Why this ride
165 km from Alta to Alta, about 4 h 04 of riding. On the way it passes Transferdalen, LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka and back through Transferdalen. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
KÃ¥fjord and LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 165 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 04
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
KÃ¥fjord → Transferdalen
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 20 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. KÃ¥fjord
Kåfjord is a side arm of the Altafjord in Finnmark, and the little settlement on it lies just a few kilometres from Alta. It is a quiet place of birch, low farms and water, with the big mountains of the plateau standing behind. In the middle of the nineteenth century a copper mine operated here, financed by British investors, and the English managers brought a style of living that left a few odd traces in this far northern corner. The mine's story is a reminder that the Arctic coast was never as empty as the map suggests.
Read the complete KÃ¥fjord write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
KÃ¥fjord is where the day begins. Next is Transferdalen.
2. Transferdalen
Alta is the biggest town in Finnmark, the northernmost county of Norway, and it lies at the head of a fjord far inside the Arctic Circle, on the same latitude as northern Alaska and the Siberian coast. East of town, the valley called Transferdalen cuts into the plateau, a place of birch and willow on its lower slopes and bare, rounded fell above, with a river in the bottom and Sámi names on the maps. The peak whose name appears on the ride titles, Luvdiidcohkka, is one of those Sámi names, and the Sámi, whose reindeer herds still move across this land, are the people who have known it longest.
Read the complete Transferdalen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Transferdalen comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka.
3. LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka
Alta calls itself the northern lights town, and it has some right to the claim. The little town on the Alta fjord, about a degree and a half south of the North Cape, has some of the clearest, most dependable aurora in Norway, and visitors travel from across the world in winter to stand in the cold and wait. In summer, the same sky never gets dark, and the midnight sun lights the fjord and the hills for weeks. The nearest large settlement to this stop on the plateau, Alta has about twelve thousand people, and it is thirty-six kilometres away.
Read the complete LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 82 km into the recorded legs you reach LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka. Next is back through Transferdalen.
4. back through Transferdalen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Transferdalen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Transferdalen, late in the day. Next is KÃ¥fjord.
5. KÃ¥fjord
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete KÃ¥fjord write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at KÃ¥fjord. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
KÃ¥fjord to Transferdalen
KÃ¥fjord → Transferdalen is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Transferdalen to LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka
Transferdalen → LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka to back through Transferdalen
LOHDIZHJOKKI Luvdiidcohkka → back through Transferdalen is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Transferdalen to KÃ¥fjord
back through Transferdalen → KÃ¥fjord is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.