The last few days we’ve cycled through sunshine and rain, experienced Norway’s versatility and returned to the basics of camping outdoors. When you’re well-equipped, there’s no bad weather for spending time outside, only different kinds of circumstances.
The road from Olsborg to Finnish boarder consists of many up and downhills – from Skibotn to Kilpisjärvi, around 50 kilometres, it’s only uphill. That’s why it’s really important to take care of oneself, to eat and sleep well and to stay hydrated. Also to keep your cycling smooth and comfortable, it’s good to warm up your muscles before starting the days journey and stretch a little after when travelling this long time by bike.
The two pictures are from the same day… 
… from sunshine to a refreshing shower.
It’s important to take a rest day as well here and there to let the body recover. From Olsborg we went on a day trip to Senja, an island in Troms county, with Emmi’s stepfather who showed us some of the most gorgeous sceneries there. He also took us to eat the most delicious strawberry milkshake we’ve ever had, so if you ever go to Norway, taste the shake – and the soft ice cream, try that one too. Our Senja exploration was the perfect rest day before our bike trip continued towards Kilpisjärvi. Soon we’d be in our home country again.
We cycled around 30 kilometres before lunch, which is quite the usual before getting hungry. We didn’t have much time to prepare our food for this trip so we’ve had mostly pasta and rice for lunch and porridge for breakfast, but with a little extra effort you’ll be able to spice up the outdoor cookings to a whole new level – dry some veggies, mushrooms or even meat before the trip, have your favourite spices with you and add for example nutritional yeast, pea or soy protein, nuts and seaweed for more energy and nutrients. While cycling we’re passing grocery stores often, so we’ll get fresh veggies and other ingredients easily, but finding them from nature is the best: wild berries, mushrooms, fish and even flowers! We made this delicious fireweed tea by collecting half a litre flowers and added them to 0,75 litres of water.
While traveling towards Finland, we started getting more and more rain. Luckily we have proper outerwear to match any weather, so even with pouring rain we’re able to stay fairly dry. It’s also good to have wool, we have merino wool, underneath, which keeps you warm even if you get a bit wet. Also we have a nice tent from Fjällräven which has gone through some serious weather conditions from fierce wind and rain to -35°C, and one of the best things about it is the spacious vestibule, where you can store your things and cook in a shelter.
Without a proper night’s sleep the next day on a bike is super difficult – we’ve tried so you don’t have to. We try to get to sleep early enough or maybe then sleep a bit later the next morning because it helps your body to recover from the day’s cycling and keep your head clear and positive. We’ve chosen air sleeping pads since we find them rather comfortable and they insulate well from cold rising from the ground. We’re all individuals and when Joel sleeps in a light summer sleeping bag, Emmi chooses a heavier three season sleeping bag for the same temperature. The most important thing is to know yourself and what you need. A good tip is also to have dry clothes specifically for sleep and use a liner, we have silk blanket liners to keep us cooler when it’s warm and warmer when it’s cold, and also keep the sleeping bags cleaner.
Our last night in Norway was in the middle of the rise from Skibotn to Kilpisjärvi. The day before we’d had some help from Olderelv Camping where the nicest staff helped us to charge our bikes with mains electricity, because we’d had so rainy and cloudy days and weren’t able to charge from the sun. The road to Kilpisjärvi was quite tough with its 819 meters elevation but it felt such a victory when we got to the Finnish boarder. We took a cabin from Kilpisjärvi to dry our clothes and equipment before heading to Muonio.
Waterfall called Rovijokfossen near Kilpisjärvi. 
Friends visiting our cabin.
That’s where we’ll be next when you’ll hear from us – our former home, the place where we met and studied to become wilderness guides. See you in Muonio! ♥
– Emmi & Joel
Our green e-bike trip 