Self spoke repair, steep long climbs, beautiful sun and clouds, spectacular rugged mountains, the midnight sun, wild camping, me in the team of four. Senja island. I’ll explain…
It was a day of waiting. The first boat left Andernes at 9 for Senja island, but the bike shop opened then too. I planned to catch the second ferry at 13:00. I was at the door of the bike shop at 9 sharp to get my 2 broken spokes fixed. The mechanic was on holidays so I had a go together with the owner. We called the mechanic several times with questions.
Replacing the broken spokes in Andernes.
I was finished at 10 and asked if there were some nice walks nearby to do before the ferry came. It was possible to climb to the top of the hill behind Bleik that we had seen yesterday. I planned to do this only fog came in and within minutes you couldn’t see more than 50 metres.
I went to the boat with the Frenchman Alexis. Once we boarded we saw that the German Volker had also boarded. Chris, a guy from England, who is going to the North Cape, also boarded and we formed a team of 4. We picnicked in the boat, slept, and woke up on Senja island in the sun.
The first leg rounded a fjord, and then climbed steeply to 170m and over a pass.
Gryllefjord
The pass at Gryllefjord
The team of four at Gryllefjord
It was then down the other side and along a bit before we climbed and climbed and climbed. It was hot and thirsty work.
The long steep climb on Senja
Then we rolled through a long (and cold) tunnel and then appeared in the most spectacular places you could imagine. Unfortunately the picture doesn’t do it justice.
Senja
Senja
We were all getting hungry and we were nowhere near a camping ground so we chose a nice little fjord with a bench and set up tent, cooking up pasta with bits and pieces that everyone had. And, we got excited when we realised the midnight sun was going to visit our fjord.
The midnight sun on Senja
A short bike trip along the fjord edge was amazing in the soft midnight light.
Beautiful Senja
Me cycling in the midnight sun
The group of 4
Midnight on Senja
Midnight on Senja
A magical day.
arctic-cycler.com 
Really enjoying your blogs mate.
Hey Ray. Thanks for your message. I’m glad you like the blog. It’s a fun trip and Norway is a beautiful country!
All the best from Tromsø!
[…] Highlight 1: The team of 4 met on the boat, and cycled together on the magical island of Senja. The weather was perfect, and our wild camping place on our own private fjord was spectacular. We bathed in the midnight sun. […]
Beautiful impressions of the magnificent North, Matthew.
And – lucky you! You obviously had goodnicesunny weather. I really look forward to your presentation on my blog.
Greetings
Dina
Hey. I had amazing weather all the way to Tromsø. The Lofoten islands, Andøya and Senja are spectacular! The far north near Nordkapp is windswept, raw and beautiful.
Stunning pictures. Exploring a country by bike is so much fun! 🙂
Hey! Thanks for your comment! Cycling is certainly a cool way to see Norway! 🙂
[…] first met in Norway last year on the boat to Senja island, and then repeatedly as we both headed north to the North Cape and beyond. This spring, as training […]