Tag: bike touring

Norway Day 11: Levanger – Hjellbotn Lake

Distance: 48.17 miles

Time: 4:59

Elevation Gain: 2,689 feet

Leaving the girl at reception utterly bewildered when I attempted to pay for the previous night’s camping, I explained that the self check-in machine had malfunctioned, before she took all of my details and tried to point out which pitch I should use on the campsite map.

Rolling down the Kirkegata, or high street, of the pleasant little town of Levanger, it felt like something of a rarity of my time in Norway, in that it was a historic town centre, but built around a road, and not a waterway.

The route carried on along a cycle path beside the E6 highway as it tracked along the fjord, with the railway line in close attendance. But soon, I was perturbed to find my various navigation tools wanting to direct me down onto the E6 itself, presuming that there were no alternatives along this stretch, I followed their guidance.

The first few miles weren’t so bad, a reasonable shoulder to hide on on what was certainly a busy road, but as the road rounded a bend, the shoulder disappeared, so I kept as far right as possible, gluing my front wheel to the white line, thankful for having had a little Velodrome practice in the winter.

Soon there was a tunnel too, and having not particularly enjoyed my short spell on a busier road, I decided to brave the hills, and rejoin the Eurovelo route in Straumen, where I crossed a striking bridge and picked up some supplies.

After a spell back on an E6 cycle path, the road out of Steinkjer was twisting and undulating, a series of steep slopes along the side of Steinkjerfjorden, sapping my energy in the early evening sun.

So when I reached the outskirts of Vellamelen and had had enough for the day, I dragged my bike up a steep embankment to an escarpment above the loch and pitched my tent. Only 48 miles done, must do better.

Norway Day 10: Trondheim (twinned with Dunfermline) – Levanger

Distance: 61.81 miles

Time: 7:12

Elevation Gain: 4297 feet

After checking out of the hotel, I looked up the ferry times for the short hop between Trondheim and the start of the next stage of the trip. The next ferry to Vanvikan was leaving shortly – at half past 12 – and the next one after that wasn’t until 3PM.

Deciding that a little sightseeing around Trondheim was a non-negotiable, I decided on the later boat.

But then I got carried away, and one two many photographs of the historic Viking capital and its grand medieval cathedral later, and I was rushing to make the 3 o’clock ferry, and I missed it.

Not being able to face waiting about for the next one, I quickly searched for a route out of Trondheim, without using the ferry, which would need to stick to the south side of the fjord.

Everything was going well – with the route on a cycle path neighbouring the E6 dual carriageway – when all of a sudden, the route started to turn, and it was clear that while the E6 hugged the fjord on this side of the mountains, the cycle route would be going around the other side, on a 30 mile dogleg.

Initially, the road climbed, and I suffered in the bright sunshine, but eventually the road plateaued and dropped into a wide valley, vividly colourful fields spread out in front of me, and I started to believe this route had been a good idea.

But then, I turned north, climbing for a short distance, before turning again on to a back road, that was barely a dirt track, rising past a farmhouse and into a densely packed forest of firs, the way deteriorating into a rocky and rugged forest trail.

For 12 miles, the road undulated through the forest, my panniers rattling, and my road tyres pinging stones out from under them.

As the light in the sky started to dwindle, I passed a pair of stunning lakes, and I began to fear that I would end the day here, high in the wilderness, but with frazzled nerve and furrowed brow, I finally made it through, and no punctures had shown their hand at this early stage.

Delighted to be on smooth black tarmac once more, even more so as it dropped satisfyingly slowly back towards the level of the fjord, and soon I was rolling into Levanger campsite at just gone midnight. The self-service booking machine didn’t work, but I could deal with payment tomorrow.

Norway Day 9: Kårvåg – Atlanterhavstunnelen Bus – Trondheim

Distance: 14.1 miles

Time: 1:09

Elevation Gain: 928 feet

I needed to make a significant route choice, the time was ticking on my time in Norway, and after 8 days riding, I was still two days away from Trondheim. Then, I’d have a big section between Trondheim and Bodo to do, then finally the sprint along the Lofoten and Vesterålen Islands to Tromso, it seemed like all the waiting around for ferries had knocked me off track. But, there was the option to take the ferry from Kristiansund to Trondheim, 200 hundred kilometers east. If I could get the Atlantic tunnel bus at 12:41, then I’d have a few hours to spare in Kristiansund, before the ferry onwards at 16:15, and I could be in Trondheim in the evening.

I set off up the hill out of Kårvåg, when a couple on heavily loaded tourers rode past me, before my lighter setup saw me move ahead of them again on the next hill. Soon after, there were some roadworks, and we all stopped at the lights for long enough to become acquainted.

This was a French couple who had started their five month trip from home, and would be carrying on to Nordkapp.

Soon we were off again, but after a lumpy 14 mile ride to the bus stop – from which we’d take the Atlantic tunnel bus to Kristiansund – I was able to quiz them again about their trip. Their names were Simon and Margot, and they’d left their hometown near Gap, travelled north to Denmark – to catch the 3 day ferry to Seydisfjordur, Iceland, to complete a lap of the island, before travelling onwards to Norway via a stop off in the Faroe Islands en route. After Nordkapp they would then make their return south via Finland. Sounded like a good trip!

After getting off the bus, we met a couple on a recumbent tandem waiting at the stop, and chatted a little more, before we all said our goodbyes.

Enjoying my short visit to Kristiansund, I found a fantastic Thai restaurant, just along the road from the port, and the colossal Pad Thai I was served would have been excellent cycling fuel, if I was planning any more. As it was, I was making for the ferry, and after an ice cream at the waterfront, I boarded one of the superfast Norled boats for the almost 4 hour journey.

The journey whizzed by, and I had a pang of regret at not being out on the road, with such beautiful scenery on a lovely day.

Then I arrived in Trondheim, and I was definitely reconsidering my decision, it was cool and overcast, and not too inviting.

But I was staying at the spectacular Clarion hotel, right on the waterfront, and when I turned up at the restaurant at a few minutes to 10, and optimistically asked if they were still serving food, I was delighted to be told, ‘yes, for 5 more minutes’.

One burger then, please, and what a burger it was. All washed down by a pleasant IPA, which, for completeness, cost £10.56, for a 400 ml ‘pint’…

Norway Day 8: Sandneset Campsite – Kårvåg

Distance: 63.14 miles

Time: 5:58

Elevation Gain: 2660 feet

It was a beautiful morning in the campsite, and Arijit and I had a leisurely breakfast before setting off. Our route carried on for ten miles, across Otrøya, with some long gradual climbs along the coast.

After crossing back onto the mainland, slightly west of Molde, we struggled up another hill in the warm sunshine, before stopping at the large ‘Extra’ supermarket in Hollingen to pick up a few things for lunch.

Soon, we started the long circumnavigation of Frænfjorden, and as it neared 6 o’clock and 30 miles for the day, we stopped again for something to eat at a petrol station cafe. Arijit having fish and chips, and me, an enormous chicken doner platter.

It was all the fuel I needed to sustain me for another few hours, and just as well too. Up ahead there was a fork in the road where Arijit would be turning left and cycling a few more miles to the next campsite, and I’d be turning right, cutting the corner of the route before hoping to press on to Kristiansund that night

The evening was still young, and secretly, I had aspirations to reach the ferry onwards from Kristiansund by half past 11 and carry on pedalling for a few more hours into the night.

But, there was a spanner in the works, and having blasted across the hinterland to Farstad, and admired the stunning views along the Atlantic road, I stopped just outside Kårvåg and checked the time of the next atlantershavstunnelen tunnel bus. It was half past 9 in the evening now, and the next bus wasn’t until 12:41 the next afternoon. It was the end of the road, I wasn’t allowed to cycle through the 6 km underwater tunnel, and there were no other ways across to Kristiansund without going a very long way back the way I’d come.

My grand plans to make up miles had been hijacked. With ferries all along the Atlantic coast route often running until at least midnight I hadn’t even thought to check when the last bus might be.

Deflated, I pedalled back along the Atlantic road looking for a spot to camp amongst the rocky outcrops, before eventually returning to Kårvåg, and finding a small campsite just off the road by a harbour.

Although I’d racked up 63 miles for the day, and cut out a section of the route, with only two weeks remaining of my trip, and a significant distance still to go, I would need to plan my next move.