It was much too hot for the young guy holding the stop sign at some road construction, after all the temperature was nudging 17 degrees C and the sun was about to poke thru the clouds. He had recently returned from Salt Lake City. He had gone there after meeting some fellow Norwegians and Americans on the Internet. No, Not what you’re thinking, he moderated an online game and all of them often played against each other so they decided to get together in Utah and actually meet in person.
Last night I stayed in an AirBnB along with two effervescent Israelis who had shops in Alta and Tromso selling Dead Sea Salts. But the important thing was they had real coffee from Israel. The first decent coffee I’d had since New Zealand. There are two things Norway could do to improve its standing in the world (1) learn to make coffee, it should not come from a machine with blinking lights and (2) be less expensive.
Actually, while on the subject of Norway, although I’ve seen quite a few reindeer, I have decided that the Norwegian national mascot/animal should be the mole as they are tunnelling everywhere. Today I passed quite a few on my way from Alta. I think the purpose of these tunnels to ensure drivers have some darkness during summer, and are not distracted by the stunning scenery. However the government has been very thoughtful of bicyclists as we are not allowed in many of them and are required to cycle around the hills and mountains while admiring the views.
To end the day I dutifully followed Will’s (Physio back home) instructions to ice my knees, well, it wasn’t ice but it was crystal clear and icy cold…
