Ron Wallenfang said:Nice slides from Abisko. Do I correctly assume that was a hiking trip
rather than a bike trip? I could find Abisko on my map, but not any of the
other names you mentioned. Are they all fairly close to Abisko? How were
the temperatures in late August? Have you taken any bike trips that far
north? I have an ambition to someday bike from Nordkapp to Gibraltar, so
I'm curious about biking conditions in the north.
Yes, a hiking trip. I saw a dozen touring cyclists on the road between
Kiruna and Narvik when I took the bus between Kiruna and Abisko. All
the places are within 30kms of Abisko (aerial distance of 20+), I did a
loop starting and ending there. Once you step out of the main hiking
trail there are no people. Like everywhere, the most of us want to
stay in cabins along the trail.
It was unseasonably warm this year, max temps between 15 - 20 degrees
and min temps between 2 - 8 (in the tent, camps at 600 - 1000m of
altitude). I've had snow at those altitudes in July over there, but the
usual temps are 5 degrees less than what it was that week. A lot of
people were hiking in shorts, as there are few mosquitos left that late
in the summer.
I haven't toured that far north, but I've hiked there about ten times.
The roads to/from Nordkapp are ice-free usually between May - October,
but right know it's 6 degrees celcius in Helsinki, which is normal for
this season, and it's 0 at the northern tip of Finland, also normal for
this time of year. If I were to make a trip between Nordkapp and
Gibraltar, I'd start in late August from Nordkapp, and ride to meet the
sun. The special thing in riding up north would be the vastness and
emptyness, to most travelers from more densely populated countries it's
like being in the wilderness, when there are no houses, no villages, no
stops for 20kms, but you've toured your country and I think there are
still vast open spaces left there?
Jan