Hi all,
I'm putting together a Norway tour for June or July of this summer. I have anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks (not sure yet, but hoping for 4). I think I'll stick to Vestlandet, since the fjords are what drew me to Norway in the first place. Also, traveling with a loaded touring bike seems like a hassle on trains and buses in Norway, from what I've seen, so I think sticking to one place to limit these trips might be best.
I have a planned route that will undoubtedly change, but I'm looking for advice on ferries (which I will have to take a lot of, I think) and if my plan is remotely possible/ cohesive/ intelligent. I have no problems linking cities with trains or buses if necessary and possible. I've also got a Surly Ogre to help me handle the bumpy mountain roads, so I should be okay there.
I'm thinking I'll go in this order:
Fly into Oslo
Bus or train to Åndalsnes
Kristiansund
Molde
Ålesund
Geirangefjorden
Selje and Stad
Nordfjord
Førde
Sognefjorden
Bergen
Haugesund
Karmøy
Utstein Kloster
Stavanger
Lysefjorden
Egerdund
somehow back to Oslo
Of course it might take me a couple days to go from one city/ town to the next. But I just wanted to give a general idea of my direction. And if my tour is only two weeks, of course I will have to shorten the route.
The only musts so far on this list are Pulpit rock, Atlantic road, and Sognefjorden, so I'm pretty flexible. I want to stay off busy roads as well. Any advice or route recommendations/ letting me know if something is unrealistic are very welcome. I'm doing my research on tunnels and things to see, but anything that anyone thinks might be important would be immensely helpful.
Thanks!
Teresa
Hey,
I am also planning a trip to Norway this summer, also flying to Oslo, but from there i will start cycle north on the west coast as oppose as you going south from Andalsnes.
I cannot help you much but i will follow this thread in case someone as good advice.
For the tunnels, a friend just warned me about them 2 days ago and that i needed to plan ahead.
Here is a link i found of tunnels in Norway that might help you plan your route.
http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/maps/tunnelmap.shtml
Thanks Dany. Maybe we can high five as we pass each other.
Definitely know about the tunnels. It seems like this will require the most planning of anything there. That map is great; I've been studying it for the last couple weeks actually.
Good luck on your trip. Hope you have a blast.
So it's official; I'm heading to Norway on 29 June. I will have around 24 days or so to get from Kristiansund to Stavanger, mostly along the coast. A few questions for anyone who may have insight:
-Will mosquitoes be bad along the coast?
-Will streams be okay to drink from at this point in the summer?
-Are there any fun festivals or happenings I might be able to visit along the way?
-Any camp stove recommendations? I have a Trangia that runs on meths and an MSR stove for canisters. I've had trouble finding availability of fuel canisters, so I was thinking of bringing both, just to be sure.
-Are winds likely to be bad? (I know this is impossible to predict, and the weather changes frequently, but any information here is helpful.)
Thanks in advance!
Teresa
Hi Teresa,
I'll be together with my girlfriend for three weeks this summer also in Norway. We're landing the 24th July and we still need to narrow a bit which tour are we going to do, but we'll probably head by train to Geilo and from there riding towards Sognefjord, enjoying it and then rather south again (Bergen - Stravanger). As you see, still loads of roads and tunnels to check ;). The extension between Sognefjord and Alesund/Molde is surely incredible, but we need to make our choice...
Anyway, I just wanted to ask you how are you going to handle it with the box (assuming you're using one for the trip)? My only experience so far was Iceland and there we could leave them at the "hostel" ("Alex motel" was called I think) for the 3 Weeks we stayed... was pretty practical I must say. It could be actually a more general question of how you usually proceed.
I wanted to look some place where I could leave them but maybe the best option is just to get rid of them already in the airport and look for new ones when coming back. If you happen to leave on the 24th, you might find us there (and our boxes, if you need them too :).
Happy cycling!
Sorry it took me so long to reply! So here's what I'm thinking for my bike: I'm going to get a CTC bag, which is basically a thick, clear plastic bag. I've heard that if airlines can see it's a bike, they'll treat it well. It's a risk of course, because there is no protection at all, but they won't be likely to stack things on a visible bike. But because I'm flying into Kristiansund and out of Stavanger, a box is a bit too much of a hassle. Also, I can take the CTC bag with my on my bike and reuse it. When I went to Iceland, I did use a box, but it was handled quite roughly by the airline and came back with chunks missing. So I'll give the bag a shot. I'm taking my gear in a military duffel bag that I can also carry on the bike.
If you are definitely going to take a box, I would look into bike shops in whatever city you're going in and out of. They should have some extras lying around that they'd give you for free. I stored mine at a bike rental place when I went to Iceland.
I hope that makes sense. Let me know if you have questions. And of course I'm open to suggestions. Good luck on your tour!
Hey,
so i have been riding for 2 weeks now.
It is still rather cold here, summer is late. there are still a lot of snow in the mountain if you plan to ride up somewhere, if not, well, you are still gonna see a lot of snow on the top from the fjord.
But if you stick to the coast it a bit warmer i guess.
Ihavent seen any mosquitoes yet.
For your gas canister, i am using the kind of screw on canister, you can find in the sport shop call G Sport for about 100 krones
Thanks so much for your advice. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Especially about the snow-- I couldn't find too much info about that online.
Best of luck on your travels!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xtf1/t31.0-8/q84/s720x720/11402583_10153042707018160_2459087008632826136_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9
I hope you can see the picture, but that really nowhere in the mountain.
Are you planning to ride the trollstigen road? I am doing it tomorrow.
Wow what a great photo. And that's quite a lot of snow for not even being in the mountain. Thanks for showing me that.
I might do the trollstigen road, but I'm not totally sure yet. It depends on the snow and all. I was going to ask the locals when I got into Kristiansund what they thought. Though if you're able to do it, that's a good sign for me. Thanks again for sharing your information. If you get a chance, let me know if the trollstigen road turns out to be a good idea. And any recommendations you have, I would love to hear.
Happy riding!
How was trollstigen? I really want to do it, though it's out of the way. If the conditions end up being good for it, I might give it a go.