August 2, 2024
Day 32: Tromso to Oldendalen
A Bridge, two tunnels and two ferries
“I think all the seagulls congregate in the city,” Patrick says as we are riding the old road across the bay from Tromso. Then continues, “I’m so tired of the screeching sound, it’s driving me crazy.” Rachel used earplugs to sleep at the hostel.
We’ve left the city over the high bridge that is now only pedestrian because of the new tunnel under the bay. We were promised a nice day, but the sky is overcast. It’s nice riding on the old road, for at least 15km it parallels the new highway and has almost no traffic. At one point we climb back up to the main road, a better climb than if we’d stayed on the main road. Then we turn off again to a side road and at a junction there is supposed to be a kiosk, but it is closed until noon. These places mostly serve junkfood from noon to late, no consideration for early coffee drinkers. We then leave the main highway and continue another 23km to the ferry from Breidvik to Svensby. The last stretch we have a headwind and a climb. We miss the ferry by about half an hour, the next one is in an hour at 1300. We find shelter out of the wind behind the toilet building and have lunch.
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When the ferry arrives, we see two cyclists who come over to the building. They are Polish having come from the Northcape and most recently biking on the island we are going to. They plan on catching a bus to Narvik and head to the Lofoten Islands. The ferry crossing is about a half hour, we have $4 dollar cappuccinos. If we’d caught the earlier ferry we planned to stop at the café on the other side. Looking across the bay, the weather looks foreboding, but when we dock, the weather is fine and we keep on riding to the next ferry.
The road is a bit more rolling and what we thought were climbs is a tunnel. But we do have one more climb, then a downhill to the pier. We arrive with the ferry still there and being unloaded. The electronic sign indicates sailing in 8 minutes. We couldn’t have planned a better timing.
Off the ferry, we cycle nearby to the cabins/campground behind a closed-down gas station. As Patrick is trying the make the phone call as indicated on the sign, a man comes out. The place looks a bit rundown from a distance, but the rooms are a great value at only 350kr. A bed in a bunkroom is only 100 but we decide to splurge.
The closed-down gas-station comes in handy today. Patrick noticed a ping in his rear wheel. A quick check showed a broken spoke. We ride 48-spoke tandem wheels and have hardly ever broken spokes. Even with a spoke or two missing these wheels would do just fine, but at the garage there surely must be a vise to remove the freewheel. Of course the broken spoke always happens on the freewheel side. The owner shows where the vise is and the freewheel (old technology – no cassettes here) is quickly removed. Even though we have good wheels we always carry spokes and a new one goes in. It appears several of the spokes got a little nicked when on our Oregon training ride the chain was thrown over the largest sprocket and jammed between the freewheel and the spokes. One of the damaged spokes broke about an inch from the head. It is replaced and let's hope the others hold.
In the meantime Rachel has walked to the grocery store next to the cabins and brought back beer, chips and ingredients for a taco dinner! Patrick has mapped out the next stage and we should be at the Northcape in 8 days.
Today's ride: 73 km (45 miles)
Total: 1,552 km (964 miles)
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