Bodø-Trondheim, Part 4

July 24^th: Kjelleidet – around Leka – Kolvereid (104 km)

We could easily get spoiled by a morning like today: we slept a bit extra, woke up to beautiful weather, and had access to a picnic table for cooking and eating breakfast. We managed to get off reasonably quickly, and the 8 km to Bogen passed quickly. From there, it’s 14 km to Gutvika. First, the road follows the coast, and then it’s a rollercoaster of up- and downhills through woodlands and farmland. We reached the ferry terminal about 30 minutes before the next trip, but it was nice to have an excuse to relax in the sun. 

Bogen

When we reached Leka, we rode about 1 km to Husby where we bought some food and parked the trailer and tent. We felt like we were flying when cycling with just one pannier each! We rode around the island in a clockwise direction, so the first part of the trip was through farmland and a bit along the coast. The detour to Bremneset proved to be a good spot for a lunch break: it’s just where you can start to see the red rocks. You get an impressive combination of colors from that beach: blue water, green grass, red rocks… The only problem was that the strong wind made it a bit challenging to eat! 

Enjoying cycling light

After lunch, we continued toward the most geologically interesting part of the island, and we took a number of breaks and photos! The last part of the ride had a few short but steep hills, and we were definitely warm enough under the strong sun. 

Lunch stop

Cycling around Leka is highly recommended – it’s quite unique to see, the traffic is light, and the road is good.

Red rocks on Leka

The pictures don't capture the colors perfectly, but it was really quite different from anywhere else in Norway

After the ferry ride back to Gutvika, we returned the 14 km to Bogen before continuing on our way. At that point, we weren’t really sure how far we wanted to ride, so we bought groceries and sallied forth. Nord-Trøndelag seems to be hillier than Nordland! The county road towards Kolvereid didn’t have the same smooth finish as Fv 17, but it went well despite the fact that Dražen had broken yet another spoke while we were on Leka.

We sweated our way up the hills and sailed down them again in bright sun for about 40 km past beaches, lakes, and small mountains. We’ve ended up in Kolvereid. The campsite is lovely, but the black flies are a bit irritating. I’m completely worn out after 104 km, so I think it’s bedtime!

July 25^th: Kolvereid – Kleiva (27 km) + approx. 15 km kayaking

If the goal were to get to Trondheim as fast as possible, today wouldn’t have been a very good day: we hardly cycled, and most of our riding was in the “wrong” direction! We were planning to ride to Abelvær and rent kayaks there, but we called ahead and were told that the shop was closed since the owner was on vacation. He advised us that it would possible to rent kayaks here at Kleiva (near Rørvik). It was about 20 km to the big bridge, and then another 7 or so to the campsite.

I have to admit that we were both pretty skeptical about this kayaking option after 7 km through farmland with no view of water, but we were greeted by a friendly fellow and he had two really nice kayaks available. We were completely convinced when he showed us the nautical chart: there are about 6000 islands and skerries. The morning started with no wind, so we could explore the islands in glass-like water. 

A paddler's playground

We paddled along in a relaxed manner, took a lunch break on one island, and charted a course for the return trip. The wind picked up a bit at that point, but it wasn’t too strong. We circled around the largest island, and were headed back on a slightly different route, but a change in the wind direction put us a bit off course. 

Glass-like water early in the day

Lunch break

It’s really difficult to figure out where you are when you are so close to the water – you can’t really figure out the shape of the islands, and some of them disappear when the tide changes – but we had the GPS with us, so we were able to place ourselves again. We had about 3km in pretty strong headwinds in order to get back. No real problem, but my back, abdomen, and shoulders are all tired now!

Before the wind really picked up

It was already 5pm by the time we had rinsed the kayaks and returned them, so we decided to put the tent up here tonight and then make a trip in to Rørvik tomorrow to try and buy a new back wheel for Dražen’s bike.