JH Lillevik

It all started almost as a joke that I could walk from Brønnøysund to my family’s origin in Nesna, a small village just south of the polar circle in Nordland County. It was inspired by my friend David Åleskjær’s trip 10 years ago where he walked from Oslo to Espedalen, a similar distance to what I would do, but considering my situation I wanted to try it on my own. The start got changed to Namsos, mostly because my sister lives there, but also because this is where the Northern Coastal route starts.

In the end I had only a slightly overpacked electric bike and I could go to bed with the nerves for the journey slightly reduced.

Day 1:
The day started with a healthy breakfast at my sister and her family’s place, who had been so kind to allow me to crash there and prepare for the journey. A while later I decided it was time to start. The weather wasn’t too bad, and I started north on the old road out of the town because the tunnel is closed for bikes. When I entered back onto fv 769, the rain started to fall from the sky. It wasn’t a lot, but I was still glad I had a jacket on, though I discovered it wasn’t as waterproof as I had hoped, so I got soaked.

The good thing was that I could spend most of my time peddling, so I kept myself warm, mostly because I had decided to peddle on the lowest setting on the electric assist. The road from Namsos to Lund ferry dock is dominated by hills, so there was a lot of up and down, giving me a chance to test both my untrained body and the different settings for the electrical assist on the bike. Sometimes it became a little too tempting to use the most helpful setting, so up the mountain before the downhill drive to Salsnes, I unfortunately ran out of juice on the bike.

With my luck, the two women had to leave, and they could not leave me on my own in the conference room, so I had to leave with a battery with about 10% power. I thanked them for the little I got to charge it as I knew I would need it. About 4 km from Lund, I ran out of juice again, and with my overloaded bike, I spent a lot of time peddling under my own power and walking the bike. It is just a shame that part of Norway mainly contains hills and valleys.

Finally, I made it to my goal for the day, Lund ferry dock. A nice little diner was located next to the ferry dock that allowed me to charge both my battery and my body. Unfortunately, I could not charge up for a long enough time, because they closed when the second to last ferry would leave. This gave me a range about 17 km of assistance.

The ferry arrived, after a half a hour trip, at Hofles ferry dock and I had decided to cover a little more distance and find a camp site a little further in. I followed Skagavegen for a while, past a camping place since I wanted to spend the first night a little rough, something I would regret the next day.

The day ended with me putting up my tent along a dirt road since I thought it would be a good place to camp. An army of gnats had also decided that this was a good place to look for their next victim and I got my moneys worth in the bug spray I had invested in. Finally, I go to rest and slept well that night.

Day 2:
I awoke early the next day and put the primus with the last of my water for coffee and some oatmeal, something I would be grateful for later that day without knowing it while I was eating. The tent was packed, and the load secured. My goal for the morning was to reach Kolvereid and find a place to charge the bike before I continued north towards the goal for the day; Kjelleidet Camping just inside of Nordland County.

When I reached Kolvereid, with an empty battery, both the bike and me, I turned into the local Esso station and was allowed to charge my bike by a friendly clerk. I spent a few hours there, but I wish I could have been there longer. Alas this day was one of learning and I would exit this day wiser than I was when it started.

After two and a half hours of charging, both the bike and me again, I started up the climb over the mountain towards a lake I had hopes of reaching for a little rest and maybe some fishing. It was on this leg I really noticed how much juice my overloaded bike really needed, so I decided to conserve as much power as possible by peddling under my own power. This led to the most exhausting part of the entire journey.

The road up to that beautiful lake was a lot harder than I had thought, and on this day was the closest I ever came to giving up. The bike was heavy to peddle without the electric assistance, and I regretted deeply the amount of stuff I had laden it down with in my saddlebags. I do not think that I even want to describe the day until this happened.

After a stop along the road in the most gnat infested place I could find between Trondheim and my destination, I decided that I would not make it to Kjelleidet Camping. I would find the first and best place to spend the night and charge the bike. That place became Bogen, a village on the border between Trøndelag and Nordland, and it was just a few kilometers ahead of me.

Just outside of Bogen I stopped and asked a local guy where the best place was to charge my bike. This is how I met Morten Ulrichsen and his family. He offered me not only to charge the bike, but also that I could set up my tent in his garden. It was a godsend. And there hospitality did not end there; they offered me supper in the form of homemade fish burgers that healed me physically and psychologically.

After a great meal and excellent conversations with Morten, his wife Torlaug and their daughter, I retired to my tent and slept like a baby that night.

Day 3:

I had decided to reach Mosseim Camping outside of Brønnøysund, so I was carefully optimistic since I had fully charged the battery and I felt a lot better than the day before. I said goodbye to the family Ulrichsen and got back on my bike.

When I started, I was glad to have stopped at Bogen the day before, because the uphill ride from there was pretty brutal and I would have not managed it then. I raced down towards Kjelleidet and took a break at Kjelleidet Camping. The owners there were nice and when I told them about my reason for doing this, my anxiety and various diagnosis, they were full of well-wishing.

A few tunnels were sprinkled in on the road down towards Holm, so I put on a reflective raincover I had for my backpack, sometimes my overthinking actually pays off. Some RVs came a little too close for comfort earlier in my journey, so at least now they could see me on the narrow roads. Everything went okay, and I arrived at the dock unscathed.

On the dock, waiting for the ferry, was a line of RVs and some motorbikes. Unfortunately, like at Lund, the ferry was on a break, and we all had to wait for about an hour. I started talking to some of the bikers, and since we both spent our trip on two wheels, it was surprisingly easy for me to get to know them. That is one thing I experienced several times on my trip, that there is a respect between bikers and bike tourists, and I said hi to as many as I could, both on and off the seat.

The ferry eventually left for Vennesund, and there I started peddling towards Brønnøysund, or at least the crossroad outside of Brønnøysund. This went a lot easier than I was worried about, and I went out of juice just as I turned into Mosseim Camping, that I discovered had embraced the art form I love, powercarving.

The staff there were helpful and I got a tent lot right next to an outlet so that my bike would be fully charged for the next day as well. I went to bed knowing that I could peddle with assistance for the next leg.

Day 4:
The fourth day started off with oatmeal and a few boiled eggs, all prepared separately on my little gas stove. Then I also made some coffee for the day. While I was packing up, I also tested out my solar panel that I bought, charging my well used power bank.  It impressed me how much it was able to charge on that amount of time.

I said goodbye to the lovely camp site and started moving towards my first goal for the day, Horn ferry dock, where the longest journey by ferry would be and I could get some well-earned rest. At Horn I once again ran into the common thing on this journey, the dreaded ferry break. This wasn’t really a problem as I could spend some time in the sun and call some of my loved ones.

The ferry from Horn went to Igerøya, an island in the Vega Archipelago, a place I didn’t really get to see, but I hope to one day return there and spend a lot more time. Then we left for Tjøtta, where I took a bit of a break and got something to eat. The plan was to reach my aunt and uncle in Sandnessjøen and then see where or if I went on that day.

The trip from Tjøtta wasn’t that eventful, though I did stop at a war memorial and paid my respect to those who fought and died for my country during World War II. The landscape became a lot more familiar and the feeling of managing to finish this trip became stronger and stronger.

Around half past five I stopped my bike outside of my aunt and uncle’s house, where I was met by food and pleasant conversations. It was decided I would spend the night there. Day 4 was a little shorter than the others, but I still felt a sense of achievement of having reached my goal that day as well. I showered for the first time in a few days and went to bed.

Day 5:
The final day started with a great breakfast and nice weather. I got to offload some of my stuff, mainly my sleeping bag and tent, since the front tray of my bike had come loose, and I just did not dare to continue riding with anything on it anymore. Luckily, my aunt and uncle were headed for the same family gathering I was later that week, and they would bring it then. It is always great to have nice relatives.

First of a few challenges that day was Helgelandsbrua right after Sandnessjøen. This bridge stretches across Leirfjorden and connects Leirfjord and Alstahaug municipalities. There is no bike path there, and with my anxiety it became a chore to keep myself on the straight and narrow, but in the end, I made it. I continued through Leirfjord municipality, in pretty flat terrain before I came closer to the last ferry I would take on this journey, Levang to Nesna.

There is a small hill up to Levangskaret, but since I had charged my bike the night before, it went like a breeze. I got a little bit emotional when I came over the crest of the hill and went downhill. The ferry dock was a sight for sore eyes, and I could see it clearly, almost through tears of joy. My body felt light. I have a hard time describing how proud I was and some might find it a bit cheesy, but for me this is an incredible achievement I never thought I could manage.

When the ferry made it to Nesna, I was greeted by my mother and father, who both congratulated me on a job well done. They were kind enough to take all my bags, so that I could peddle a little easier the last 10 km to my family’s homestead and my parents’ cabin. I was proud and relieved, and greatly looking forward to seeing several of my relatives that weekend.

Finally:
I went on this trip to show that even if you have a heavy burden to bear psychologically, does not mean that you cannot do things others will not do. I may have packed for all scenarios because of my anxiety, and I also allowed to run the show a few times during the trip, but in the end, it was my will to do it that allowed me to finish the trip. I nearly gave up, but it was only nearly.

Life is not only hinderances and challenges, even for us who struggle with an overactive brain, self-deprecating thoughts and trauma. Sometimes you see that ferry dock you hoped you reach, and I swear to you, you might be close to tears as well.

JH