Norway; fjords, hills and Trolls.
From
the ferry we can view the rugged coastline well in advance as we reach Kristiansand
in southern Norway. A good job our chosen bicycles have lots of gears, especially
low ones as we're certainly going to need them by the look of things! As expected,
our route starts right from the very beginning pretty hilly, demanding yet
spectacularly beautiful. Our leg muscles really have to get to work on some
of these grades here, but surprisingly enough, they seem to cope with the
extra work fine. As evening breaks in however, we find ourselves slumping
in front of our tent absolutely burnt out and drained of energy. We haven't
slept so deep and well in years! All our daily thoughts of work, paying monthly
bills and frantically running around like two clockwork zombies all day trying
to get everything done "just in a jiffy" seem so unimportant now.
Our greatest concerns daily now are, how many hills lie ahead or where and
how far is our planned campground stop this evening and where can we obtain
our shopping needs underway today. Everything else can wait until sometime
later! Hanging on tightly to the handlebars as we whizz down the steep sides
of a fjord only to demandingly climb back up the other side gives us plenty
of time to think back over long forgotten times in life. Memories of school-time
escapades, lost loves and planned adventures fly past letting us relive many
lifetime experiences even if only for a very short time. Norway is indeed
beautiful offering wonderful scenery and very friendly folks. Some of the
tunnels we pass through on this route are pretty dark, long and require a
good sense of safe-cycling, otherwise we find this route along the West Coast
to Stavanger and continuing on to Bergen quite nice to cycle. There are lots
of hills mind you, but nothing a determined cycle-tourer can't cope with.
It gets pretty barren at times especially on some of the hilly fjord regions.
If your lucky, then you might have at least two or three cars passing you
hourly, which gives you as a cyclist the freedom of slandering along concentrating
solely on yourself and your route. In Bergen, we decide to make use of the
"tax-free" shopping advantage and buy ourselves a new sturdy, weather
proven tent. Crossing over the North Sea now by ferry to the Shetland and
Orkney Islands, where the local weather can turn quite abruptly for the worst,
it's a good idea to have at least a touring-worthy tent with us as the floor
of our present one has slowly but surely seen better days. Sadly, we leave
this beautiful country all so soon, having enjoyed the route up till now immensely.
As our ferry glides through the calm, dark evening sea heading due west, we
promise ourselves to return and again cycle through this great country at
some later date. Ahead, lie the wild, rough and sparsely populated Shetland
and Orkney Islands, obviously a cyclist's paradise! Lets wait and see what
turns up!
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