When I looked out of my window this morning, it was raining. Heavily. Not great news, because I had a long day's ride ahead. 420 km to Alta, which would provide a springboard for a jump to Nordkapp on wednesday.

The forecast was bad, so I put on every single shirt, jumper and piece of rain gear I had with me. I was going to do this. Surely I had fully prepared.

So I took off. But the situation on the road turned out to be tricky. The rain made for muddy, slippery roads, especially in the mountains. The temperature had dropped near freezing point. I had to keep focused on making progress, while being pounded by icy rain and wind. The road seemed to deserted, except for a few trucks hastily making their way to the south.

The north coast of Norway is notorious for its unpredictable weather. It killed Roald Amundsen, the great polar explorer. In 1928 he was called up for a rescue mission, to save an Italian explorer who had run into problems while trying to cross the North Pole by airship. Amundsen and his crew took off from Tromso in an airplane, only to run into a storm system above the Barentsz Sea themselves. They were never heard of again. It seems their airplane got damaged by high winds, managed to land on the water but eventually sank to the bottom, taking its crew with it.

Let's say I was somewhat relieved that, for me, the weather was more merciful than the forecast had predicted. After a few hours of being catapulted through the murky haze, the winds let off and the rain turned into drizzle. By the time I passed the Lyngenfjord, there was enough visibility to make out the glaciers on the mountains at the other side (spectacular). Final salvation came in the form of a few hot cups of coffee at the Pa Taket Kafe in Storslett.

The second half of the ride went along without incident. By far the most interesting thing about it was the gradual change in scenery, from mountain vistas into a tundra landscape. I'd entered the Finnmark plateau, the most northern part of Scandinavia.

The trees have grown quite small now. I wonder if they will completely disappear when I ride on to Nordkapp pensinsula tomorrow. Well, at least the weather forecast is good.