9th July 2023 (sunny and hot) 94km

I would love to say that I had a great sleep in our idyllic camping cabin.  After all, the location was stunning and so peaceful.  But that little voice inside my head kept reminding me that really we shouldn't be there. Not so much the site, but inside the cabin.

I spent until 2am just sleeping in my silk liner (for those unfamiliar with these, they go inside your sleeping bag as they are easier to wash and dry than a sleeping bag), as it was warm in the cabin.  But I grabbed my sleeping bag as well as by 2am it had cooled off and got a better sleep then til 5am.

When Julia stirred at 5.45am, I took the opportunity to get up.  Didn't want to leave too late just in case dog walkers or suchlike were about.  As it happened, no problems, no members of the public and a beautiful morning to set us up for the day.  After our fruit and muesli breakfast, we hit the road at 6.25am.  No one saw us leave.

Cycling along in the morning sun, with just the lightest of breezes from the movement of the bikes.  Today, we were heading for Kyrksaetaora, 42km away.

Because the weather is supposed to be packing it in big time tomorrow afternoon, we had thought about pushing on for Orkanger today so we could make Trondheim tomorrow.   But Orkanger is another 66kms away from Kyrksaetaora, which would make today a very big day with plenty of demanding climbs.  We would have to see how the morning went.

The first 15kms in the warm morning sun was nice. Easy riding and talking.  Then came the wake up.  A steep 3km hill.  And believe me, it did wake us up.  Don't know why, but I was struggling for the last 45min of that climb.  I'm picking it was lack of sleep and insufficient breakfast.  And whatever goes up definitely comes down, including any shares we've ever bought.

By 10.30am we were in Kyrksaetaora and both ready for a break.  What we really wanted was a Shell service station as they have ok coffee, free wifi, food and a cafe seating area....and that's exactly what we came across.   It was just what we needed to replenish the tanks.  We sat there with a filled roll each, a donut and a coffee and did the blog.

Now it was decision time.  Stay at the local campsite as we'd already done 45kms, or push on to Orkanger in an effort to beat the big thunderstorms coming tomorrow.  We'd caught up with everything we needed to, felt a lot better after a good feed and it was only 12.30pm.
So it was mutually agreed that we head for Orkanger.

Leaving Kyrksaetaora 

Rode for an hour around the fjord until we came to a tiny church.  Whipped into the attached cemetery to fill our water bottles (well no one there's going to drink the water) and found a bench in a shady spot to eat our lunch (it had been four hours since we'd eaten).

By 3.15pm we were on the road again and virtually straight into our first big climb. Part way up this Norwegian guy, his wife and a stupid little handbag dog, cycled up alongside to chat.
We are just plodding away but they are seriously trying to show how good they were on their unladen bikes.  After their dog came chasing after my bike, I thought "that's enough", so intensified my speed.

By now he was gasping to stay with me and she had blown her chances after trying to sprint past me on a serious part of the mountain.

Just to rub it in, I was talking normally and asking questions.  The more he answered, the further back he fell.  Julia was just behind me and I think the final kicker for him was when she told him we'd already done a mountain pass this morning and 60kms.  Still it was a good distraction to help us up the hill.

They soon disappeared from sight and we slogged onward.  After this we were not feeling too bad, until the next hill.  By the time that was over, we were ready for a rest but we had a further climb to conquer.

By now, the sweat was pouring off us and that made it even worse.  Cause every damn fly, whatever make or model, was swarming around our faces.  So you're absolutely knackered,  sweltering hot and to add insult to injury you've got these blasted flies hanging around, landing on you and then biting you! Man it was annoying.  And because of the gradient, we couldn't go fast enough to shake them off.  I'm sure Norway learned some new words today, but it's the first time I've thought "what the hell are we doing?"

Toward the end of the ride, we joined the E39, a main road.  Being Sunday, every man and his dog was on the road, including the idiots.  We weren't allowed to go through a tunnel, so took the alternative route along the old road.

That was a huge relief not to have to think about all the crazies.  When we rejoined the E39 for a short period  (and I mean short - about 500 metres) we saw some terrible driving.  One guy overtook Ju and just stays half in the oncoming lane, with the guy in the car coming towards him having to jam on he brakes so he didn't hit the idiot overtaking Ju.  Then a truck overtook us and pulled in too quickly causing us to jam on the brakes.  What a relief to get off that road!

We turned off onto a quiet back road leading into Orkanger and this road was a pleasure to ride.  We were so relieved to get off the E39, we didn't even mind the uphill it started with.  But then it flattened out and we rode pretty much along a ridge line in the peaceful countryside.   Turned off onto a hard-packed, earth road and this was more country riding along a ridge.  Downhill into the valley and a pleasant flat ride to the camp site.
Didn't think much of this camp in comparison with some we've had.
Showers last max. 3 min, when they're supposed to be 5 mins.

As we set up our tent, in the caravan next door we heard the worst noise we've heard the whole trip.  Oh yes, that's right, we've set up our tent next to a crying baby.  Terrific.  Fortunately as we ate our dinner, the baby cried itself to sleep and we didn't hear another peep, but it definitely had us worried.

As we climbed into our sleeping bags tonight, we congratulated each other on a very hard day.
This trip is proving to be testing on a daily basis.  The last time we did hills like this, was in the Alps, but that was 37 years ago.  A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then and to do these massive passes daily, you do question your sanity.

A final note.  Julia is now fast asleep.  What an amazing effort today.  She would blow people in their twenties away with her climbing stamina.  Just amazing.