5th July 2023 (sun and cloud, cold wind) 79km

Awake at 6am, up and packing everything away.  Once we had emptied the tent we took it over to the car park to dry in the morning sun, as our site was still in the shade.  Then we got stuck into breakfast before leaving the camp at 8.25am, tent dry.

 

This cruise ship had a hydroslide on the top

Straight into town and down to what we hoped was the correct ferry terminal.  We weren't sure what the island was called that we wanted to go to and were reading noticeboards and looking for somebody official to ask.  There was nowhere to buy a ticket and we weren't sure if we needed one or not.  Found a map and deduced that the island we wanted was Hamnsund.

There was a ferry at the dock and when we wandered onto the covered gangway/waiting area, the captain of the ferry walked up the gangway towards us speaking something in Norwegian.  Wasn't sure if he was talking to us so said "hello" which we hoped he would take as a cue to switch to English,  which he did.
"Where do you want to go?", he asked.
"Hamnsund", we said doubtfully. Not sure if that's where we wanted to go and not sure if we'd pronounced it correctly.

He nodded and signaled for us to come on board in front of all the others waiting there.  We tied up the bikes and we were off!  We were so surprised.  We thought there would be lots of other bikepackers taking the same boat, but we were the only people on it, except for one other person.

Goodbye Alesund!

Wow, all this luxury to ourselves!

 

 

Went on the top deck, but it was far too windy, so back down below.  We were charged 210nok, as this was a speed ferry with no cars on board and got to Hamnsund about 25 mins later. 

The riding on this island was nice, but the after leaving the sanctuary of the harbour, the wind was straight in our faces.  After 17km of cycling, another ferry was required to hop across to the next island.  This one didn't require payment as it is a normal ferry.  I love that....NORMAL.  All electric, the smoothest of rides and so well maintained.  Our timing was spot on today and we caught this ferry with four mins to go.

 

Once again a windy ride, which was 21kms in yer face. Did manage to spy two deer.

They were either very young or just small deer, and very chestnutty coloured.  In Midsund we bought coffee and a new glass for me... wait for the next blog....I will have smashed it. If I have, Julia will literally strangle me, or make me drink out of plastic.

As soon as we left the supermarket, we were looking for a sheltered spot to eat lunch.  Spied a building with a bench seat undercover and sheltered from the wind.  Perfect. It also had toilets, a shower and a plug for us to charge our phones. Turns out it was an overnight spot for campervans, but also the perfect lunchspot for us.  Hung out some of our washing over the fence where the wind was blowing and enjoyed a nice lunch.

Headed off once again and the riding was undulating but enjoyable, as the wind had calmed down.

Once again with another ferry to catch, which we saw coming in to dock as we rounded the last corner. We had about a km of downhill to get there and made it by the skin of our teeth.

As soon as we boarded, we set sail on a very short passage.

This time coming off the boat we had to head away from our destination and then double back on ourselves. It was all to do with keeping a good gradient for the traffic, which we appreciated as well.

Our work continues.....

At Hollingen we stopped for ice cream and rice before lifting our pace on the main road heading to Malmefjorden. The road surface was great and we made good time.  After picking up dinner and breakfast we found the campsite and set up tent.

Malmefjorden 

Showers and washing done, we settled into pre dinner nuts and drink. Just after finishing dinner two Germans, Marcus and Christina sat talking with us for at least an hour. They spoke great English and it was lovely to chat freely. Marcus is an avid cyclist and former iron-man/triathlete. They are touring Norway with a roof tent on their car and also love the outdoors, so it was nice to meet like minded people.

Said goodnight to them at 9.30pm and we had a coffee to finish the day.

One in which we covered 79kms.