By country, in reverse chronological order.
Part 10: Sweden
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 158 | Tue 28th August | - Duved | 62 |
Part 9: Norway
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | Fri 25th May | nr. Kirkenes - Neiden | 27 |
| 64 | Sat 26th May | - nr. Bugøynes | 41 |
| 65 | Sun 27th May | - Tana Bru | 105 |
| 66 | Mon 28th May | - Ifjord | 92 |
| 67 | Tue 29th May | - nr. Børselv | 89 |
| 68 | Wed 30th May | - Indre Billefjord | 76 |
| 69 | Thu 31st May | - Southern Magerøya | 112 |
| 70 | Fri 1st June | - Gjesvær | 50 |
| 71 | Sat 2nd June | rest day | 0 |
| 72 | Sun 3rd June | rest day | 0 |
| 73 | Mon 4th June | - nr. Nordkapp! | 55 |
| 74 | Tue 5th June | - Southern Magerøya | 43 |
| 75 | Wed 6th June | - Sortvikelva | 67 |
| 76 | Thu 7th June | - Repparfjordelva | 71 |
| 77 | Fri 8th June | - Alta | 73 |
| 78 | Sat 9th June | 0 | |
| 79 | Sun 10th June | 0 | |
| 80 | Mon 11th June | - Gjesvær (hitching) | |
| 81 | Tue 12th June | ||
| 82 | Wed 13th June | ||
| 83 | Thu 14th June | - Thomassenhytte | |
| 84 | Fri 15th June | - Gjesvær | |
| 85 | Sat 16th June | - Honningsvåg | |
| 86 | Sun 17th June | - Alta (hitching) | |
| 87 | Mon 18th June | - Sørstraumen | 119 |
| 88 | Tue 19th June | - Lyngenfjord | 96 |
| 89 | Wed 20th June | - Tromsø | 73 |
| 90 | Thu 21st June | 6 | |
| 91 | Fri 22nd June | 10 | |
| 92 | Sat 23rd June | 8 | |
| 93 | Sun 24th June | - Kvaløya | 16 |
| 94 | Mon 25th June | - Karlsøya! | 52 |
| 95 | Tue 26th June | festival | |
| 96 | Wed 27th June | ||
| 97 | Thu 28th June | ||
| 98 | Fri 29th June | ||
| 99 | Sat 30th June | ||
| 100 | Sun 1st July | ||
| 101 | Mon 2nd July | ||
| 102 | Tue 3rd July | ||
| 103 | Wed 4th July | ||
| 104 | Thu 5th July | ||
| 105 | Fri 6th July | Karlsøya - Tromsø | 60 |
| 106 | Sat 7th July | ||
| 107 | Sun 8th July | ||
| 108 | Mon 9th July | Tromsø - Ulvik flight | |
| 109 | Tue 10th July | ||
| 110 | Wed 11th July | ||
| 111 | Thu 12th July | ||
| 112 | Fri 13th July | ||
| 113 | Sat 14th July | Ulvik - Bergen bus/train | |
| 114 | Sun 15th July | Bergen - Tromsø flight | |
| 115 | Mon 16th July | - Brensholmen | 73 |
| 116 | Tue 17th July | - Lavollsfjorden | 81 |
| 117 | Wed 18th July | - Bleik | 43 |
| 118 | Thu 19th July | - Forfjorden | 68 |
| 119 | Fri 20th July | - Melbu | 72 |
| 120 | Sat 21st July | - Grunnfør cyclists’ shelter | 22 |
| 121 | Sun 22nd July | - Rorvika beach | 60 |
| 122 | Mon 23rd July | - Finnbyen | 89 |
| 123 | Tue 24th July | - Bodø | 27 |
| 124 | Wed 25th July | fishing day | 0 |
| 125 | Thu 26th July | - Kretsskjærvika | 61 |
| 126 | Fri 27th July | - Ågvatnet | 89 |
| 127 | Sat 28th July | - Grønsvik | 49 |
| 128 | Sun 29th July | - Leirfjord | 28 |
| 129 | Mon 30th July | - Nes, Vega | 59 |
| 130 | Tue 31st July | sea kayaking day | |
| 131 | Wed 1st August | walking day | |
| 132 | Thu 2nd August | rowboating day | |
| 133 | Fri 3rd August | - Vennesund | 69 |
| 134 | Sat 4th August | - Hofles | 83 |
| 135 | Sun 5th August | - Namsos | 55 |
| 136 | Mon 6th August | brake fixing day | |
| 137 | Tue 7th August | Reppkleiv pothole | 103 |
| 138 | Wed 8th August | - Stokkøya | 71 |
| 139 | Thu 9th August | - Rein | 95 |
| 140 | Fri 10th August | rest/boatbuilding day | |
| 141 | Sat 11th August | - Trondheim | 34 |
| 142 | Sun 12th August | chill day | |
| 143 | Mon 13th August | - Oslo (hitching) | |
| 144 | Tue 14th August | Helvete/Blitz day | |
| 145 | Wed 15th August | Midgardsblot! | |
| 146 | Thu 16th August | ||
| 147 | Fri 17th August | ||
| 148 | Sat 18th August | ||
| 149 | Sun 19th August | ||
| 150 | Mon 20th August | - Oslo (hitching) | |
| 151 | Tue 21st August | coffee/beer day | |
| 152 | Wed 22nd August | - Tretten (hitching) | |
| 153 | Thu 23rd August | - Trondheim (hitching) | |
| 154 | Fri 24th August | chill | |
| 155 | Sat 25th August | chill | |
| 156 | Sun 26th August | - Hell | 30 |
| 157 | Mon 27th August | - Tevla | 66 |
| Tot | 2768 | ||
| Trip Tot | 7849 |
Part 8: Russia
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | Sun 6th May | Kingisepp - Gostilitsy | 94 |
| 45 | Mon 7th May | - Saint Petersburg | 71 |
| 46 | Tues 8th May | City day | 0 |
| 47 | Wed 9th May | Camping at Ladoga Lake | 0 |
| 48 | Thu 10th May | Saint Petersburg - nr. Shlisselburg | 56 |
| 49 | Fri 11th May | - nr. Pasha | 141 |
| 50 | Sat 12th May | - nr. Kovera | 120 |
| 51 | Sun 13th May | - Petrozavodsk | 127 |
| 52 | Mon 14th May | - nr. Luchevoye-1 | 43 |
| 53 | Tue 15th May | - Karhumäki | 139 |
| 54 | Wed 16th May | - Segezha | 125 |
| 55 | Thu 17th May | - nr. Olonga river | 145 |
| 56 | Fri 18th May | - nr. Pervoye Nogtevo | 142 |
| 57 | Sat 19th May | - nr. Polyarnyy Krug! | 93 |
| 58 | Sun 20th May | - Polarnie Zori | 117 |
| 59 | Mon 21st May | - nr. Olenegorsk | 119 |
| 60 | Tue 22nd May | - Murmansk | 118 |
| 61 | Wed 23rd May | - Titovka | 111 |
| 62 | Thu 24th May | - nr. Kirkenes (N) | 142 |
| Tot | 1903 | ||
| Trip Tot | 5081 |
Part 7: Estonia
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Thurs 3rd May | Valka (LV) - Tartu | 119 |
| 42 | Fri 4th May | - Lake Pepsin | 108 |
| 43 | Sat 5th May | - Kingisepp (RU) | 132 |
| Tot | 359 | ||
| Trip Tot | 3178 |
Part 6: Latvia
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | Sun 29th April | nr. Zvirgzde - Riga | 48 |
| 38 | Mon 30th April | - Kunterbunti | 129 |
| 39 | Tues 1st May | Planting the first new seeds | 0 |
| 40 | Weds 2nd May | - Valka | 95 |
| Tot | 272 | ||
| Trip Tot | 2819 |
Part 5: Lithuania
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Weds 25th April | nr. Galwiecie (PL) - Kaunas | 152 |
| 34 | Thurs 26th April | City day | 0 |
| 35 | Fri 27th April | - nr. Panevėžys | 130 |
| 36 | Sat 28th April | - nr. Zvirgzde (LV) | 120 |
| Tot | 402 | ||
| Trip Tot | 2547 |
Part 4: Poland
My first new country of the trip!
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Sun 15th April | Görlitz (DE) - nr. Czerna | 56 |
| 24 | Mon 16th April | - Leszno | 132 |
| 25 | Tues 17th April | town tour/bowling day | 0 |
| 26 | Weds 18th April | - Poznan | 89 |
| 27 | Thurs 19th April | - nr. Jeziora | 89 |
| 28 | Fri 20th April | - nr. Torun | 107 |
| 29 | Sat 21st April | - Rypin | 51 |
| 30 | Sun 22nd April | - nr. Nidzica | 94 |
| 31 | Mon 23rd April | - nr. Ketrzyn | 129 |
| 32 | Tues 24th April | - nr. Galwiecie | 115 |
| Tot | 862 | ||
| Trip Tot | 2145 |
Part 3: Germany
Familiar West, to the foreign East.
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Tues 3rd April | Münster - nr. Soest | 59 |
| 12 | Weds 4th April | - nr. Blankenrode | 81 |
| 13 | Thurs 5th April | - Witzenhausen | 93 |
| 14 | Fri 6th April | culture day | 0 |
| 15 | Sat 7th April | chill day | 0 |
| 16 | Sun 8th April | - nr. Leinefelde | 48 |
| 17 | Mon 9th April | - nr. Halle | 136 |
| 18 | Tues 10th April | - Leipzig | 37 |
| 19 | Weds 11th April | city exploring day | 0 |
| 20 | Thurs 12th April | - nr. Skassa | 102 |
| 21 | Fri 13th April | - Bautzen | 85 |
| 22 | Sat 14th April | - Görlitz | 44 |
| Tot | 685 | ||
| Trip Tot | 1283 |
Part 2: The Netherlands
Cycling utopia. Culturally easygoing. A bit flat.
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Mon 26th March | Hook of Holland - Delft | 20 |
| 4 | Tues 27th March | - Utrecht | 65 |
| 5 | Weds 28th March | rest day | 0 |
| 6 | Thurs 29th March | recovery day | 0 |
| 7 | Fri 30th March | - nr. Arnhem | 70 |
| 8 | Sat 31st March | - nr. Vorden | 80 |
| 9 | Sun 1st April | - nr. Haaksbergen | 50 |
| 10 | Mon 2nd April | - Münster (DE) | 78 |
| Tot | 363 | ||
| Trip Tot | 598 |
Part 1: England
The first two days on the road.
| Day | Date | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat 24th March | Kidlington - N. London | 105 |
| 2 | Sun 25th March | - N. Harwich Ferry Terminal | 130 |
| Tot | 235 |
17/04/18 England was tough. I should have (and would have) left three days to get to the ferry, but life got in the way. Life, packing up that life, and learning to ride a motorbike. My Mod 2 (final practical) motorbike test was rescheduled twice, first due to the March snow, and then reasons unknown to Friday afternoon. I had originally intended to leave the Monday before, but such is life. At least I passed!
Anyway, with fresh, untrained legs and a brand-new heavy-duty comfort-not-speed luggage setup, 165 miles in two days felt ambitious. The little shakedown trip with Christian, a few weekends prior, had exhausted me at 30 miles. But, the ferry was booked, and I was to meet Cam there on the Sunday evening.
England isn’t so bad, really. Leafy green tracks and little roads took me to North London, where I stayed the night with my granny, before a long Sunday to Harwich ferry terminal. Here, I met with plenty of the expected terrible English drivers who seem to view their vehicles as weapons of intimidation against poor cyclists and pedestrians. However, I was amazed to discover the Epping forest area, home of undoubtedly the best drivers in Britain. It wasn’t the prettiest ride, but my mind was on the road ahead anyway.