Translated with DeepL
The longer I travel, the lighter I want my luggage to be. In the beginning, my main concern was to have a bike that was as light and manoeuvrable as possible. Now I’m happy to have only the things I really need with me. In my normal life, I own so much stuff that I rarely use. Here, I use everything almost every day (except for my ‘oh shit kit’ made from a first aid kit and repair materials, which luckily is rarely needed).
Even in my current luggage, I am still thinking about what I really need and what I could leave behind. After a few days without a towel (I left it in Oslo), I wonder - not entirely seriously - whether I really need one. It doesn’t dry anyway when it rains. In the Norwegian rain, my solar panel is also superfluous and not worth the weight. And how many extra underpants does a person need? Admittedly, I would have liked an extra pair of trousers yesterday when I had to put the wet ones back on.
On my washing day yesterday, my belongings were scattered all over the hut. Collecting them again today was the impetus for my reflections. Even with a minimum of belongings, it takes a long time to collect them.
I am also very happy that I rarely lose track of my possessions. I have not lost anything on my journey (although I did leave my laundry in Oslo). So I now notice that I have misplaced my glasses. I search the whole hut and cannot find them. It stresses me out a bit. Luckily, thanks to yesterday’s photos, I know for sure that I still had my glasses in the evening. But maybe they were blown away after all? By the way, maybe they’re outside? I look at the first photo without a helmet and reconstruct from where I must have shot it. There they are, luckily, my glasses.
Once everything is packed up, I make my way back to the drivable roads. After that, it’s downhill for a while, then uphill and downhill over fun gravel roads. For the first time, my mobile phone falls out of the open side pocket where it has been for the last few weeks. When I notice this, my pulse rises again. At least I remember the last photo again. Turn around, quickly up the hill and hope that no car has run over it in the meantime. I’m lucky, there’s my phone.
At noon I head for a cheese dairy. The supermarkets are closed on Sundays and I won’t get any food otherwise. Besides, the Norwegian brown cheese is produced here and I’m happy to try it not just in the mass-produced version. It is extremely sweet and caramel-like and, with 30g of sugar per 100g, it is certainly a good source of carbohydrates for cycling. Here it is also a bit spicier as goat’s cheese, which is good. There is also a bakery attached to the cheese dairy. So I have a particularly luxurious and delicious lunch with good bread and kanelbulle.
I invite two hippies to join me. I don’t know if they would describe themselves as hippies, but maybe that’s how you can better imagine the colourful, relaxed clothing and guitar over the shoulder. Felicia and Dani are musicians and talk about how they come up with their music and what inspires them. We dive pretty deep into our conversation and talk about love (what else should hippies talk about?). We say goodbye with serious hugs. Maybe our paths will cross again someday.
I continue through the mountains, collecting many more metres in altitude. Despite a relaxed lunch, a phone call with Tobias and new friends, I have made good progress. Despite all the cosiness, I also manage almost 100 km and 2000 m of altitude. When it comes to distance, less is more for me and I’m happy when I cycle more. Somehow, though, I seem to be using my time today in such a way that I’m focusing on the essentials.
Actually, I still want to cross the windy plateau before I pitch my tent. But when I see another tent with bicycles next to it, I stop. I just want to ask if they know how far it goes before it goes downhill again. But the tent of Alessandra and Leon gives me the self-confidence to put up my own tent. Besides, I feel my tiredness as always in the moment when I stop. So I look for a spot for my tent, carry my bike through the cold mountain river and then wash myself and my trousers in the same. I join Alessandra and Leon for my dinner, then I retire to my tent.
I look forward to many things when I return to the comfort of a house. But not to my possessions - even if it is certainly pleasant not to have to do my laundry every day.
