In this video, I cycle from Lapland's capital, Rovaniemi, to Magerøya Island.

Coming from the south, where it was warmer, in Rovaniemi, at 21 degrees Celsius, my first impression was that winter was approaching. The sky was cloudy and dark, and the locals were dressed in coats. I tried some of the bakery products; they were very delicious and addictive, with a taste similar to Christmas sweets.

On the second day, the weather forecast predicted rain for three days. Because of this, I rented a small wooden cabin for two nights. The next day, I had to cycle 10 km to the nearest shop to buy food. On the way there, it was easy; I had a tailwind and no rain. Coming back, it was raining the whole way, but I wasn't worried because I had a warm place to dry off. From that day, it slowly started cooling down as I headed north. It was usually 15 to 17 degrees. The next day, they also predicted rain, but from 2:00 p.m. I figured if I woke up early, I would have just enough time to make it to the next camping site. So I woke up at 6:00 a.m., took a couple of shots of the sunrise, and prepared to leave. It was a cold morning. I made it to my next destination and set up my tent just before the rain started pouring. I eventually slept in the wooden structure next to the tent, where I was able to cook and eat.

There's one road that leads towards Nordkapp from Rovaniemi; it's the E69, also where Eurovelo 11 goes. It gets boring sometimes, but I liked the wilderness and that there aren't many settlements, but still, there is the possibility of getting food daily. When heading north, I was lucky to get some tailwind, and there were no major hills to climb.

On the last day in Finland, before crossing the border, there was a strong wind, and it was also colder, 13-15 degrees. I was making short breaks so as not to cool down. The landscape also looked more yellow, as if it were autumn.

In Norway, I cycled a lot on the coast of the Barents Sea, passing through several tunnels. The largest one was the Nordkapp Tunnel, almost 7 km long, reaching 212 m below sea level. It begins with a 9% decline and becomes humid and cold as you go inside. At the end, there is a 9-10% climb.

When I arrived at Magerøya Island, it was windy with light rain. I got some food supplies and rested at a campsite before the climb to Nordkapp. That's for the next video.

It took 10 days to make this journey, including rest days.



More details about the routes here:
https://www.komoot.com/collection/3028484/-bikepacking-from-rovaniemi-to-nordkapp



#bikepacking #cyclingjourney #traveling #adventure #finland #lapland #norway