Episode 182: Slauka Macurak

1,500 Kilometres Through Arctic Norway as a Complete Beginner (re-visited)

When Slauka decided to cycle from the Lofoten Islands to the North Cape, she had never done a bike packing trip before in her life. But what she did have was a love of mountains, and an eagerness to give this kind of travel a go. What she learnt was experience isn’t necessary on a trip like this but you do need to pack in a lot of mental fortitude to keep going when things got hard.

The Route

Slauka spent just under 3 weeks cycling 1,500 kilometres through Arctic Norway. The route took her from the Lofoten Islands all the way to the North Cape. She chose to set off in May at a time of the year when the weather is unpredictable at best and brutal at worst.

This meant she had to cycle through strong headwinds that made counting ants on the road feel ambitious. She navigated snow passages in the mountains and also wild camped on Norwegian beaches. The endless daylight hours were actually very handy when it came to being able to cover the distances for each day as it meant if the weather was particularly bad she could wait it out for a few hours and not worry about running out of time to get to where she had hoped to.

Packing in Flexibility

Something which I think was key to Slauka being able to complete the journey was that she had factored in some flexibility in her schedule. WHile she roughly hoped to travel around 100kms each day, she also knew that adventures often throw curve balls into the mix. When she struggled with back pain she was able to take it much slower and allow her body time to recover. If she had been commited to a fixed schedule this would have really caused some issues, but instead being flexible in this way allowed her to benefit from slower days which meant she was able to finish the journey.

Paulo, the Italian

Slauka had a low moment while cycling on Senia Island. She had misread her map and ended up facing a snow-covered mountain path, which was far too steep to ride, and equally too exposed to camp. Not a great situation at all but that was when the magic happened. A car pulled up with an Italian photographer named Paolo and his girlfriend. Paolo asked if he could help and he offered to ride her bike up the mountain while she warmed up in his car. He had always wanted to give bikepacking a go and this was a great opportunity. he loved it and then he cycled it back down to the beach where Slauka was then able to camp for the night. A magic chance encounter just when Slauka needed it the most.

The North Cape Tunnel

The tunnel you need to ride through to get to the North Cape is notorious. It is Seven kilometres below sea level, with the first section of road descending at a rapid rate before rising back up again. It is also very cold and the noise of the cars in teh tunnel reverberates making it sound pretty intimidating. At one point Slauka started to panic partway through. At that moment she spotted a bike light approaching from the other direction. It ended up being anothercyclist named Georgina, and they met up at the deepest point of the tunnel. Both of them were terrified but with a quick stop and a hug they gave each other the courage to keep going.

You Can Take an Adventure as a Complete Beginner

Slauka’s story proves yet again that you don’t need years of experience to tackle a challenging route. If Norway is on your bucket list, this episode will make you want to book a flight. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to push yourself in an environment that doesn’t care about your experience level, this is the episode you want to listen to.

You can keep up with Slauka’s future adventures via her instagram @AllRideGirl