I have had cycling on my mind as of late.  Every year our town celebrates the Defeat of Jesse James with MN’s largest all volunteer fair.  There are lots of carnival rides, food vendors, a bingo tent, a beer tent, a massive arts and crafts fair, a classic car show, a motorcycle ride, a parade, and a bike ride!  One can either bike 10, 30, 45, 60, or 100 miles.  This was my second year completing the 100 mile ride.  It was excellent.  The weather could not have been better (all sunshine, almost no wind-hard to get better than that for biking!) and the route was a beautiful journey through rural MN.  Rolling hills, lakes, woods, corn and soybean fields, tiny towns, all the best of southeastern MN.  My dad rode the 60, so I had a buddy for half of the trip, which was awesome.  My companions for the second half were my ipod and my thoughts.

I started to think a lot about cycling in Norway.  My first round of residency in Norway unfortunately did not involve a bike.  Modes of transport were the T-bane, my feet, and my friend Jeff’s grandpa’s old, beat up Sierra.  However, my second (albeit brief) round of residency in Norway did involve en sykkel (a bike). Rather than pay to ship my road bike or deal with the hassle of taking it on flyet (the plane) with the rest of my belongings, including my 50 lb. weimaraner, I decided to purchase a hybrid in Tromsø.  It was quite dyrt (expensive) (yet still somehow one of the cheapest in the whole store), as you can imagine, but it was nice, new, and well built.  If you have ever been to Tromsø you know that although it is a relatively small island, to get anywhere in the center of the island requires a nice climb up en bakke (a hill).

There aren´t many areas of Norway that aren´t mountainous, or at least hilly.  Furthermore, there are several other things that make cycling in Norway more challenging than some places, including where I bike.  Much of Norway is rural and even in the bigger cities, the roads are often in poor condition.  The weather in Norway varies from region to region, but there are rarely days like the one I described earlier re: my bike ride on Saturday in southern MN.  Last, but not least, Norway is laden with tunnels due to the mountains.  Bicycling in tunnels that do not have a separate bicycle tunnel can prove challenging, so I have heard.  So, as you can see, there are several challenges or at least things to keep in mind if you are biking in Norway for the first time.

On the other hand, there are of course endless benefits and value that cycling in Norway will bring to you.  It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than buying bensin (gas) for a car, it’s great exercise, and you can see one of the most beautiful countries in the world up close!  You can ride through skoger (forests), fjell (mountain), vidda (tundra), prairie, sjøen (ocean), and fjorder.  You can experience biking across bodies of water and catching ferries to small, lively islands.  You can stop to hike up high above the fjords and sit on a rock dangling over the water.  You can ride through the vidda and see reinsdyr (reindeer) right by the side of the road, and can see the sun shine 24 hours a day or none at all!  Along the coast you can experience modest, quaint, fishing villages.  There are Bed and Breakfasts that are particularly for cyclists-equipped with a repair shop, laundry facilities, and other amenities appreciate by the cycling community.

I found this blog/very informative website most excellent.  If you are at all thinking about a biking trip to Norway, I would read through this site.

Share your adventures biking in Norway or dreams about biking in Norway!