Arctic to Africa: 1 Month In The Saddle
We’re Chris and Cooper, and we’re currently bikepacking from the Arctic Ocean in Norway to the African sands of Morocco.
Our journey started a little over a month ago in Nordkapp, Norway, the northernmost point in Europe. Let us tell you… it was a mission to get there. Turns out it’s not easy to lug two bikes and all of our gear across the world. But, after several flights, buses, and trains we were at the starting line… Nordkapp, Norway.
Riding away from Nordkapp was simultaneously incredibly exciting, yet equally terrifying. Partially, because we were descending into Norwegian Fjords in the pouring rain and fog, giving us basically no visibility.
We shortly settled into our new routine of biking through the beautiful Norwegian coastline, countless reindeer sightings and never-ending tunnels. The riding was pretty spectacular! The landscapes were jaw-dropping, endless green hills with big mountains shooting straight out of the Arctic Ocean. All set against the backdrop of 24 hours of daylight.
We continued south towards Finland. As we continued south the weather improved, but the bugs got worse, some nights they were so miserable we had no choice but to sit in our individual tents until it was time to ride the next day.
But bugs aside, rolling into Finland was exciting! A new language, new foods, and new culture! Our first country, Norway, was behind us!
The riding in Finland was equally as spectacular as Norway. We rode through endless pine forests, were treated with epic weather, and amazing views of the Torneälven River, which is the border for Finland and Sweden.
After a few days in Finland and 10 days total, we were into Sweden and officially out of the Arctic Circle! We were continually blown away by the riding! Sweden had some magical stretches of gravel riding, which we relished after so much road riding in the north.
We continued to ride south down the Eastern coastline of Sweden. The towns turned from tiny little villages, made up of only a few homes, into real metropolitan cities. Eventually, we rolled into our biggest city of the trip and the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, where we spent a bit of time off the bikes sightseeing. After Stockholm we continued on another great stretch of riding in the south of Sweden, where we rolled to the ferry in Helsingborg. This is where we’d catch the ferry into Denmark.
Immediately, we were blown away by the bike infrastructure in Denmark! Perfect bike paths from the ferry all the way through Copenhagen! They almost felt like bike super-highways. It was unlike anything either of us had seen. We followed the Danish coast from the north all the way south where we were treated with unbelievable views and our first real hot weather of the trip. We rode to Gedser, the southernmost tip of Denmark, where we pitched our tents for the night and caught the ferry into Germany in the morning.
With Scandinavia behind us, we are headed into the heartland of Europe and very excited for what’s to come!