Alistair thomson
Regular
Has anyone cycle in Norway , I'm thinking about touring next summer , just looking for a bit of advice and hear of anybodys experience .
cycling in Norway
- Thread starter Alistair thomson
- Start date
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xilios
Veteran
- Location
- Maastricht, NL
Norway has always been in our plans for a tour.
Check out this page might have some useful information for you.
http://userweb.eftel.com/~wheelbuddies/norway/norway2007/index.htm
cheers
Check out this page might have some useful information for you.
http://userweb.eftel.com/~wheelbuddies/norway/norway2007/index.htm
cheers
midliferider
Guru
- Location
- Northampton
I am thinking of doing the same. Will watch this thread with interest.
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
Looking back I see my last visit to Norway with a bike was in 2000, so no current info to share, just some thoughts.
Beware of the tunnels, the short ones are unpleasant and it's illegal and lethal to cycle in the longer ones.
The problem with Norway nowadays is getting there and back, I was able to get a ferry out to Stavanger and return from Bergen, alas both services have now ceased.
I had a pleasant spin down the coast from Stavanger to Kristiansand, train to Oslo for a few days then train to Finse and cycled the Rallarvegen ,which I found quite spectacular, to Flam. From there to Bergen on bike using fast and slow ferries.
It was expensive, it was hilly, road surfaces were good.
Beware of the tunnels, the short ones are unpleasant and it's illegal and lethal to cycle in the longer ones.
The problem with Norway nowadays is getting there and back, I was able to get a ferry out to Stavanger and return from Bergen, alas both services have now ceased.
I had a pleasant spin down the coast from Stavanger to Kristiansand, train to Oslo for a few days then train to Finse and cycled the Rallarvegen ,which I found quite spectacular, to Flam. From there to Bergen on bike using fast and slow ferries.
It was expensive, it was hilly, road surfaces were good.
mmmmartin
Random geezer
Norway is brilliant for cycle touring. It's a lovely country. I have been a dozen times, mostly for the winter ski touring but also rode from Kristiansand in the south along the coast to Bergen. This is a great route to cycle because there is a huge brand new dual carriageway that takes all the traffic and you ride along the old road, which is usually deserted and very pretty. Norwegian law allows you to camp anywhere not within 100 metres of a building or on cultivated land, it is called "Alleman's Recht" or something similar. Also the campsites are very civilised because the Norwegians expect everything to work (It's not like France). I suspect hotels are expensive.
It is a reasonable country to live in - for instance, electricity is cheap, and supermarket food is slightly more than in France. Visitors might find it pricey, but then again it depends on what you buy. In the early days of Gordon Brown as chancellor the pound bought almost 14 Norwegian kroner but now you might get 9. Beer in bars is phenomenally expensive (see post above) but no one buys that - the licence to sell alcohol is very expensive indeed. Drinks stronger than beer must be bought from the state shop, and that might be 100 kilometres away for some people, so Norwegians rarely drink alcohol (and consequently have some of the lowest levels of cirrhosis of the liver and other alcohol-related diseases in Europe). Clever Brits take a couple of litres of Scotch in a couple of Sigg bottles and have a sip each night.
I used the guides produced by Castor, which are the best i have ever seen, anywhere, ever: laminated cards fit into a barbag mapcase and have all the info you need: campsites, shops, hotels, phone numbers, etc etc. I have Nordsjoruta Ost, Nordsjoruta Vest (two of these) and Setesdal og Hardanger. I am not sure if these can be bought any more EDIT - just checked and they available online and now cost a ridiculous $45 (dollars US). I think I paid less than £20. In fact I'd sell them to you if you wanted them - my plans mean i need a whole load of other maps now. I hope to ride from the bottom to the top of Norway summer 2016.
The weather is not that found in the south of Spain: then again it is not as bad as often made out.
Just about everyone speaks English - they watch UK television often, and in the winter often bet on the UK football (you can't play football in Norway in the winter because there tends to be too much snow) so it is not unusual to be in the middle of somewhere remote and to have a conversation in English about the fortunes of English football clubs. Certainly as far as communication is concerned, it is easier than France, and I speak (bad) French.
As for getting there - Norwegian Air won''t take a bike to Norway from Gatwick without a reinforced hard case (no cardboard boxes or plastic bags) and there are now no ferries. Best bet is easyJet (plastic bag for the bike) or BA. Ryanair flies to an airport it calls Oslo Torp, and is actually a three hour coach journey away from Oslo, but is a few kilometres from a cycle route from Oslo to Kristiansand. Unfortunately, although the destination is perfect for cycle touring, you do have to deal with Ryanair so i have never done it. YMMV.
Hope this helps.
PS http://bit.ly/1dHFdZX link to my pix to see what it's like. Note the sunshine. In a fortnight I had a couple of days of rain and some days of boiling heat with sunbathing.
It is a reasonable country to live in - for instance, electricity is cheap, and supermarket food is slightly more than in France. Visitors might find it pricey, but then again it depends on what you buy. In the early days of Gordon Brown as chancellor the pound bought almost 14 Norwegian kroner but now you might get 9. Beer in bars is phenomenally expensive (see post above) but no one buys that - the licence to sell alcohol is very expensive indeed. Drinks stronger than beer must be bought from the state shop, and that might be 100 kilometres away for some people, so Norwegians rarely drink alcohol (and consequently have some of the lowest levels of cirrhosis of the liver and other alcohol-related diseases in Europe). Clever Brits take a couple of litres of Scotch in a couple of Sigg bottles and have a sip each night.
I used the guides produced by Castor, which are the best i have ever seen, anywhere, ever: laminated cards fit into a barbag mapcase and have all the info you need: campsites, shops, hotels, phone numbers, etc etc. I have Nordsjoruta Ost, Nordsjoruta Vest (two of these) and Setesdal og Hardanger. I am not sure if these can be bought any more EDIT - just checked and they available online and now cost a ridiculous $45 (dollars US). I think I paid less than £20. In fact I'd sell them to you if you wanted them - my plans mean i need a whole load of other maps now. I hope to ride from the bottom to the top of Norway summer 2016.
The weather is not that found in the south of Spain: then again it is not as bad as often made out.
Just about everyone speaks English - they watch UK television often, and in the winter often bet on the UK football (you can't play football in Norway in the winter because there tends to be too much snow) so it is not unusual to be in the middle of somewhere remote and to have a conversation in English about the fortunes of English football clubs. Certainly as far as communication is concerned, it is easier than France, and I speak (bad) French.
As for getting there - Norwegian Air won''t take a bike to Norway from Gatwick without a reinforced hard case (no cardboard boxes or plastic bags) and there are now no ferries. Best bet is easyJet (plastic bag for the bike) or BA. Ryanair flies to an airport it calls Oslo Torp, and is actually a three hour coach journey away from Oslo, but is a few kilometres from a cycle route from Oslo to Kristiansand. Unfortunately, although the destination is perfect for cycle touring, you do have to deal with Ryanair so i have never done it. YMMV.
Hope this helps.
PS http://bit.ly/1dHFdZX link to my pix to see what it's like. Note the sunshine. In a fortnight I had a couple of days of rain and some days of boiling heat with sunbathing.
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
Norway by any stretch of the imagination is expensive. The only place I gave been to where they sell cucumbers in quarters.
Sweden is cheaper...much.
Denmark is on par with Sweden and not far off the UK. I would choose Denmark over the three. Lucky for me I live in Denmark. It is easy to get to by flying Ryanair to Billund or a ferry from Harwich. The West coast has great beaches, the southern islands are a joy to cycle and the West coast is a mixture of countryside, woods and nice beaches and towns.
Denmark is not as flat as you would imagine but compared to Norway it is very flat.
Steve
Sweden is cheaper...much.
Denmark is on par with Sweden and not far off the UK. I would choose Denmark over the three. Lucky for me I live in Denmark. It is easy to get to by flying Ryanair to Billund or a ferry from Harwich. The West coast has great beaches, the southern islands are a joy to cycle and the West coast is a mixture of countryside, woods and nice beaches and towns.
Denmark is not as flat as you would imagine but compared to Norway it is very flat.
Steve
Norway is definitely on my list as well. It looks like there will be a new ferry running from Newcastle to Bergen in 2016 and I'll be on it if http://ferrytonorway.com can get it going.
The new SECA rules come into effect on 1 Jan 15
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulphur_Emission_Control_Area
Which will mean the cost of fuel for inter-european shipping increases quite dramatically, it wil take a year or two to settle down, then people will be work out the economics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulphur_Emission_Control_Area
Which will mean the cost of fuel for inter-european shipping increases quite dramatically, it wil take a year or two to settle down, then people will be work out the economics
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
It's fantastic... Loved it.
Aim for wild camping to help keep the costs down and remember to recycle your plastic at the supermarket to get money knocked off your food bill...
Don't eat out unless it's a special occasion.
My Journal is here, we spent a long time in Norway and can really recommend the very fast north above the Arctic circle and way beyond.
The midnight sun in the Lofoten Islands.
The midnight sun at Nordkapp.
Aim for wild camping to help keep the costs down and remember to recycle your plastic at the supermarket to get money knocked off your food bill...
Don't eat out unless it's a special occasion.
My Journal is here, we spent a long time in Norway and can really recommend the very fast north above the Arctic circle and way beyond.
The midnight sun in the Lofoten Islands.
The midnight sun at Nordkapp.
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
Just assume that a mixture of morphine, paracetamol, pregabalin and codeine is getting the better of my spellingI didnt notice I was any quicker above the Arctic circle
tonight sees the addition of diazepam to the mix so it can only get worse
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
You can no longer sail from the UK to Scandanavia.
Ryanair to Oslo or Denmark.
Ryanair to Oslo or Denmark.
albion
Guru
I got my hopes up and I was ready to book.
alas
http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/u.../news/uk-norway-ferry-initiative-pushed-back/
It does not look good when a company is simply chasing 'other peoples money' though obviously those who purchased the new north east rail franchise should look into it.
alas
http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/u.../news/uk-norway-ferry-initiative-pushed-back/
It does not look good when a company is simply chasing 'other peoples money' though obviously those who purchased the new north east rail franchise should look into it.
Last edited:
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
Like I said you cant sail from the UK to Scandanavia. As soon as you can I will let everyone know.
