Tag: Brooks

Norway 2025 Day 4: Heilevang – Florø


Distance: 56.1 miles

Time: 5:53

Elevation Gain: 5,114 feet

In the morning, I was sitting out a passing shower when disaster struck! In an instant, a strong gust of wind came off the fjord and buffeted the side of the tent, and snap, the piece joining the middle pole section to the legs had been ripped apart and the end of the tent had collapsed.

Suddenly I was fully awake, and at a loss for what to do. The pole could be placed back into the connecting piece by hand, but the screw thread had been completely stripped and it was no longer secure, so susceptible to failure with even lesser winds. I had been right to predict that there was bound to be a weakness in having such a complicated pole design, and the decision to bring the tent had clearly been a mistake given the likely conditions.

While holding the pole together, as best I could, when the wind picked up, I rushed to put on my cycling kit and dived out of the tent, dismantling it as quickly as possible, before having to pack up sharpish to stop all of my equipment getting wetter still. Thinking through my options, it seemed like I might have to, either buy a new tent, or potentially attempt a long distance tent swap at the mercy of the postal service.

For now, though, all I could do was get back on the road and try to surmount the 1500 foot pass currently standing between me and the large town of Forde. Starting off on the lower reaches, it was hard to keep my temperature in check, between the high humidity, the constant precipitation and my waterproof clothing. One positive, was that my legs, which hadn’t exactly been thriving on the bike up until now, seemed to be coping ok on these not too extreme gradients.

After climbing for an hour, the road had plateaued momentarily and I dared to hope that the climb was over, but alas, when I rounded a bend the road veered up ahead, and I came to a sign that seemed to signify that the climb was only really just beginning. This was the point at which trucks were to don their snow chains.

At 7%, the gradient had definitely ramped up and I tucked into a bus shelter to cool down a little and get out of the rain.

Further on, I encountered a herd of cows standing in the road, and hoped they would take averting action before I had to, but the animals wouldn’t budge, appearing to be a little startled to see me struggle so slowly up the hill. Veering out of their way, I gave them a wide berth before catching a glimpse of the the ultimate prize up ahead, a tunnel marking the top of the climb.

Zipping up my jacket, I careered off down the other side, and soon Forde was in sight, and it was a reassuringly large town, soon facilities might be at hand.

Creeping around the edge of the Fjord through a tunnel now for bikes, I emerged from the wilderness into the middle of the town where it straddled a thundering river.

With my power bank now empty and my phone battery running worryingly low, I had to choose wisely regarding where to eat. Opting for Peppe’s Pizza as a sit in option, I was delighted to find that they had a lunchtime buffet option. Furthermore, when I was shown into a booth with its own power sockets, I knew I couldn’t have picked any better.

Making use of the amenities available, I finally found gas for my stove, and also picked up some superglue and duct tape. It had been suggested to me that I could try supergluing the pole into the connector, and having realised that this would still allow the poles to be folded up the same way as before, then it became a viable option.

At least having the glue gave me the possibility to try staying in the tent again, but for this evening I’d booked a cabin at Krokanes campsite in Florø. I had a lot of wet kit, and many empty batteries to recharge.

Heading out of town on highway 5, I soon discovered that I wouldn’t be following it all the way to Florø, when the road turned north and through a 6 km tunnel in which bikes weren’t allowed. The route veered off through a charming, and flat valley, before swinging west at the far end and the road started to climb, and climb.

Slightly worried at this development, I checked the route profile for the road ahead and was taken aback. The climb earlier in the day had maxed out at 1500 feet, but this one kept climbing up to 1700. I wish I’d known that when estimating my time of arrival at the campsite.

The climb was long, but the gradients were kind, and in stark contrast to earlier it was now hot and sunny, and with no wind. The lack of wind was a concern, as it probably meant that the wind was on the other side of the mountain and that I’d have a 30 mile struggle along the fjord when I got to the other side.

Luckily the breeze was light and the weather was beautiful for the descent down to the fjord at Eikefjord. Pedalling strongly on the flatter gradients it was a lovely evening for cycling, and a relief to make it to the campsite at 20 to 9, with an hour or so before sunset.


Now to get a few things dried…

Norway 2025 Day 3: Leirvik – Heilevang

Distance: 55.16

Time: 5:43

Elevation Gain: 3,704 feet

I had found a small clearing in a wood to camp in the previous evening, and between the midges and the drizzle, it had made me feel right at home. Trying to find a place to wildcamp in Norway reminded me a lot of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland where I did my first solo cycle tour. In theory, wild camping was allowed, but could you actually find somewhere that you could pitch a tent in amongst the unsuitable terrain, and the already utilised crofting land.

I was pleased to get away from the sodden campground, and make my way into Leirvik to the supermarket. It hadn’t escaped my notice that the previous day I had arrived into Leirvag and today I was in Leirvik, they sounded suspiciously similar to the capital of Shetland, Lerwick, and indeed they were formed from the Old Norse root for clay bay.

Already at the shop was another cyclist – who I’d seen get off the previous night’s ferry – and must have also camped out somewhere along the same stretch as me. This was Jakob, he was from Bergen and he had just started a month long holiday, with the rough plan to head to Trondheim, and then when he got there, decide whether to go north or south from there. He had sat out the worst of the storm by starting the day after me, and had also skipped the same section the day before. His justification for trading a 40 km section, for an 8 km one, was that ‘he thought he’d see enough nature’ anyway. I agreed completely.

I asked if there were any other parts he was planning on skipping, to which he mentioned a section, but I didn’t recognise the names. Later, I worked out that he probably meant he was planning to skip the whole next section, which featured a huge dogleg west, then a similarly huge dogleg east. Skipping that might have been a good idea!

But, I’d chosen the scenic route, and to be fair, the start of it was extremely picturesque, with the road climbing over to stunning Hyllestadfjorden and dropping down through Hyllestad, with its exquisitely positioned church.

Headed west along the side of the fjord, I was feeling strong, which could only mean one thing, I had a tailwind, and the fact that I’d be cycling at least as far in the opposite direction later wasn’t lost on me.

Looking up the ferry time for the Fure to Askvoll ferry, I realised the next one was some time off, at 15:50, so I dawdled a bit in the realisation that I’d have some time to spare, especially as there didn’t appear to be anywhere on this side to get some lunch.

Around the end of the fjord on singletrack roads, it became quite remote, and as I turned back into the wind, the rain began to be my regular partner for much of the rest of the day.

Arriving in plenty time at the Fure ferry terminal, which was little more than a bus stop, I started to feel cold, so opted to change a few layers while I waited. My feet were soaking and cold from having put on shoes still wet from the night before, but it was still a shock to find a slug come out of my shoe as well as my sock…

Slightly dismayed to find that the ferry to Askvoll didn’t have the catering provision of the previous ferries, it didn’t really matter as I’d be stopping for lunch as soon as I got to the other side.

There was a restaurant at the marina, and although the reviews weren’t great, it was that or the petrol station – which didn’t appear to have seating inside. As it was, it was ideal, I had fish and chips, and though the triangular shaped fish pieces looked like they had come out of a packet, the food came quickly and was served hot.

Looking ahead, I now realised the enormity of my task, and the folly of sticking to the Eurovelo route through this section. Having cycled 30 miles so far, it was now half past 5, and with still 40 miles to go until the next potential campsite at Forde. I should have done what Jakob had and cut the corner, I could have been in Forde after 45 miles instead.

It was dry again for the best part of 10 miles as I pedalled towards the remote little settlement of Stongfjorden, where inevitably the rain started again. There was nothing else for it but to push on east, as far towards Forde as I could.

Checking the route mapping app, Komoot, I spotted two things, a shop up ahead, in Kvammen, and 5 miles after that, a user added location marked as a beautiful place to camp.
The shop was a well-stocked affair at a petrol station, but remarkably, fully self-service, requiring a bank card deposit of 1 Krone to enter.


After a big tub of yoghurt with some granola, and a chocolate milkshake, I pushed on into the ever heavier showers, passing incredible rock walls veering upwards to my right.
It was after 10 o’clock when I saw a small gathering of boat houses down by the shore of the fjord, and checking Komoot again, was thrilled to see that the small flat grassy patch with its own BBQ grill was to be my camp spot for the night. And mercifully, the showers stopped long enough for me to set up camp.

Norway 2025 Day 2: Sletta – Leirvik

Distance:

43.6 miles

Time: 4:45

Elevation Gain: 2,900 feet

There had been, what could only be described as biblical, showers overnight, and although I’d been hiding away inside the campsite seating area for the most part, it was an excellent test for my new tent. I had bought a Big Agnes Copper Spur earlier in the year, and as it was almost a kilo lighter than my previous tent, I had brought it along – despite being skeptical about its poor weather performance.

Well, now it had had a significant test, rain couldn’t really get any heavier, and the gusting winds had been fairly fierce too, and it had held up well.

Although the severity of the showers had dropped a notch or two by morning, a few showers of what I categorise as Pacific Northwest, rolled on through, sudden heavy and brief.

Leaving the campsite in the dry, it was raining again by the time I cycled back up to the main road. I was dismayed to find that the petrol station in the tiny settlement was shut, as it was a Sunday it would have been one of my few opportunities to stock up on supplies for the day.

Drawn in by the cafe sign outside the village’s impressive church building, I ventured inside. The lady running the small cafe and gift shop, only had coffee and cake, so that would do for starters. She quizzed me on my trip and hoped for good weather on my behalf, before drawing a blank when trying to think of campsites I’d be passing on my route. I was beginning to think that they might not be as easy to come across as I’d hoped.

Settling back into my rhythm, I pedalled along the 565 as it meandered along bays and hopped over islets in the North Sea.

Taking my chance for some sustenance at the XY petrol station in Mastrevik, the burger and fries I had there was one of the few opportunities to fuel I found all day.

Another opportunity, after 17 miles, was on the first ferry of the route, between Leirvag and Slovag. Whilst the motorists stayed in their cars, I found a small self-service cafe and indoor seating area. Quite well appointed for a 20 minute crossing.

Exiting the ferry terminal on road 57, I was hatching a plan. This road led all the way to another ferry terminal at Rutledal, 20 miles away. The cycle route seemed to start off along the road for the first 10 miles or so, before taking a route three times as long for the last part. There were four reasons I could think of for them not using the 57 the whole way: there was a tunnel you weren’t allowed to cycle through, it was too busy, it was prohibitively hilly, or the alternative route was unmissably beautiful. So, I looked up the tunnel map, and there was no tunnel, it was a Sunday and the roads seemed reassuringly quiet, I’d take any hill over travelling 3 times the distance, and no level of beauty was that unmissable. Decision made.

As it happened, my new route suited me nicely. After a steep climb out of Nordgulen, the road rolled past a pair of stunning lakes surrounded by steep-sided mountains, and as the road reached the end of the valley, I could feel it trending upwards, the road rearing up steeply away from the lake, the car-and-a-half width surface barely wide enough to fit my bike alongside a passing car. But, soon I was up and out and the road traversed an open col before plummeting down towards the sparkling sea, and at 20:45 I made my second ferry of the day.

Norway 2025 Day 1: Bergen – Sletta

Distance: 38.08 miles

Time: 4:32

Elevation Gain: 2,696 feet

It might not be the most sensible way to start the first day of a 1200 mile cycle tour, but I had engineered my whole trip so that I could factor in a parkrun, so it seemed unlikely that I’d back out now. It was a kilometre to the start of Lovstien parkrun, and much of that was steeply uphill. Not that this was a surprise as the terrain to the south of the hotel towered over the city, the lower reaches covered in the colourful wooden houses for which Bergen is famous, and above that a thick forest rose into the sky.

The parkrun course ran through the forest and was a double out and back, twice, if there is such a thing. On the first lap of the course, I was happy that I’d kept my effort to a manageable level – despite the steep hills and super-high humidity – but inevitably on the second lap I saw that there were a few places to be taken and got a little carried away, finishing in a reasonably satisfying 10th place.

Happy with my morning’s efforts, I made it back in time to have breakfast in the hotel’s 5th floor restaurant, which gave lovely expansive views over the city.

Finally packed and ready to roll – just as check out finished at 12 o’clock – I made my way into town, keen to sample the ambience of Bryggen’s historic port before joining the Norwegian section of Eurovelo 1, The Atlantic Coast Route.

Almost instantly I was muttering in annoyance as the cycle path I was on suddenly disappeared in front of me – due to repair works being carried out on a tunnel – so I had to bump back down onto the road.

As I pedalled around the first headland, the terrain was relatively flat, and shortly afterwards I was sitting overlooking the cojoined fjords of Sognefjord and Hardangerfjord, eating a picnic of Flotemysost (a version of the traditional Brunost, brown cheese, made with sheep’ milk instead of goats’) and strawberry jam, on pancakes (traditionally waffles), a flavour combination I’d first tried at the cafe on the previous day’s train.

Some steeper inclines sapped my strength in Morvik and Mjolkeraen before the stiffest test yet took me up and over to the first of a pair of bridges that would see me hopscotching across the bay to Knarvik.

After stopping at the Kiwi supermarket in Ikenberget for a tasty pasta salad, I’d had enough of overcomplicated cycling infrastructure when I ended up steeply dropping down into an underpass, before struggling up the other side, all to cross the road to a cycle path that stopped at a bus stop, 50 yards later.

Luckily, soon afterwards, the cycle path alongside the 565 petered out, and when the route forked off to meander around in a tangential direction, I opted to carrry on along the pretty fjord, on the direct, quiet road I was on. And, with one last climb to overcome, the road dropped down to Sletta Kai og Fritid, the only campsite I could find for miles around.