Advice on Norway



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Jean-Pierre Jac

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Hi there,

For our summer family tour, I'm seriously contemplating Norway. I've read some tourist guide, the
(few but always interesting) pages on the Trento Bike Pages, and now I'm looking for direct pieces
of advice from the group.

The general idea is to make a loop Bergen and Alesund or Trondheim, with one half using HurtigRuten
and the other half riding along the fjords. First: is it better to cycle Southward (begining with
the ferry trip) or Northward?

Our way of touring is camping, self-supported, loose and flexible planning. The family is 4, with
two boys aged 15 and 9. Some of our tours are described here
(http://www.loria.fr/~jacquot/velo/leisure.html). This is the context for the next questions :
- does the trip looks feasible in two weeks? (I think Trondheim is too far, but...)
- are there some places we need to see? we need to avoid?
- are there cycle routes available in the region? Where?
- special equipment? useful norvegian campers' trick?
- special preparation for bikes and bikers?
- anything I forgot?

Thanks a lot for any response,

Bonne route,

Jean-Pierre
 
Jean-Pierre Jacquot <[email protected]> wrote:
: - are there some places we need to see? we need to avoid?

Based on decade-old driving experience in Northern Norway, roads in Norway are narrow, no shoulders
if I recall. Cars need to use the other lane when passing you, which might be a plus :)

Road tunnels might be prohibited for bicycles, better check your route in advance...

In some places there could be an incredible amount of insects. Some of them are perfectly capable
and quite willing to bite.

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi
 
[email protected] wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Jean-Pierre Jacquot <[email protected]> wrote:
> : - are there some places we need to see? we need to avoid?
>
> Based on decade-old driving experience in Northern Norway, roads in Norway are narrow, no
> shoulders if I recall. Cars need to use the other lane when passing you, which might be a plus :)
>
> Road tunnels might be prohibited for bicycles, better check your route in advance...
>
> In some places there could be an incredible amount of insects. Some of them are perfectly capable
> and quite willing to bite.

I did a 2 week bike tour around the fjords and other places. No need to worry about roads or
insects. Taffic is incredibly light.

Tunnels can be an issue -- it would be a good idea to pick up the tunnel guide published by the
highway dept which shows which tunnels allow bikes.

Norway is a mountainous country, so you can expect some strenuous cycling. I don't know what other
touring your family has done, but you should plan carefully. The most scenic places are generally in
the steeper places.

One popular bike route is to take the mountain train from Oslo (or Bergen) to the midpoint near
Visp. The dirt road used to build that line is still there and is a popular bike route. People take
the train to the top and then bike down into Visp, stay overnight, and take the ferry out the
following morning (in the winter, they do the same thing except with skiis).
 
try posting in this norwegian newsgroup:

no.fritid.sykkel

I'm sure there's some kind norwegian cyclists looking forward to contribute!

Sincerely,

Martin 'Le Danois'


"Jean-Pierre Jacquot" <[email protected]> skrev i en meddelelse
news:[email protected]...
>
> Hi there,
>
> For our summer family tour, I'm seriously contemplating Norway. I've read some tourist guide, the
> (few but always interesting) pages on the Trento Bike Pages, and now I'm looking for direct
> pieces of advice from the group.
>
> The general idea is to make a loop Bergen and Alesund or Trondheim, with one half using
> HurtigRuten and the other half riding along the fjords. First: is it better to cycle Southward
> (begining with the ferry trip) or Northward?
>
> Our way of touring is camping, self-supported, loose and flexible planning. The family is 4, with
> two boys aged 15 and 9. Some of our tours are described here
> (http://www.loria.fr/~jacquot/velo/leisure.html). This is the context for the next questions :
> - does the trip looks feasible in two weeks? (I think Trondheim is too far, but...)
> - are there some places we need to see? we need to avoid?
> - are there cycle routes available in the region? Where?
> - special equipment? useful norvegian campers' trick?
> - special preparation for bikes and bikers?
> - anything I forgot?
>
> Thanks a lot for any response,
>
> Bonne route,
>
> Jean-Pierre
 
Jean-Pierre Jacquot wrote:

>
> Hi there,
>
> For our summer family tour, I'm seriously contemplating Norway. I've read some tourist guide, the
> (few but always interesting) pages on the Trento Bike Pages, and now I'm looking for direct
> pieces of advice from the group.
>

Try contacting Syklistenes Landsforening, http://www.slf.no/ . This page is in Norwegian, but the
phone # and email address at bottom are multi-lingual. You'll note that they have a map that
addresses important issues such as tunnels.

I'm not sure if I agree with your idea of taking the Hurtigruten in one direction. On one hand, it's
a very pleasant trip, but if you go by bike instead, you'll be riding a lot of ferries anyway, as
well as seeing a lot of great scenery. You might consider taking the Hurtigruten from Bergen to
wherever it stops on the north side of the Sognefjord, and riding from there. (Obviously, you would
want to look at the timetable and make sure you're on the Hurtigruten during the daytime.)

--
Bob Broughton http://broughton.ca/ Vancouver, BC, Canada "The tobacco industry needs to be put where
it belongs: out of business." Heather Mackenzie, http://airspace.bc.ca/
 
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