A giant finger

I was quite comfortable in the sleeping bag, though wearing my “sea captain” sweater and my rain pants and two pairs of socks did seem a bit extreme…

I had some trouble redeeming my deposit at the ATM thing in the wall, but the attendant was on-site, sharing a giant pizza with the rest of the staff, and she worked the machine at the desk inside the reception area and I got my ten bucks back.

Continuing northwest along the cost, I started to see real chunks of flat farmland.  I wondered if this region is a sort of “bread basket” for Norway.  Poking around in Google Earth I didn’t see much other flat terrain in the whole country.

The road rambled along the coast for a while, then was interrupted by a farm gate, marked with a sign. I took the cue and stopped for a snack.

The sign translated more-or-less as follows:

“Welcome to a trip on Kongevegen. A collaboration between the landowners and Hå municipality has allowed parts of the old road to be opened to public traffic. The road is currently used by the farm for transport and service roads, so animals have the right of way.”

“Large parts of the road pass through agricultural areas, which means that everyone must respect the requirement for a lane restriction. Farmers have a right to euthanize any dog that causes damage to animals.”

“There are many rare plants and flowers along the road, which runs partly through the Jærstrendene landscape park. In the Reime area, it is forbidden to take flowers or other plants with you. You can, however, take the nature experience with you.”

The sound of the surf and nearby animals was pleasant, and I made a short recording with my phone. While that went, I chomped on a sandwich I’d bought the previous day. Another traveler came by on foot and opened the gate, which made a loud squeal. He shut it carefully, grinned and waved at me, and kept going. A nice encounter but it meant I had to edit the recording!

The dirt road became a gravel trail, then went through a small park and joined a regular paved road. The Eurovelo route sent me through a rural area and over a few steep hills. At the top of one I spied a strange object:

The words translate to “nose station”.

I have no idea what that’s all about.

The finger wasn’t the only oversized object I found on the day’s ride…

… Nor was it the only object that has been adapted for some other purpose.

My cabin for the night was just the right size. Easy to heat, and enough room to stretch out. I sorted photos and chatted with my friend Matt about our shared experience with corporate burnout and the rapid evolution of “A.I.” tools in our industry. I was in a dark moment and made the following prediction:

“In the same way that sturdy hiking shoes let a person’s feet stay soft for their entire life with no consequence, ubiquitous AI assistance will let people‘s critical thinking skills stay completely undeveloped from birth to death, and like a good pair of hiking shoes now, we will see it as liberating, and progress.”

I’ve been right about a lot of this technology in the last few years … but I honestly hope my long-term ideas are wrong.

Near the cabin was a common cooking area that was a little too compact.

The last thing I did before bed was stitch together my GPS recordings, to get an idea of my progress around Norway so far. Not bad!