Day 10 – Lom

I spent my morning in the mountains admiring the view as the clouds and fog crept up and ate away at them, until there was nothing to see but gray. I had a big celebratory breakfast and continued onwards past some of Norways tallest peaks. The terrain was distinctly Icelandic up here, and I felt a sense of comfort that came from being around such familiar terrain once more. Eventually the snow packs and bare stone gave way to shrubs and booming river runs and I was launched back down to sea level. For an eternity I simply held onto my bike and hoped for the best as I navigated the narrow bends and tried to concentrate on avoiding the innumerable pot holes while occasionally glancing up to admire the valley walls getting higher and higher around me.

At the bottom of the run was Lom, a very touristy little mountain town that was known for its stave church. I had a gander at the church, an old wooden design that was impressive but completely swamped with tourists.

Lom was something of a crossroads for me. I had to decide here whether I would continue cycling in the fjord lands of southern Norway, or if I would take a train north to the magical Lofoten islands. When planning this trip I did not expect to have time see both the fjords and the Lofoten islands, but at this point I felt that I had accomplished a great deal and was satisfied that I had seen enough of the great fjords to leave them behind for new scenery. So, I decided to continue down the valley to the town of Otta where a train would take me 1000 kilometres north to the town of Bodo.

First though, I had to book a ticket. Not so easy when every train only has enough space for 4 bicycles. As luck would have it a train with a free bike slot was available just past midnight tomorrow, more than enough time for me to book it down to the train station. I set of and had an easy ride down the bank of a large river until, for the first time in a long while, it actually got dark enough that I felt the need to set up camp. I found a nearby farm, and after a quick chat with the owner I pitched my tent on the banks of the river. I had to wade through quite a lot of mud to get there, but that was a problem for another day.