【FOCUS】從奧斯陸到羅弗敦騎行2100公里 | Midnight Sun Ride

The Lofoten Mountains like the teeth of a dragon, rising directly from the Arctic Sea. For centuries, they have drawn adventurers into the high order. Here we stand, only. Two friends at the end of an incredible journey. Why have we come here? I had the idea just to set off and go together with the bicycle Over 2,000 kilometers under the midnight sun To drive all the way through Scandinavia down to the Lofoten. The actual start had already taken place a few weeks earlier, when we picked up our gravel bikes. I didn't have to convince Matthias for long of my idea. He hasn't ridden a bicycle for over a year. and yet he said yes without hesitation. There we were, a few weeks later and 2,000 kilometers south of the Lofoten. The first evening felt just like the image we had been carrying in our minds for months. Biking by a lake, no one around for miles. We were excited and full of anticipation for the what awaits us in the next three weeks. This tingling sensation when something you've planned for so long suddenly becomes real. And then the first time bathing in the wild. The water was icy cold, but exactly what we needed. But during the night it started to rain. At first quietly, then it wouldn't stop anymore. Matthias and I are already unpacking our rain pants. the ones we had luckily bought quickly in Oslo. The probably best decision of the trip. Shortly after we had packed our bikes in the rain, But doesn't the water come from above as well? Our GPS led us straight into a swamp. Already after a few meters, we were up to our ankles in water. Drive? No way. Also push, step by step through the bog. We were already soaked to the skin by Nest. Not even the plastic bags over the slot machines brought anything anymore. to keep our feet dry. Yet despite that, we were somehow happy, because exactly at that moment is when we realized, that our adventure began. And perhaps that was precisely the reason, why we even set off in the first place. Not because we wanted the easiest way, but the one who truly demands something of us. Bikepacking means reducing oneself to the essentials. Everything you need fits into a few pockets on the bike. No luxury, no double floor, Just you, your bike, and the road ahead of you. Then you need something like a house, and then something like a cable car going down. where you could jump straight into the water. It's one of those slides down there. Yes, a slide with such a black ornament. Yes, that's right. Norway tested us from the very first days. Rain, cold, endless gray clouds, The water crept into every piece of clothing. Every morning, every pore. It rained continuously. And then it got better this afternoon. We thought, finally sunshine. An hour, maybe, sun. And then it started again. It's so cold. But then, after days in the rain, We were surprised by a rainbow. A glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. In moments like these, you simply forget everything. The soaked feet, the cold, the entire accumulated frustration. In seconds, it's all gone. And instead, once again pure euphoria and energy, that drives the body. It's already crazy, How quickly everything can suddenly spin around. Shortly afterwards, the next little miracle. And what seemed almost unreal to us afterward. Gunnar, a 90-year-old Swedish man, He opened his house to us. He gave us warmth, food, and a bed for the night. Humanity, which we could really use right now. Gunnar could hear poorly, though But he even promised to speak a little German. And he told us over a few glasses of wine and liquor Stories from his travels. For the first time in days we were able to Wash and dry in wet clothing, what was truly urgently needed. We felt as if the Nordic gods themselves were present. Suddenly on our side. With heavy hearts, we had to part after breakfast Say goodbye to Gunnar the next morning. Because this evening already belonged to him to the highlights of this journey. But we still had a lot ahead of us, We also had to get back in the saddle. Sweden is a dream for bikepacking. There are almost everywhere lakes where camping is allowed. Wherever you drive, Somewhere there is always a small wooden hut, a place to sleep where you realize that you are welcome. No fence, no signs, no one who drives you away. And sooner or later, you'll truly feel it, this form of freedom, who doesn't want anything from you nothing promises, but simply exists. After a few days, reality caught up with us again. The rain and the cold had left its traces. Marvin got sick. We also had to stop. For the first time, we asked ourselves, How long can we really sustain this? As soon as the sun returned, The insects came too, Brakes and mosquitoes without end. The breaks often felt like more focused on survival than on recovery. They are native mosquitoes in Germany. and native mosquitoes in Sweden. It doesn't help. Protection must somehow be in place. But the days went on anyway, even if we came to a standstill. With every hour, the pressure mounted. to make up for the lost time. Our goal drew nearer, but at the same time also further away. 100 kilometers per day That was the plan. Rain, illness, and fatigue Make less of it. After 6 days, nearly 70 kilometers per day on average. Fast 2 days behind schedule. The time pressure forced us to make the decision, to take a section of the journey by bus An admission? Maybe. But also a relief. Sometimes it is more important, to arrive in good health as if forcing everything rigidly. Freedom also means being able to let go. The journey seemed much shorter to us, as she actually was because besides sleeping, there was plenty to see. For me, the moment when when it became clear to me, that we are already really far up north. No wonder, because we had about 500 kilometers crossed by bus. When we arrived, It was already quite late, But somehow our energy was back. Probably from doing nothing, or because it finally started moving forward again. There's this feeling there, which is difficult to describe. If the sun is still on the horizon, you look at the clock and realize, It is already in the middle of the night. A sense of freedom, something we had never experienced before. A complete loss of sense of time. We had no idea where we were. Somewhere between two villages, whose names we had already forgotten again. It was just before eleven o'clock at night, but still so bright, as if the evening had already arrived. We had at some point stopped, to look at the clock When it suddenly got cold, We knew, okay, it's time, a place to sleep And so it was here as well. Fortunately, we were on our way relatively soon past a promising lake. It was said no more than that, to find a small clearing in the woods that leads us there. After a few meters, it opened up The small forest path, and ahead of us lay a beautiful little wooden cabin directly by the water. It couldn't have been better. Half past eleven. The sound in the ears. Yes. Almost every evening Did we go to Baden? No matter how tired, no matter how cold, That was somehow our ritual. The moment one has been waiting for Fires all day long. Once in the water, Let it all go, wash off the sweat. The next morning The owner came toward us. We thought there would definitely be trouble. But to our surprise Was he totally friendly? and only meant to say his name is Per. After we briefly have told about our trip He brought us his sauna and his canoe on. Also fired Per his sauna on. The first time in half a year. While he was outside while working far from his hut, Are we off in the canoe? and explored the lake. We should actually have continued driving. At least according to the plan. But if I'm honest, Wasn't this exactly the moment we dreamed of? Once a canoe, man. Once a canoe. It seemed so unreal to us, that we would be under Gunnar's hospitality Once again, they got lucky. That's precisely why we wanted to seize this moment truly enjoy. When we returned by canoe, The sauna was already hot enough. And outside, the lake, who was just waiting for us. The moment when the hot wood exchanged against the cool air, war indescribable. At that moment, everything else was irrelevant. The route, the schedule, the goal It was only a matter of... Being here, living life. The days turned into routine. We were always on the search after the next supermarket, for a place to sleep, something familiar But we didn't always have luck. On some days the ground was so stony, that it was almost impossible Getting the herrings into the ground. And then there was that one night, where we were just about to despair. What all looks promising on Maps and see, were closed with wildlife gates, how much time it took us because we open it every time and again had to close shut, without even knowing whether we will find a suitable place at all. We really searched for ages, are through so many gates, until we finally found a spot. But then there were these Shooting Range Warnings The spot was perfect, though. But we somehow had a very strange feeling. It's not quite such a great feeling, though, I find. That's why we didn't want to take any risks. It also said to get back on the bicycle and further into the night. As soon as we cross the border into Sweden what happens in Norway Right away the first major descent. After weeks of fighting Only flying left. The rush of wind, the light, the feeling of freedom. Already in the first kilometers The landscape changed drastically. From two weeks predominantly flat lake landscapes suddenly became a landscape as painted. And on the horizon, they accompanied us the Norwegian mountains. Before us lay the valley open. and finally in the distance Storm the sea. You can tell it's a roach even before you see it. This smell, one never forgets. After salt, wind and somehow even after going home. Below, directly at the water stretched a gigantic Suspension bridge over the bay. We arrived just at golden hour. there. The sun began to rise slowly to sink behind the mountains, during one of the most beautiful meal breaks on this trip had A better place for our dinner we could never have imagined. And then we were finally at the beginning the Lofoten The peaks tore open the sky, as if the world Hold your breath for a moment. We were in the midst midnight sun They continued driving piece by piece along the Lofoten. With every kilometer The landscape became more impressive. It was nice, but also unreal But we weren't always traveling just the two of us either. We met many people, who have cycled through Norway. Some Even accompanied us for a while and we fought our way through it together, section by section uninhabited terrain Inbox We felt that the end closer came, and with him a strange mixture of anticipation and melancholy. For it was clear, our goal It is not much farther away. But what actually awaits us there, We did not know. The last few kilometers up to A.I. Lofoten were very special. We emerged from the sea of stagnation, the place from which the dreams we had over the last three weeks the goal of our journey, from which we thought we would be the happiest. Yet it felt different than in ours Introduction. Not wrong, just empty. Our Energy had suddenly vanished. Not because we were exhausted, perhaps something as well, but above all, because it It was over. There was no next day anymore, with no other goal in sight, No more('(kilometer) waited. Only this feeling of silence, that something is over. But at the same time Something new also begins, even if we perhaps still didn't quite know What is it. But perhaps that was exactly it, what we had been looking for on the tour. This feeling, between Departure and arrival hanging. In the end, it was not the goal, what we have achieved. No moment of triumph, No place where you arrive and just drop off. We found a perfect spot above the bay. We bored between the rocks in the grass Our tents up. We just sat there, on the edge of the cliff, the sea and behind it the mountains, exactly in front of us. We knew, that this will be the last evening of this journey. And there we became aware, that it was never about arriving not for this one point on the map, but above all, everything that happened in between. To the people we have met, the hospitality we were fortunate enough to experience The doubts, the good ones as well as the bad days, the little wonders, suddenly stir everything up again. It was about the path itself, simply keep going, no matter how it goes that is why to be there at the moment, without constantly thinking about the goal.