[Michel]

One factor would be the length of your rides. For day trips, Oslo might be a good option. A multi-day trip would offer more varied landscapes.

National Cycle Route 9 (The Wilderness Route) Oslo – Trondheim offers lots of nice gravel sections.

You can find several great shorter gravel routes (some loops) north of Oslo which can be reached by train: https://cyclenorway.com/en/route-area-east/

cyclenorway.com

East Norway Gravel Paradise - Ultimate Bikepacking Destination

Europe’s best gravel bikepacking! Explore iconic and hidden routes, and find essential tips to plan your ultimate adventure through breathtaking landscapes.

[Michel]

Yes, coming from Rovaniemi/ Neiden/ Varangerbotn, you should cross Tana River at Tana bru. Though scenery ist much nicer east of the river. Consider taking a detour via Varangerbotn peninsula ????

BTW: There is another ice road further south near Polmak. Services like Komoot and Ride with GPS are aware of the issue of misleading ice roads but didn’t manage to solve it yet.

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by  Michel.

[Michel]

I prefer digging a hole but your idea is not as absurd as one might think: On Lofoten islands, they gave free poop bags to tourists, which helped to avoid even more human waste in the national park: https://www-nrk-no.translate.goog/nordland/baesjeposer-en-suksess-i-lofoten-1.16527657?_x_tr_sl=no&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

[Michel]

Sportshjørnet (MX-sport) seems to be the place you are looking for: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sportshj%C3%B8rnet+(MX-sport)+AS/@69.7277303,30.0400518,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x45cb48e5ac09fb53:0x891525bf4a2e51c5!8m2!3d69.7277303!4d30.0400518!16s%2Fg%2F1tj9rxr8?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDczMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

They have at least one very good review about a bike repair on Google Maps. Good luck!

Enjoy your Trip on the Varanger peninsula ☺️

BTW: Which route did you take to get there? And how long did it take? I always took ferries and trains to get that far north. I would love to read a trip report about your yourney ????

• This reply was modified 6 months ago by  Michel.

google.com

Avant d'accéder à Google Maps

Avant d'accéder à Google Maps

[Michel]

Try https://www.norcamp.de/en/camping.map.0.html

And good luck findling “a cheap hotel” ????

norcamp.de

Camping Map

comprehensive camping map with all campsites, cabins and camping-pitches in scandinavia (norway, sweden) with contact details, opening months, pictures, reviews, prices, ...

[Michel]

Hi Natalia,

you chose a very beautiful area for your first bike trip in Norway ????

Generally speaking, traffic in Finnmark is very light. Even on E6 you might have the road for yourself for a minute or two – depending on day and time of day. Until mid August, you’ll meet many campervans in addition to local traffic and supply trucks. At night, roads will be very quiet, and it can be a great experience to cycle under the midnight sun.

Eurovelo 1 between Tromsø and Alta offers plenty of scenic views and variation. Visit rock arts at Hjemmeluft museum in Alta!

From Alta, you could do the Arctic Post Road (gravel) to Kautokeino. No cars, just gravel ???? Or cycle via Sennalandet mountain plateau to Olderfjord, then South along beautiful Porsangerfjord via Lakselv to Karasjok. There you can take road 92 west towards Kautokeino (part of national cycle route 8).

If you have lots of time, I warmly recommend cycling along the northern coastline between Lakselv and Tana mouth – or even further on Varanger peninsula towards Berlevåg (daily connections with Hurtigruten and Havila boats).

You may find more inspiration for your route on the route page: https://cyclenorway.com/en/route-area-north/

Bus operator in Finnmark is Snelandia: https://snelandia.no/?sprak=3

pictures: Sennalandet at night, Lyngen alps seen from E6, Porsangerfjord, on road 92 west of Karasjok

• This reply was modified 6 months, 2 weeks ago by  Michel.

cyclenorway.com

Cycle Northern Norway - The Arctic and the Midnight Sun Awaits!

Popular Routes and essential information to enjoy the wonders of cycling about the Arctic circle in Lofoten, Senja, and the Tromsø region.

[Michel]

I assume you’ll take Fv 705 between Røros and Stjørdal? That’s a very beautiful ride (although you’ll end up in “Hell” ????).
If you want to take a “detour” via Sweden, I won’t recommend E14 towards Storlien. Yes, you can ride long stretches on smaller roads/ gravel/ mud but also long stretches on the main road with many trucks on a narrow road. About 40 km north of it, you could take Fv 72 to Sweden. A cyclist I met in Sweden told me it was quite okay to ride.

But my favorite alternative (see screenshot) is Fv 31 east of Rørøs, via Funäsdalen, Flatruetvägen (Sweden’s highest road with a gread view), lots of gravel to Östersund where you have plenty of options to continue your tour. If you stay in Sweden, you could cycle through endless forests, maybe some parts of the “European Divide”. Might be boring but it will get much better the closer you get to the arctic circle.

You’ll find quit roads along the Swedish-Finnish border, the very beautiful national park Pallas-Yllästunturi, where you could join the “Old Arctic Post Road” via Kautokeino and Alta – or turn right north of Kautokeino and ride through the heart of Finnmark, via Karasjok, along Tana river to Varangerbotn, where you’ll enter the scenice road towards Vardø (give the detour to Hamningberg a chance) where you could enter Hurtigruten or Havila boat to Båtsfjord or Berlevåg on the Northern end of the peninsula. From there, you could cycle west along the coastline. Or give Nordkynhalvøya a chance. Very rough landscapes on the mountain plateaus and along the coast – and a cozy café at the norternmost mainland lighthouse (photo)????.

So many options ????

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Michel.
• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Michel.

[Michel]

I find it hard to believe the midnight sun would damage the tent fly more than the “regular” sun 😆
Though the midnight sun won’t heat up your tent, it will make it very bright in there. You should definitely bring a sleeping mask to tell your body it’s night. 😎

[Michel]

A free-standing tent is an advantage if you find a perfect spot on rocky terrain. But on official campsites, you won’t have any problem with any tent most of the time.

Options for finding a good spot are many if you prefer wildcamping but can – surprisingly – be quite limited in places. The upper soil layer can be very thin. It all depends on your route and your demands on a camp spot.

For more flexibility even in remote areas, I’d recommend a free-standing tent.

[Michel]

Sounds like a really fantastic adventure ????

I did a similar trip last year (Lofoten – Tromsø – Alta – Lakselv – Tana bru – Berlevåg – Vardø – Neiden – Rovaniemi): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/53435346 (More detailed: https://www.komoot.com/de-de/tour/1598937343?share_token=a72p84J4JWA6fnfvGwxkiBXnXE8HbL7CYHw1R9KvRPVCNQ4idq&ref=wtd)

I skipped Nordkyn peninsula last year but I’ve been there in June, and i can only recommend it (see https://cyclenorway.com/en/go-further-north/)

The rough scenery on Varanger peninsula is breathtaking. You might even consider a detour from Vardø to Hamningberg.

Lessons learned from those trips: Take your time. Stop, when you see an information board; it might lead you to a great micro adventure off bike (examples: nature reserve Roddenes north of Lakselv, Silfar Canyon, Rullesteinfjæra at Tanafjord, Saviostolen near Bugøyfjord).

And enjoy riding under the midnight sun ????

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by  Michel.
• This reply was modified 2 months ago by  Michel.
• This reply was modified 2 months ago by  Michel.
• This reply was modified 2 months ago by  Michel.

ridewithgps.com

Von Moskenes nach Rovaniemi

2295.7 km, +14627 m. Bike ride in Moskenes, Nordland

[Michel]

It’s the view on the whole boat trip I had in mind (e.g. Preikestolen from below).

Let’s wait and see how far away from the pier I will end up today ????

[Michel]

@mpage The “Arctic East 700” isn’t a cycling event but a highly recommended route to the northeast end of Norway, see https://cyclenorway.com/en/routes/the-arctic-east-700/

Sorry for being a smartass ????

[Michel]

Mid August can be a great time to travel up there, when the falls starts and the leaves change colour and the first northern lights start dancing on the dark sky ????

Some areas in the far north might seem very remote but infrastructure is quite good (buses, grocery stores …)

I hope you’ll enjoy your trip ????

[Michel]

You can find information about the main roads (opening times, construction works etc.) on https://www.vegvesen.no/trafikk/hvaskjer?layers=all&fosort=pop&tmsort=priorityScore&tusort=pop&brsort=pop

For information about Tusenmeteren, get in contact with the local tourist office: https://www.visitnorway.com/listings/%c3%85rdal-tourist-information/245047/ It only opens Mid June but according to their Norwegian website, you can also call them in “winter”: +47 57661177 (https://www.visitardal.no/turistkontoret)

Good luck, and have a great trip ????

• This reply was modified 8 months, 2 weeks ago by  Michel.
• This reply was modified 8 months, 2 weeks ago by  Michel.

vegvesen.no

Vegvesen trafikk | Trafikkmeldinger, webkamera og ruteplanlegger

Se trafikkmeldinger og hva som skjer på veien eller nær deg. Se status på fjelloverganger, broer og tunneler, finn stengte veier og bruk webkamera for å se trafikk og kjøreforhold.

[Michel]

Thanks for this recommendation. Bags like this would for sure be the best way to carry a camera. But I really don’t want to cycle with a hip bag every day for weeks ????

It’s such a first world problem …