Nordkapp to Tarifa Cycle Adventure

#Nordkapp2Tarifa2019

Coastal cycle adventure from Nordkapp to Tarifa

This adventure will see Peter cycle from Nordkapp (Norway) to Tarifa (Spain) in less than 53 days. The total distance of 9500km will see daily distances ranging above 180km.

Starting on the 1st June '19 at Nordkapp with average temperatures of 7 degrees, by the time the end destination of Tarifa is reached , average temperature will have reached 30 degrees.

Peter's route will be mainly a coastal route which will meander around all the fjords in Norway, follow the coast through Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain & Portugal.

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Read about the adventure

Read about the preparation , the gear and the actual trip by following the link

Read about the adventure

The Route

Norway

Statistics:

Days: 21
Distance: 3269.72 km
How do i get to the starting point: I will fly from Dublin to oslo followed by a flight from Oslo to Tromso. In Tromso, i will take the night ferry (Hurtigruten) to Honningsvag

Day# 1: Norway - Honningsvag to Nordkapp to Repvag (118.91 km)

Day# 1 will see me arriving with Hurtigruten in the small port of Honningsvag at 11:00AM . From here, I will cycle to my official starting point the Nordkapp. After spending an hour or so at the Nordkapp, I will head back towards honningsvag towards the daunting Nordkapptunnel, a 6.875km long tunnel which goes to a depth of 212m below sea level.
From here , the route will see me pushing on towards repvag where I will pitch the tent after a short enough day in the saddle.
The short enough day in the saddle will allow me to get used to the lower temperatures.

Day# 2: Norway - Repvag to Alta (155.48km)

Day# 2 will see me cycling from Repvag to Alta. The route will see me crossing Sennalandet, a remote area which will result in an exposed cycling day, so let's hope the weather will be in good humour that day.
Arriving in Alta, I will visit the Alta Museum which has ancient petroglyphs. The cliffs around this area have carvings from the late stone age showing hunting scenes. Also on the cards is a visit to the Northern Lights cathedral, a modern architectural icon of northern Norway.
Alta will also be a good spot to stock up on well needed calories after an average day of 155km in the saddle.

Day# 3: Norway - Alta to Storslett (157.82 km)

Day# 3 will see me cycling from Alta towards the Lyngen alps. The scenery will be stunning following a mainly coastal road.

Day# 4: Norway - Storslett to Finnfjordbotn (220.28km)

One of the longer stages, day 4 will see me taking my first ferry in Norway from Olderdalen to Lyngseidet, one of the many I will need to take to navigate around fjords/islands and in order to avoid certain tunnels which are prohibited for cyclists.

Day# 5: Norway - Finnfjordbotn to Stave (Lofoten) (126.27km)

On day# 5 , i need to catch the 11am ferry from Gryllefjord to Andenes located on the Lofoten. If I miss this ferry, then I will have to wait until the evening to catch the next ferry. I am very excited about the camping in Stave. The fabulous beach of Stave is surrounded by mountains on one side, azure blue water on the other side.

Day# 6: Norway - Stave to Svolaer (174.19 km)

Day# 6 takes in a fabulous coastal route on the Lofoten. This day will exist out of following the coastal route admiring the amazing lofoten.
The end of the day will be spend in Svolaer, the largest town on the lofoten.
A town of approx. 5000, it will allow me to discover the amazing scenery and stock up on well needed calories

Day# 7: Norway - Svolaer to Moskenes (140 km)

The last day on the lofoten will be though one on the legs, with a total elevation gain of 5529m, it will be a day of short climbs and decents. the surrounding mountain range will get higher and higher taking in a small detour to the small fishing village of Tind at the end of the day.

Day# 8: Norway - Moskenes to Reipa (207.09 km)

An early start to the day, the ferry leaves Moskenes at 7am, but will give me another 4 hour opportunity to rest the legs. Arriving in Bodo, I will follow the FV17 southwards.

Day# 9: Norway - Reipa to Nesna (185.74 km)

This day will be a though day, mainly because I will need to catch 3 ferries in total. So i will need to follow a tight schedule during the day in order to make all the ferries. If i miss a ferry, i will mean waiting for the next one with a knock on effect on all the next ferries, meaning i might not be able to complete todays planned cycle. If that would happen, it will also affect the next few days.
Heading further south, the weather will slowly start to get better as well, bringing higher temperatures from here onwards.

Day# 10: Norway - Nesna to Salhus (126.42 km)

Another day of catching boats, this time 4 ferries in total. It is a fairly flat course, so should be an easy enough on this day.

Day# 11: Norway - Salhus to namsos (193.75 km)

On day# 11 , the day will see me cycling on a flat enough course towards Namsos, a town famous for it's sawmills. Namsos has also it's own museum dedicated to the saw industry.
namsos is also known as rock city, this as many Norwegian artists hail from this town.

Day# 12: Norway - Namsos to Smiskaret (193.31 km)

First part of the day will see me going offroad to avoid some of the busier roads. Following farm roads, i will make my way further southwards towards Velle.
I will also cycle through a town called Hell, so we need to take a picture at the local train station.

The last 30 km will be on farm roads again, this in order to avoid the busy roads leading to Trondheim

Day# 13: Norway - Smiskaret to trondheim (19.78 km)

Today is my first restday. After a very short cycle, i will be able to spend the day in Trondheim and enjoy the tourist attractions,...
It will also give me the opportunity to recover and get ready for a few days of climbing in Trollheimen

Day# 14: Trondheim to Lonset (156.43 km)

Rather than taking the busy main road to oppdal, I will opt to take the much quieter backroads.
The surrounding mountains will also gradually get heigher as well.

Day# 15: Norway - lonset to Andasnes (182.03 km)

Day 15 will be a though day in the saddle. Where the distance is OK, the route will see a total elevation gain of 9580 meter. The first part of the day will see me following the Driva river. In the evening, i will enjoy my stay in Andalsnes. it is the outdoor capital of Norway. It was here that base jumping was invented.
It is also a paradise for rock climbing and hiking.

Day# 16: Norway - Andasnes to Geiranger (99.72 km)

Probably one of the most spectacular days in the saddle on day 16. Leaving Andesnes, i will be put through my pace straightaway as I will cycle up the famous Trollstigen or the Trolls ladder. The route has 11 hairpin bends and a 1:12 gradient. Dramatic waterfalls thunder down into the valley. I will leave early in the morning to avoid as much as possible the heavy tourist traffic.
The end of the day will see me taking a ferry through the amazing fjords at Geiranger.

Day# 17: Norway - Geiranger to Vassenden (170.83 km)

The morning starts with a fabulous ferry ride through the Geiranger fjord.

Day# 18: Norway - Vassenden to Kaland (195.86 km)

Day 18 will see me cycling along the many fjords. Along the route, i will pass the fabulous Huldefossen waterfall in Mo. In the same area is the Sunnfjord museum, a museum which showcases many houses from the mid 1800.

Day# 19: Norway - Kaland to Bergen (90.45 km)

A short enough day in the saddle, this as i want to spend the afternoon in the city of Bergen and discover what it has to offer.

Day# 20: Norway - Bergen to Vikedal (202.03 km)

A flat enough day today which will see me taking a few ferries again.
I will take the quieter roads leaving Bergen in order to avoid heavy traffic

Day# 21: Norway - Vikedal to Stavanger (153.33 km)

Last day in Norway. Day 21 will see me cycling from Vikedal to stavanger where i will catch the overnight ferry to Denmark.

Denmark

Statistics:

Days: 3
Distance: 518.72 km

Day# 22: Denmark - Hirtshals to Klitmoller (154.83 km)

Arriving in Denmark in the morning, it will be a different type of cycling from now on for the next 2 weeks. The route will be mainly flat.

Day# 23: Denmark - Klitmoller to Esbjerg (204.91 km)

Day# 24: Denmark - Esbjerg to Hussum (158.98 km)

Germany

Statistics:

Days: 2
Distance: 370.21 km

Day# 25: Germany - Hussum to Ottendorf (179.86 km)

Day# 26: Germany - Ottendorf to Leer (190.35 km)

Netherlands

Statistics:

Days: 3
Distance: 540.07 km

Day# 27: Netherlands - Leer to Harlingen (181.02 km)

Day# 28: Netherlands - Harlingen to Bloemendaal aan zee (140.78 km)

Day# 29: Netherlands - Bloemendaal aan zee to Knokke (217.27 km)

Belgium

Statistics:

Days: 1
Distance: 176.11 km

Day# 30: Belgium/France - Knokke to Boulogne-sur-mer (176.11 km)

Cycling along the Belgian coast is flat. It can be said it is also very build-up, almost a continuous string of towns and cities. But the Belgian coastline is small, an it won't take much longer than a couple of hours to reach the French border.
The first part in france is industrial, especially the area between Dunkirk and Calais.
After that, i will enter the beautiful Parc Naturel regional des caps et Marais d'Opale.