Andenes – Mefjordvaer

Day 6

52km / 659m climb

When reflecting on the day, these are my recollections. There will undoubtedly be twenty-two different perspectives and this is some of what makes being part of the group so interesting. While some of the group seemed undaunted, the days offerings certainly challenged me.

1. The rain, as we left our hotel was torrential. Within minutes, the street became rivers, the wind whipped the trees, the sky darkened and the temperature dropped. No one in their right mind would head out on a bicycle. Unless, of course, there were twenty-two of us with our bicycles booked onto a ferry within the hour. We waited for the worst to pass but it didn’t. Tentatively we set off in small groups arriving shortly after at the ferry terminal, absolutely soaked. Thankfully, the ferry trip was surprisingly calm and by the time we reached our destination, the rain had stopped, the temperature increased and the wind dropped. It remained like this for the remainder of our day. The challenge would have been a very different one if the weather throughout the past few days had been like it was first thing this morning.
2. A few kilometres into the ride and we met our first tunnel of the day. Think dark, cold, poorly lit, narrow lanes, noises surrounding us from all directions, an assault on our senses that we could make no sense of and to add to my enjoyment, it was 1.9km long, much of it uphill. I completed this tunnel, breathing hard, desperate for the experience to end and yet knowing this was the first of four tunnels we were to face today. A few minutes respite at the exit and we were off again.
3. We were expecting the ride to be fairly flat, used to ignoring the profile peaks on our Garmins and route maps that indicated huge hills which in reality had tunnels running through them or roads running around them. So, we didn’t flinch when our Garmins offered us a 3.5km hill with a gradient of 8-11% until we realised there was no road through or around. The only way was up. I spent the long climb wondering if it would have been better to have known exactly what we were going to face, or if it was better just to deal with the unexpected as the situation arose? Meeting the second tunnel of the day as our climb eventually ended, `I decided it is sometimes better not to know what lies ahead! The second tunnel was better lit and sightly shorter but I’m never going to enjoy the assault of the noise distortion on my senses and I was grateful to reach daylight again.

The ‘traumas’ of the day over, the rest of the ride was great. The company, the scenery and the weather all perfect. We enjoyed a stop by the ocean where we were joined by Janet, Hanna Marit, Lina and Ann who are accompanying their husbands throughout the ride but not cycling and are very much part of the team.

The evening was fun, with a lively dance lesson from Janet who managed to turn us from novices into John Travolta (or maybe not….) in under an hour with some Saturday Night Fever dance moves.

Another energetic day completed and most of us are ready for bed by 10pm. Irrespective of the time of day or night, it never gets dark here at this time of year and the night time light is still a source of wonder for those of us not used to it.