Have you done a trip report? Looked like an amazing trip ...
No, we’ve done several long-distance, one-to-six-month-duration bicycle tours but I’ve never composed a trip report. I enjoy reading the online trip reports created by other like-minded individuals, both for entertainment and research purposes, but have never been inclined to take the time to compose one of my own. I’ll say my excuse is I’m too busy skiing, snowboarding, skating, and engaging in a number of other (mostly) outdoor recreational pursuits.
I think my wife and I are in agreement that the cycle tour around Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark is our favorite so far. We’ve visited a lot of countries, to cycle and otherwise, and Norway tops all others for relentless, spectacular scenery; however, what really made this adventure special was overcoming all the challenges that Mother Nature threw our way early on. We purposely started the trip earlier in the Spring than many would have because we wanted to be out of Lapland by the time insect season commenced. Neither of us have a high tolerance for relentless waves of various insects; as a result, we dealt with snowstorms, cold temps, heavy spring wind, etc. while heading north from Helsinki. We were prepared for and anticipated the conditions but it was very rewarding to push through the difficult times we faced. Thankfully, during the last 75% of the tour we experienced the mildest and sunniest summer Scandinavia had seen in over 20 years.
Here's a photo of my wife and our bikes at the Russian border. In the background is the Russian guard/gun tower. In the foreground are the Norwegian border facilities. No Norwegian guard/gun tower is needed because no sane Norwegian would ever consider or attempt escape from Norway to enter Russia.