The Garmin screwed up the data when it auto powered down. The GPS track is from the OruxMaps app. so only the sensors’ data (pulse, cadence) is really lost. Here’s what I remember from the Garmin before it powered off while I checked in. It is supposed to do that, and it’s usually no problem to turn it on and off during rides.

158 km
6:38 h moving time
23.8 km/h average

I started at 10:30 after repacking my bags. I moved the cooking equipment to the back and all the cold and rain gear to the front for easy access on the road. Actually, it was 11:30, since Finland is in another time zone, as it turned out. The bike computer and the phone automatically update their times, but not simultaneously – very confusing. It is also rather strange to cross another time zone while heading north.

A lunch picture for a change. I expected the white stuff to be some kind of sweet semolina pudding with a bottom layer of strawberry sauce based on the picture on the packaging. But it was just salty, and there was nothing else in the package. While a negative mismatch between expectations and reality is the very definition of disappointment, it seriously affects happiness levels when it comes to food. I ate it nonetheless, as there were no alternatives and I needed the calories. A handful of motivational sweets quickly erased the bad memory.

Temperatures were around 15 degrees Celsius, some wind from the side. Pausing at these conditions is hard, since you loose heat quickly and it takes some kilometres to warm up again. More clothing and it gets too warm while driving. Hence, I tried to keep stops to a minimum.

Finnish roads.

Finnish forests.

Finnish rocks.

I crossed the border to Norway in the afternoon.

Now it’s Norwegian roads.

In Kautokeino, I checked in to the first camp site with no English speaking staff so far. They seemed to find it strange and funny that I wanted to put up a tent instead of renting a cottage, but that’s 130 vs. 400 NOK. This trip is going to be expensive even with tenting. There’ll be detailed statistics after I return home to help people who read this, and me, in planning future adventures.

As soon as I started to put up my tent, it started raining; and it still is. Weather for tomorrow is also a little rainy. Nonetheless, I somehow need to make the 130 km to Alta. I have the gear, I only need the will to defy the weather. Only three stages left.