Figure 8 On A Bike

We left Flatanger campground , excited by the prospect of not sharing a kitchen that night. We started the bike ride back to the junction already fairly tired from climbing but the biking went smooth and quick all things considered. It kind of helps when you know the route and about where you will camp that night. We set up camp at a beautiful spot by the water with a bench and a big fire pit. We had some time so we did some yoga on the beach and skipped some rocks at sunset. It was an incredibly calm evening and we appreciated it all the more due to the recent chaos camping. Pretty riding back from Flatanger

After what felt like a hectic time heading south from Torghatten, Nature gave us the perfect excuse to chill out for a bit at Flatanger - 2 days of solid-to-patchy rain. Flatanger is known for having, literally, the most difficult rock climb in the world, and most of the climbing there is centered around Hanshallaren, a cave carved out from remarkably sound and solid granite. The elite-level climbers still had plenty to stay busy with, since the hardest routes keep you out of the rain by climbing upside-down all around the cave, but anything we could even think of attempting was pretty well drenched. The amenities at the campground were basic, though; we had a nice, dimly-lit but mostly-clean barn to hang out in, stocked with worn surplus recliners and a tired Ikea sectional that *probably* didn't have any mice living in it, and even though it was equipped with a whopping 3 power outlets the lack of internet access meant we couldn't be terribly useful in there. So we biked ba...

From Sandnessjøen we started with mostly flat and good weather biking. We stopped at a really old church (Alstahaug church, built in 1150) and looked inside at the deep walls designed to keep out the cold and tried to remember Christian symbolism as we stared at the art behind the altar. From the church, I sped down the road fleeing allergies as Norwegians cleaned out their barns. I felt mighty proud of myself for catching up and passing the e-bike tour group. I got to the next ferry in Tjøtta and it looked about ready to leave but the worker told me they were waiting 10 minutes. Ben just made it, literally biking onto the ferry right before they closed the ramp. So satisfying! We rode on, past a sculpture landscape art installation that was a little underwhelming, but also impressive for the work that must have gone into it once you thought about it. A little too much to interpret in this artwork

It was finally time to move on from Lofoten and our experience on Vågakallen/Nordryggen dictated that we needed to drop the plan of climbing Stetind (Norway's national Mountain). It was a much harder grade and more elevation. So...based on how Vågakallen went we decided to not become a rescue story. In order to get off of Lofoten we either needed to bike what we had already biked or do some public bus shenanigans again. So we anxiously waited at a bus stop, asked the driver, (Wait is that the same driver that Ben was aggressively befuddled at a few weeks ago!?), and loaded the bags and away we went back to Leknes. The bus was running very behind so we assumed we would miss the connecting bus from Leknes to Moskenes, but the next one had waited for our late bus. Quick unload the bikes, the bags, reload the bikes, the bags, success we made it! This driver tried to aggressively make up the time lost and an RV clipped off one of the side mirrors along the way. A little stressfu...

Bonus photos from our time in Lofoten! Fun or neat things that didn't make it into any of our posts. Views on the ferry from Melbu