The bicycle.  Sykkelen is one of my favorite things ever.  Jeg elsker å sykle (I love to bike).  In southern MN where I live, the weather has not been the best this spring.  However, today is perfekt.  It is 67 degrees with mye sol (lots of sun!) and litt vind (little wind).  I ate some frokost (breakfast) and hopped on my sykkel just before noon. I headed west to explore some new territory.  I am an avid bicyclist not only for the great exercise and time to cruise and think, but it’s just fun for me to know that my own body can generate enough power to move me over miles and miles of beautiful countryside.  I got really into biking when I was a freshman in college (6 years ago…).  I lived in Oslo for åtte måneder (8 months) and NEVER HAD A SYKKEL.  I thought it would cost too much money to buy a sykkel when I was in Norway, especially since I would only have had a good 3-4 months of use.  Looking back, I’m very disappointed that I did not take advantage of the opportunity to see one of my favorite cities by bike. 

I know that Norwegians are active people and they are generally eco-friendly, but I never would have pegged Norway to be home to 2 of the world’s 11 top bicycling cities.  Sandnes and Trondheim are 6th and 7th places, respectively, on the list.  Amsterdam, as you may have guessed is #1, followed by Portland, OR, Copenhagen, Denmark, Boulder, CO, Davis, CA, then the two Norwegian cities.  After Trondheim is San Francisco, CA, Berlin, Germany, Barcelona, Spain, and finally, Basil, Switzerland. 

The Norwegian government started a pilot bicycle project in 1990 to try to reduce car traffic.  The city is now the most friendly cycling city in Norway.  In Trondheim, there is actually a bike lift (sykkel trampe or sykkel heis) that carries bicyclists up the steep terrain.  18% of the city’s residents use bicycles as their main mode of transport to work and school.  By 2015, Norway aims to raise bicycle traffic to at least 8% of all travel. 

In Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Drammen, tourists and locals alike have the opportunity to rent sykkeler for free or very cheap.  The program is called CityBikes and depending on which city you are in, you can simply deposit a coin into the machine and once you return it, you will get your deposit back, or you can purchase a subscription card that you swipe to get the bike.  For tourists who would otherwise walk or take public transportation to all of their destinations, CityBikes offers a cheap, healthy, and fun way to see the city.  I encourage you to rent a bike if you tour to Norway anytime soon!