Eleventh day (Two Kemptner meet in Norway...

Campsite Bjøra - Høllop

132km

Average speed: 17.2km/h

Weather much better than forecasted. Rain, lots of clouds, occasional sun.

Against the wind until Namsos, then alternating tailwind and headwind. Last 50km with tailwind.

This morning, I took down all my sheets and clothes. Everything was dry except for my fleece jacket. I had to wipe the windows because there was so much condensation. I finished packing and having breakfast just before 7, but the woman from the campsite wasn't there. I had to call her three times before she picked up and told me to leave the key in the door. My first goal was Namsos, about 25km northwest of the campsite. The ride there was tough because the headwind kept slowing me down. Today, my legs felt tired for some reason. Even though I had only cycled 70km the day before, I was supposed to have had a rest day. In Namsos, I went shopping and treated myself to a yogurt. I dropped it outside the store and made a bit of a mess. Luckily, there was still about 2/3 of it left, and because I was too lazy to dig out my spoon from my bag, I sat behind the store (it was raining again) and ate the yogurt with my finger.

In Namsos, I had technically reached the Atlantic Ocean, but I couldn't see anything because of the river, houses, and hills. So I continued heading north. The wind immediately improved, and after the next shower, there was even blue sky. The landscape became more and more beautiful and spectacular. Mighty gray ridges of rock were lined up one after another, and there were surprise sea arms in between. The areas between the ridges were either sea, used for agriculture, or wooded. The road wound its way around the sea arms and happily stayed more or less at sea level. However, I found the 20, 50, or even 100m ascents very tiring. Bridges often crossed narrow sections, and sometimes it wasn't clear whether it was a wide river or a fjord. Even the fjords had noticeable currents caused by the tides. When the next rain shower was approaching, I sought shelter at a rest area and saw a long-distance cyclist overtake me. I thought to myself: you'll catch up to him. And I set off in pursuit, but the distance between us only increased. Shortly after, I met two other long-distance cyclists, a German couple. They mentioned that there was another cyclist ahead of them, heading to Moscow. Since the couple was riding at a slower pace, I said goodbye and caught up to Franz, who was heading to Moscow. Since we were cycling at the same speed, we chatted for a while. It turned out that he was also from Kempten and was cycling to Moscow via the North Cape and Finland, ultimately reaching St. Petersburg and Moscow. He had much less luggage, only rear panniers, and a total of 15kg. At the first ferry, we caught up to the cyclist I had been aiming for from the beginning. Jonathan, a 30-year-old from Radolfzell, was also heading to the North Cape - or just the Lofoten Islands, depending on how it goes. By the time the ferry arrived, the five of us cyclists were together again, and we discussed our further plans over cake and French fries. The couple wanted to go as far as Kolvereid, Franz was undecided, and Jonathan and I wanted to go to Høllop and Foldereid, respectively. That was still another 33km, and I would have just over 100km, barely making it. Since the route after the ferry was mainly heading east, a strong tailwind was expected. I spontaneously decided to follow Jonathan, and Franz joined us as well. The landscape became increasingly remote, the mountains higher, and the weather better. And our prediction came true with the tailwind. However, on the last 30km, the differences in our fitness levels became apparent. I don't want to attribute it solely to my very heavy luggage, but in any case, both of them easily outpaced me on every small incline, but they also waited for me. Just before our campsite, we found out that there were no more cabins available, which was a problem for Franz as he only had a very lightweight tent and a thin sleeping bag and had mostly stayed in hotels during his three weeks of cycling. But the saleswoman in the store arranged a cabin just 3km away. It turned out to be a large luxury holiday home with all kinds of amenities. There was Wi-Fi, a washing machine, and even groceries were provided. When the very friendly young landlord explained how we could use Apple TV, we declined. Watching TV wasn't on the agenda today. Together, we cooked a huge portion of spaghetti with our shared supplies, flew the drone around a bit, and then the young landlord came back with three bottles of homemade beer. It tasted excellent to me. It's now 11:30, and it's time to go to bed. What a day, with such unexpected positive developments.

And the best part: the weather is supposed to be really good again tomorrow!