I’ll be honest: Of the half-dozen summers I’ve spent in Norway, there have been a couple of two-joule weeks where I wandered soaking wet from gas station to gas station – there are hardly any bars – in the pouring rain. The others were so unforgettable that every year I want to return… With the raincoat always at hand.
But every year when it gets hot here, I miss the fjords; the invigorating air in the bends of deserted roads; the light, with nuances that we do not know in the south on days without night, pedaling between deserted farms under the sun at 2 in the morning, inhaling the aromas of freshly cut hay with the unsettling sensation that everyone has fled due to imminent danger and of that you should… But you are spellbound by the silence.
Norway city.
I have never enjoyed myoversights so much as in Norway, because to get lost on any gravel path is to discover remote places”
I have never enjoyed my absent-mindedness so much on a bike as in Norway, because to get lost on any local gravel road is to suddenly find yourself in remote places. I remember pedaling for hours along a forest track until we were left with our mouths open in front of a magical sea of mists and fairies, uninhabited… Or almost. In that ending of all endings there was a cabin and in it, a Norwegian soul… Who couldn’t suppress his face of disgust at seeing his splendid isolation interrupted. Heydo, forever, friend!
Do you think that Norway is huge -24 hours by car from Oslo to Alta- and that I should be more specific when proposing itineraries?
Oslo, city of Norway.
I’ll do you the favor of not being, because that’s part of the most wonderful bike ride of your life. Start getting lost in Norway right from the start. There are guides, of course, but ten minutes of googling will find them. And mythical cycling routes in the fjords, like our Pyrenean ones. I would only add that even the cities, starting with Oslo, offer unforgettable rides.
Where will we sleep? Are hotels expensive? Will everything be full on these dates?
They will spend the night almost anywhere: yes, hotels are expensive, but not essential as in other countries; and they will always find a free cabin. Because another wonder of the Norwegian routes is that you will discover “hytte” (hut) signs on almost any road.
Norway hotel.
They will spend the night almost anywhere: yes, hotels are expensive, but not essential as in other countries”
One and another day-night of pedaling we diverted with the announcement of “hytte” closer to a river or lake -and yes, there are usually mosquitoes at sunset- to be able to put our feet in the icy water. Later, we would find the key safely left in the door.
We opened and there used to be at least two bunks; a table, a chair, a cupboard…Perhaps a small kitchen. Remains of other overnight cyclists: a little salt. A sign in Norwegian and English: “Please leave everything as you found it and when you leave put 300 crowns -30 euros- (it can be more, of course) in this envelope. And I remember the discussion between the one who sometimes forgot to leave the little money and the one who went to look for the bills at a distant ATM to behave “as a Norwegian would have done”.
Only once did we finish the day in a campsite, under a deluge. We were in the country of water, but I had to apologize to an old man who reproached me for using too much to brush my teeth, because “the environment couldn’t afford it”. He was right.
The unusual stilt house on the sea to enjoy sunny nights in Norway
Hotel on water, Norway.
And in your routes on two wheels include the ferries. They are another of the mysteries of Scandinavian solitude: there are ferries – here you do need to plan – to connect islands where not even a Scandinavian soul lives. You take them only to go and return, because they cross fjords so beautiful that they annihilate all ambition.
Gain height, in short, to be amazed at each curve of an unexpected route. I remember fishing villages of unusual colors among “falu red”, the ubiquitous tile-colored paint that protects Norwegian roofs from the merciless weather.
Find your route. I recommend the whole of Norway on a bike, which is the best plane to see the world from another perspective. They will come back whenever they want for the rest of their lives just by closing their eyes and moving their legs.
