Day 10 - 08/07/2013

Day 10 Stienkjer to Valldal. 3629 miles since leaving home 282 miles today + 2 Ferries. It was a cold and windy night so I didn't sleep to well, Konrad wasn't bothered and slept like a log. Weather was mostly overcast and generally not to warm with just a small shower mid day. The pace was much slower today but despite this we hit Trondheim very quickly and it's hundreds of tunnels. Things look less like Alaska from here down. Some of the roads today were biking heaven - wish I still had the Ninja. We got to Andalsnes ahead of time so we decided to go over the Trollstigen pass. What an amazing place / road - breathtaking. We are making great progress Southwards still, and tomorrow we will head on to the beautiful Gierangerfjord. Currently camped-up by the river in the moyntain town of Valldal - lovely. Overall: Mosquito Aggressiveness: 2/10 Ass Pain Rating: 5/10 Hot Dog Tally: 15 (but lots of crisps, sweet buns and ice-cream today).

Day 9 - 07/07/2013

Day 9 Rognan to Stienkjer. 3347 miles since leaving home 336 miles today. Over slept this morning - woken by the sound of heavy rain. Decided to set out later once the rain had lessened. We are now camped up near what appears to be a school near the town centre but by a river. Weather was mostly overcast but very windy and we crossed several mountain ranges and a freezing 9km tunnel. Was a tough day covering this distance on these roads but on the plus side we crossed the Arcric Circle again, this time going South. We passed Mo i Rana and Mosjoen today, and found ourselves in a much less desolate area of Norway - with more and more greenery at least keeping our surroundings different everyday. We may have gone too far today in aspects, and despite keeping right on our plan if not ahead, it is taking it's toll on us, and probably the bike. Still, we are making great progress Southwards still, and tomorrow we will pass Trondheim and head onto the beautiful roads near Molde and Andalsnes - these being the start of some of the best parts of Norway. Overall: Mosquito Aggressiveness: 3/10 Ass Pain Rating: 7/10 Hot Dog Tally: 15

Day 8 - 06/07/2013

Day 8 Tromso to Rognan. 3011 miles since leaving home 355 miles today (again) + 1 ferry. It was cold riding through the mountains of the fjords today, as we headed south towards Rognan, passing Narvik and a few other small towns (as well as popping into Tromso). We agreed that after crossing over into Tromso centre, it wasn't like Slough after all, being more intresting than expected, and a very nice little city. We quickly headed out, and made progress going South as we are now used to and although the distances are shorter, the days are still long (9hrs in the saddle) and hard. The views were again amazing and after the ferry the roads were a bikers dream - had a lot of fun for literally 200 miles. The roads are superb but on a bike it's best to ignore speed limits and enjoy the flowing bends. We camped up in Rognan (at the end of a fjord), with mixed levels of fatigue after the day's riding. Tomorrow, we should have another long day ahead in order to stick to our route plan, hopefully making it to Stjenker. The views overall today were stunning, along with the great roads that we rode. Back tyre has really worn down and will be bald after a couple more days like today. Should be able to nurse it home though. Overall: Mosquito Aggressiveness: 6/10 Ass Pain Rating: 6/10 Hot Dog Tally: Still only 14

Day 7 - 05/07/2013

Day 7 Nordkapp to Tromso. 2656 miles from home 355 miles + 2 ferries today. Leaving the world's most northerly campsite (of which we think is one of the best we've stayed in, due to the beautiful scenery, good facilities and suprisingly good weather), we left Nordkapp and headed Southward. The views simply got better and better as we kept riding, with the fjords beyond Alta being some of the most stunning views of the day and possibly the trip so far. Despite now truly feeling the bites of previous mosquito encounters, we pushed on toward Tromso grabbing two more hotdogs, some pictures and two ferries as we kept going South. The weather was suprisingly very pleasant in Nordkapp and near Alta- but it seems that our run of luck with perfect weather has finally come to a stop, with showers of rain making life miserable at times as we headed towards and into Tromso. Overall, today was another long, hard day, but we can say we are making progress back South from the top of Norway. The roads are superb but on a bike it's best to ignore speed limits and enjoy the bends. Only seen one po-lice car so far so some speeding should be OK. Lots of reindeer on the road though - they are fearless which probably explains the speed limits. Still looking out for Elk - seen the signs but no sightings. Tromso (Paris of the North) looks more like Slough. Will check it out properly tomorrow if the weather holds out. Overall: Mosquito Aggressiveness: 6/10 Ass Pain Rating: 7/10 Hot Dog Tally: 14