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Where am I?:^mistymornings-->Cycletouring-->2008-->Norway.-->Day 28

Day 28-1. Åkrestrømmen to Elverum.

Distance D 120.03 km Max 53.0 km/h Time 6.22:41 Average 18.8 km/h
Distance S 120.11 km Max 48.0 km/h Time 6.10:08 Average 19.4 km/h

Considering how late we had arrived in Åkrestrømmen the night before, the day started quite early. By ten thirty we were taking down the tent in the sun and getting ready to go. After another chat we said our goodbyes to 'Marty' and headed back down the road towards the petrol station and turned left onto the RV 217. We stopped in the centre of town to do some groceries and turned it into our mid morning break. It was sunny and we felt no need to rush.

After packing in our groceries and finishing our snack the day's cycling could no longer be avoided. We cycled West and across the Rena on a big steel bridge. Once over the bridge we turned left and headed South once more on the RV 30. Although this was the main road, today it was pretty quiet and reasonably safe and as we were heading for Koppang this was the only sensible option. There were few blind corners to catch out a driver not expecting to find a bike on the road. The sunshine was brilliant as we cycled along the wide slow moving river. There wasn't always much space for the road, it was often squeezed between the rock wall and the lake (Storsjøen). At other times small farms appeared where there was a patch of land large enough to be cultivated.

Just over an hour after we got going properly, we encountered the first climb of the day. The road had a kink in it turning to the right for a kilometre or so before turning left and then right again. This took us away from the river and up over a small hill to the next valley. It was too hot to be climbing today and as usual Damae dropped behind or Stan disappeared into the distance depending on your perspective.

Shortly afterwards we entered Stor-Elvdal Kommune. This area around the Glomma had a few project-Kommunes in it, including Amot, Rena and Stor-Elvdal. We cycled along paying some attention to the scenery and as we hit each small town, to the facilities they offered. Within an hour was stopped in Koppang for lunch outside a supermarket taking advantage of the picnic benches in front of the shop. We bought some milk, cherry tomatoes and ice creams to supplement our sandwiches and ate our meal dodging a couple of persistent wasps. Ah wasps. Still it was good to be sitting in the sun taking it easy for fifteen minutes.

Our plan for the day was to cycle South, although exactly how far had not been decided. Damae was making noises along the lines of 'no more than yesterday' whilst I was looking at the available campsites and wondering about the gap between Vestre Åbu (where there was clearly a bridge to the campsite on the other side of the river) and the last potentially reachable campsite in Elverum. We left the decision for later and after packing up headed South once more.

After spending much of the morning on the main road the cycle route took us onto the Gamle Kongeveg (Old King's Road) on the other side of the river from the RV 30. We had to be careful at this junction as it was on a sharp bend and drivers seemed a bit surprised to see two touring bikes in the middle of the road. This turned out to be a lovely road winding its way along the river with views of farms, still back waters and marshes. We followed the Gamle Kongeveg for some time without stopping until we reached Stai, noted for having a station on the Rørosbanen and a large bridge. Here we cycled onto the bridge that crossed the river to the main road. I took some pictures, one looking upstream the other looking downstream. The river was quite wide at this point. Later in the year on our Christmas trip to Røros (new window) we were to discover that the river was frozen over here (new window) and in many other places (new window) along its length.

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