Twenty-fourth day

10km west of Alta - Olderfjord campsite

125km

18.2kmh average speed

First rain, then gray and dry, rain again at the end

Wind diagonally from front to back

How similar days can be and yet so different. Weather-wise, the day was a repeat of yesterday. Maybe a little more unpleasant. First rain. I had to take down the tent in the rain, so it was wet when I set it up again. And despite a longer ride, more headwind, cooler temperatures, and more elevation gain, I felt much better today. My motivation is back and even after 125km, I still had enough energy and motivation to cook and take care of smaller tasks.

It rained for the first 20km. In Alta, I only took a short break for internet and cookies and then continued immediately. After all, I still had almost 400m of ascent and then something between 70 and 100km of highland ahead of me. I had seen a camping symbol on the map near Olderfjord on the coast. My hair, clothes, and I were in desperate need of it. But Olderfjord was far, very far. I decided to do it today like Beppo the Sweeper and not look at the map every few km like I did yesterday, for example. That way, the distance just becomes endlessly long. Of course, the road signs roughly reveal how far I've come. It was already half past 11 when the climb began. There wasn't as much adrenaline involved as in my last 400m climb. But there was all the more rain and headwind. Especially on longer climbs in bad weather, I never know what to wear. I don't want to get too cold, but I also don't want to sweat too much.

The ascent took place in two stages. The first 250m to a lake, then around the lake and then the rest. The 'rest' went surprisingly well, and when I reached the top, I was in a completely different landscape. Apart from a few small patches of twisted birches, there was no higher vegetation. The landscape was very extensive, framed by flat mountains, actually more like hills. Winter had just ended here. There were snowfields everywhere, some several meters thick, giving an idea of how much snow lies here in winter. Even though the area was very monotonous and you could see the road for several km, I enjoyed the different landscape. Fortunately, the rain had also stopped. Only the diagonal headwind bothered me a bit. I soon left the highlands and followed an increasingly larger river that cut further and further into a valley. However, I only lost a minimal amount of altitude. There were slight ascents again and again. Here in the interior of the country, there were no villages, only small cabins, I assume summer cottages. After a long ride along the river, I arrived in Skaidi. The left turn went to Hammerfest, the right turn to Olderfjord and further to the North Cape. So, I turned right, but I had to climb another 150m. Besides, I already had over 100km on the odometer and there were another 21km to go. Well, the shower was too tempting. And I finally had a bit of tailwind. Unfortunately, it started raining again. After another hour, I arrived in Olderfjord and the designated campsite turned out to be a caravan site. No reception, everything locked up, and the only person I met sent me to Olderfjord downtown. slightly frustrated, I studied the map. No other campsites for the next 40km, so wild camping it is. Just as I came out of the bushes (bad campsite), a long-distance cyclist flew past me. It was Daniel from Berlin, also on his way to the Cape, but he had only done 80km and wanted to do a bit more to be fit for the long tunnel to Honningsvåg tomorrow. We'll see, maybe we'll meet again tomorrow. I found a huge campsite in Olderfjord, set up the wet tent, ate (pasta), washed my laundry (no idea how it will dry), and now I'm looking forward to the shower and then the sleeping bag.