cable car I took a tour of the city centre by car before heading out to the surrounding fjords and a nice stop at a beach (yes they have beaches, yes they are awesome).  With snow capped mountains in the background this was easily in my top 5...

Hi everyone, Day 10's blog is here. That's me at the halfway point of my trip and I've still got two days riding until I reach Nordkapp!! Norway is one biiiig country! I arrived at tea time in Tromso, the Paris of the North, to nice weather and light traffic. Although, for my readers from the UK, on route into the city centre I went into a tunnel to discover a roundabout. An underground tunnel roundabout! I very much wasn't expecting that and nearly shat myself when bombing through the tunnel. I set off this morning from my camping site with a quick detour into town to visit a WW2 museum. I'm into my WW2 history but had no idea what went on during Germany's 5 year occupation of Norway. To sum up, it was pretty much the same as everywhere else except the German's couldn't hack the arctic, unlike me :) I stopped for a quick bite of lunch (Gouda sandwich, chocolate, and a banana) before hitting the road for Tromso. With every mile I rode I was getting furth...

Hi everyone! Wow, Day 9 is done and dusted already! Where are the days going?! I'm currently set up camp outside the town of Narvik in Northern Norway. My day started by saying goodbye to my hosts and getting back onto the E6, The Arctic Highway. I set up for the day with a brunch of coffee, pizza slice, and petrol (for the bike of course). The morning brought me my first proper rain in a week and, to be honest, it's not much fun riding twisty roads in the wet. My only respite came in the form of tunnels, and lots of them. I must have ridden a dozen tunnels on the Arctic Highway today, and they were anything from a few hundred metres to 6,7,8 km long. And they're not like the tunnels back in the UK. The tunnels here are dark, wet, and narrow. After riding in the rain for a good hour and no sign of blue skies at all, I entered a long tunnel and was thinking of taking a break to let the worst of the weather pass. I then came out of the tunnel in a different fjord to the one I...

Hi everyone, Welcome to Day 8 of my Arctic Ride blog! I can't believe I've been on the road 1 week and I'm still not turning around yet! Most bikes trips last for a few days so it's weird to still be travelling North. I started my day departing my cosy cabin in Nesna on the West coast before riding another stunning mountain pass through to Mo I Rana to meet Hallvard. One thing I have noticed as I travel further North is that the roads are getting harder and harder to ride. As they get smaller, the surface becomes poorer, and more gravel enters the scene. A few times this morning I felt the back end start to go on the gravel so I had to ease up and adjust my position. I headed to Mo I Rana to meet my friends and guides Hallvard, Roy, and Aud who rode with me yesterday. We started the day by having a coffee and a bite at a cafe that Hallvard said I would like the name of... Bimbo's... Maybe it means something different in Norwegian. I knew I was going to be heading in...

Hello and welcome to the blog for day 7. Day 7 was another action packed day (you get a lot of those on the road) with a lot of miles to get through. After getting a decent nights kip at Lars' place and a hearty breakfast (Danish bread and eggs) I set off from Trondiem for Northern Norway. In the morning I went through Hell! No, literally I drove through the town of Hell just north of Trondheim. I did have a minor hiccup with my kit in the morning though as my camelback leaked as I hadn't tightened the cap properly so I got a wet arse and Brain, my mascot, got soaked too! Luckily after an hours riding the sun came out and dried me off. Also the roads cleared of traffic about 10am so I really started to eat up the miles before stopping for lunch in a picturesque little town. Even though the sun was out, as I get further and further North it's still cold especially with the wind chill when riding the bike. After doing close to 150 miles I t...

Hello all! Wow I can't believe Day 6 is done and I'm getting further and further North. I'm now in line with Iceland and getting closer to the Arctic and the most North I've even been. It's national holiday in Norway today and I started my day packing the tent and then looking for a petrol station. The first one I came to was shut, and with only half a tank I thought 'the woman at the campsite has lied to me about petrol stations being open on national holidays' luckily my negativity was turned on its head like an egg timer when, 50yards down the road, there was a petrol station that was open as a can of irn bru in a Scotsman's hand (it was open and empty). I filled up and hit the road for Trondhiem. Like yesterday, the road was amazing and I saw the snow peaked mountains I would be passing through. Dispite the slow speed limits, I was making good progress through the pass when suddenly the traffic came to a stop. As all bikers do, I jumped to the front ...