Day 16, Beitstad to Isle of Elvalandet (82 kms)

A great day's cycling, marred only slightly by the seemingly ever-higher temperatures. It was already hot when I woke at 6.30 am, and this continued to build all day. Because we are getting closer to the Arctic Circle, the heat seems to build for even longer. By 6pm, when in Scotland things are starting to cool off, it seems here as if we are still in the noon-day sun. Carrying enough water now requires thought; I usually have 1.3 litres on the bike frame plus a litre in reserve, knowing I can top up from springs if I need. But those springs are drying up with the heat. After about an hour on the road, I came across a Frenchman on a bike towing a Border Collie in a trailer, pulled into the side. I had seen them briefly in Beitstad earlier, and they left before me. I stopped to check all was OK, and it was – just giving the dog water. This cyclist is a fit young guy, and he'd need to be. In addition to all the gear all the rest of us carry (and everyone's averaging 30 kilos) he must have 17 kilos of collie (at least) plus the trailer, plus everything else a dog needs, plus double the water, I should think. They must have passed me at a shop when I stopped for a free coffee (traditionally, foodstores in Norway give out free coffee, and it's not as bad as you'd think it might be, in my opinion). Later, when I stopped in the large town of Namsos to buy supplies, I saw them again and went over for a chat. Poor chap had broken a rear wheel spoke, and his wheel had become completely unstable. Fortunately he had identified a bike shop nearby, and he assured me (and many Norwegians who were also offering to help, and probably in a better position to actually do so) that assistance was on its way.

I finished the ride at a delightful spot under one of a series of bridges (the most famous of these is the Ytterbystrommen Bridge) between a series of islands, beside a sound that links two fjords. The bridges and the cliffs here -- I'm on the Isle of Elvalandet bank --combine to form a natural echo chamber, and youngsters from here and about have fun by zooming past my tent on tiny motorboats and jetskis, shrieking. Swallows and Amazons on speed.

The night's wildcamp on the Isle of Elvalandet