Pete's Reflections

 

Pete's reflections......get it?

Here's another one.

Where to start.

The beginning is always my go to......

Prior to 2020, Julia and I had talked about another bike trip, after our previous tour through England, France, Portugal and Spain in 2018.

Mum had died in 2017 and we decided to take Dad with us, for two weeks of our 13 week tour, riding a flat section of the Loire Valley, from Orleans to Nantes.
He was 85 at the time, still recovering from mum not being there and needed a focus.

Dad, being who he is, did all the training prior to leaving and romped the trip.
If we had given him the option, he would have cycled to Barcelona with us.
When we began looking at Norway prior to Covid, it looked spectacular, but for me, I thought the mountains could be an issue, but even more so, the weather.

For us, any bike tour is something to look forward to and we always take into account,  the time of year we do certain places,  based around their average temperatures and sunshine/ rainfall days.

Over the Covid isolation period, Julia was watching video vlogs about everywhere, but especially Norway.
It helped that one particular Englishman living in Norway for some years had started vlogging about his trips.

His name is Mathew Tolley (aka Matthew Norway) and he lives in Oslo.
Over the next three years, we watched everything he put out on Norway and began to think seriously about a tour there.
It always helps when the vlogs are filmed in sunny conditions, which most were, but not all.
However, his narration and enthusiasm, sold us on cycling through Norway.
The more we watched, the more we believed we could do this.
Even the mountain passes looked achievable and the scenery was staggering.

I had gone online to check the weather at different times of the year.
June, July and August were definitely the months.
However, even then, we were looking at possible rainfall every second day.

The momentum was building and with Covid over and life returning to normal, Norway became the next destination.

We always cycle in New Plymouth, but it's recreational for us.
In 21/22 we did a month long gravel tour of the South Island, just to keep things ticking along.
The stunning beauty of that tour, was the unconditional decider, that Norway was next.
Out of the blue we made the decision to leave on June 4th 2023.
Gear was put together, bikes were bought, after mine was stolen and the major piece of the puzzle had arrived in February, in the shape of our next Personal Trainer, Olivia.
Over the following three months, she proved to have all the attributes we were looking for to be able to go away and leave my baby ( Face to Face...our business) in safe, capable hands.

On 5th June we touched down in Oslo, having changed our plans to cycle Tromso to Oslo, to Oslo to Tromso, because Tromso was under snow and the temperatures were very cold.
So began our tour.

The flight over to Oslo was via Sydney and Dubai.
Good flights, no complaints, but next tour we do will include a stopover.
At 64, although fit and healthy, those long haul flights are too hard on the body.
Best way to rid yourself of swollen legs or ankles is to ride a bike.
We have no option but to begin almost straight away on our tours and swelling goes within a couple of days.

Anyone flying into Oslo, I can highly recommend the Radison Park Hotel at the airport.
Great staff, rooms adequate, but the breakfast is truly amazing.

The Norwegian people have been great.
Initially, we thought they were quite aloof, but that's not the case.
They are fine once you establish conversation and are very helpful generally.
We met some great Norwegians and I would like to thank you for making our stay such a wonderful experience.

Drivers are drivers the world over.
There are good and bad.
When you are on a bike, you tend to see the close calls maybe a bit more.
Self preservation is key and that means trying to predict the outcome of a situation with a vehicle before it goes too far.
Luck plays a major part of course and some of the close calls are purely a timing issue.
However, as the driver of a car myself,  I truly believe that drivers need to slow down when approaching a cyclist and not try to overtake too soon, or on blind bends, or in the path of oncoming vehicles, thinking you can just cut back in.
You can't....don't bloody well do it.
One, two or ten ton of vehicle when it hits a cyclist, makes a mess.
Get a life.
If you're in a hurry, leave earlier.

Tunnels in Norway are magnificent and if you have the lighting on your bikes that you should have, you will only have ONE problem.......refer above.

All tours are weather dependent and we decided years ago that if it pissed with rain all day, we would take shelter, in a camp, freecamp, or some other form of shelter, possibly a service station, rather than push on.
For us, a tour is about capturing memories and images.
Nothing to capture on days of fog, mist and rain. That's why we always include rain /rest days into our tours.
This tour threw us out big time.
We finished a week early, simply because the weather in the parts of Norway we were in at the time, was brilliant.
If you ask Norwegians what summer has been like, they will say shit.

For the first five weeks in the south, we had glorious weather, but as we ventured up the middle ,heading north, the south had crap weather for the next two months.

As we reached the northern areas, there was the worst storm in the central part of Norway for over forty years.
The weather for us as we moved further north, was great, but remember, that area when we flew over was under snow and rain.

We don't know how we managed it, but it was only the final week and even then, only a couple of days which turned sour.
We haven't worked it out exactly yet, but in three months in Norway, a country hardly guaranteeing good weather, we got less than ten bad days.

Freecamping in Norway is every man's right.
However. There are an awful lot of areas that, on a bike you cannot access.
Parts of the country are easier than others.
The Coastal areas, usually have some form of sea breeze, which helps keep insects at bay.
Mountains not so much.
Midges, horseflys and mosquitoes are everywhere ( Photographs to prove the intensity of these things )
Trying to put up or take down a tent in certain locations, is opening yourself up to mass bites, which sting and then itch for days or longer.
Venturing off road in the mountains into scrub and moss etc is insect heaven and human nightmare.

Although not usually a cyclists friend  (cause it's usually a headwind ) when it comes to camping and midges, a little wind is great.
It keeps those vicious pesky little bastards away.

The Giant Toughroad bikes were brilliant.
I was disappointed when some prat stole my bike in Mt Maunganui, but the new bikes were great to ride and we suffered with nothing whatsoever.
Whereas Julia packed for more of a gravel setup (streamlined) I opted to purchase my first set of new panniers for thirty eight years, having finally retired my Tika, New Zealand made one's.
I bought bright yellow with highly visible reflective straps, which were brilliant, especially in the tunnels or on dull days.

Julia was the only one who bought data, at the start of the tour.
We both used wifi at campgrounds ranging from awful to exceptional coverage.
Most of the main supermarkets have good wifi, along with service stations, (Shell in particular) biblioteks (libraries) and tourist info.

Norway is an expensive country in general.
For a country that has huge amounts of oil and gas, their petrol prices are around $4 per litre give or take.
Norway's cost of living is high, but good wages combat that. Shopping, clothes, cars, all highly priced, at least to New Zealanders.
Supermarkets, whether you are in a city or out in the sticks, are well stocked and laid out well.
Most supermarkets have toilets, which is good because you don't see many public rest rooms.

Some things are worth the expense after a long day.....or a short day for that matter. 

Eating out is expensive ( so you should stick to tinned mackerel)
Alcohol is ridiculous.
Drinking out would be $20-25 per glass.
A single beer in supermarkets is over $6.
You can't buy wine in there, they have special stores for wine and spirits.

At no time in Norway did we ever feel unsafe ( we have done elsewhere at times).
The crime rate is low and Norway are actually closing their prisons.
We were locking our bikes, but you never felt as though you needed to, it's just the culture we have in N Z.

Would I recommend a holiday in Norway.
Most definitely.
From the south,  Kristiansand ( the Norwegian Riviera ) the areas of lush fertile farmland and holiday destinations, through to the mountains and fjords,  with some of the most stunning scenery, where everyday had so many WOW  moments.   The coastal areas and island hopping with the most fantastic beaches ( you would think you were on a tropical island).

Cruise ships in Alesund

The cruise ships that do the fjords and coastline are amazing.  There are so many fjords and stunning vistas.
The Hurtigruten Coastal ship runs daily and you can hop on and off, or purchase a cabin and cruise.
The local ferries are everywhere and free to bikepackers or foot traffic.
A lot of them are electric, but all are extremely well maintained, comfortable and run to schedule.
Do not be a minute late, they will be gone.

When Julia began working on this trip in 2020, I had my doubts.
We hadn't done serious mountain work for years and we were much older.
I was worried about the weather (as it was, wherever we were, it was beautiful)
She meticulously came up with a route, checked all ferry timetables, researched the tunnels we could use and alternatives for those we couldn't.
Flights and hotels were organised with precision.
Campgrounds and even freecamps were plotted and distances gauged.
She did an exceptional job and it's all down to her that it ran so well.
I was just the one riding behind going "are we there yet?"
She showed huge grit and determination, especially in the mountains and her usual buoyant and optimistic attitude shone through.
I love her more now than I ever have.

So.....what next.
Well.....that's for another tour.

Footnote
A word about Vango our tent.
We left him in our last campsite, with a note for anyone who wanted him.
That tent stood up to some massive downpours over the years and got blown around, all over the place.
Definitely the best tent we've owned, alas they have stopped making them.
I hope whoever takes him can get some enjoyment from him.

Thanks Vango