Tunnels

Norway is a very mountaineous country. Which certainly is one of the reasons for its enormeous beauty!
One problem that comes with mountains is that (in rich countries) people tend to build plenty of tunnels. Tunnels for cyclists are almost as bad as E605 for Rats. It's a killer.

Some of the tunnels that I cycled were longer than 3km. Three kilometer, that is approximately two miles! One of those really long ones connected two islands - thus it was under water! 114 meter under the surface. I felt like in a spaceship - anxious to get out as fast as possible. The fumes in the tunnels are bad and the roads are narrow. I have the feeling that most truck drivers have never in their life ridden a bicycle, especially not a fully loaded one.



This particular tunnel on the pictures had NO LIGHTS at all!!! It was 700 meters long and it was pitch black dark. The second picture shows the tunnel after roughly 100m, the third picture was taken after 200 meter. Even with my flashlight shining into the tunnel it was impossible to see anything at all. I had to shine to the walls on the left and right to get some bearings about where I was.
Cycling blind is a very funny experience... try to close your eyes on a (EMPTY!) and straight stretch of road for 5 seconds and you will know what I am talking about.

The ride across Sognefjell

From Trondheim my way takes me to Bergen - a beautiful City on the westcoast from where I plan to take a ferry to Newcastle in England. The first possibility is to take the coastal route. It is definitely the easier option but I need to use a lot of small ferries. The second option is the inland route that leads through Dovrefjell national park and then diverts into the mountainrange of Sognefjell. There will be lots of ups and downs!
I choose the second option. Somehow I feel that I haven't yet seen enough of those Norwegian mountains.




To avoid the big roads with heavy traffic, I try as much as possible to find small sideroads. A tiny gravel road takes me into an almost empty countryside with roaring rivers (it is spring time so all the snow is melting here) and high waterfalls. The roads acent very steeply and the temperature rises to 30 degrees Celsius (about 1000 F :). I sweat and swear as the road would and would not stop ascending.
The dwellings here are all built in an old fashioned style; with grass roofs and beautiful wood carvings. On one of the pictures above you see an old train station that is still in use.

The road and the wind decide to form a coalition against me. The terrain just doesn't stop ascending and I now face a steady headwind. But some years ago in Tibet I already had time to get myself psychologically acquainted to this. Then I had to cycle up to more than 52oom. Knowing that there must be and end to this I keep going. And no matter how low or how high the altitude of the pass - reaching the top is always a nice triumph :)

On the pictures you see the thick ice that is still covering the lakes on Sognefjell (it is the beginning of june!!!) and high walls of snow piling up at the roadside. I take lots of banana breaks on the way up and on the way down meet two Dutch ladies (going on 50) who are pushing their bikes uphill for the last two days! My deepest respect! They are on a 4 month trip through scandinavia, all the way up to Nordkap (officially the most morthern point of mainland Europe) and then down again back to Netherlands. Their route isn't fixed. They just go along... Travel at it's best.




In Urnes, I visit the oldest Stabkirke (special style of church) in Norway, protected by UN world heritage and a proud 45 NOK entrance fee.



There are waterfalls everywhere!!! Thundering into the valleys from enormous heights they often create a small localized rain shower which is very welcome in these temperatures that reach almost 30 degrees Celsius. If one compares those falls to Niagara or Victoria falls they certainly aren't as impressive in terms of power and monstrousity. But their remoteness, the quietness of the surrounding nature and the absense of large crowds of tourists makes them special. So I often just sit and gaze and rest my legs and my mind.

Trondheim

Trondheim is a bigger city in central Norway. In earlier yimes it has been the capital of Norway so there are many monuments and old arcitecture here. I stroll around the city and enjoy the good weather. Three days I spend in a beautiful community called "CampHill" - my brother used to work for them during his first year in Norway in a center where handicapped and people with drug habits live and work together. A very relaxing time... and I manage to get a shower and wash my clothes after ten days on the road... It was high time.

The new look

Here is a picture of my bicycle now that I am on the road again. The weight is about 40kg, I guess (without food and water).



I am especially proud of my little stereo that I jerry-rigged from a couple of 1,5V batteries and my old speakers. Now I can listen to music and audiobooks while cycling and without the earphones bothering me. Juhu! The picture was taken in southern Norway... flowers everywhere... it feels as if I was going to San Francisco :)

The way to Trondheim

After Bodo I follow the coastal route - lots of islands and lots of ferries. Sometimes the islands are so small that I ride for only two hours between two ferries. With a car you pass such an island in about 5 minutes... still on one of the islands I see a farmer bending over a the fire red hud of a real FERRARI! Too many short distance trips - I think he is fixing the engine.

I come to a place that I name "Halfpipe Hill" because it looks like a massive skateboard ramp. There are lots of tunnels here and I seriously dislike tunnels. So if possible I ride a detour on a small deserted road over the pass. Here I find a lake that is so still that it reallz looks like a mirror! I decide to stop and spend the afternoon paddling in a little boat that lies on the shore. There is nobody here who could mind me taking the boat. On the other hand there is also nobody here to help me if I sink. Oh, well...



The days down the coast are relaxing as you can see on the next picture. Midnight sun, mild temperatures and just beautiful nature.



Sometimes I don't feel like setting up camp - now it is daylight for 24hours anyway so it doesn't feel like it's night. After 10 hours on the road, I often just crash somewhere in the middle of nowhere, cook dinner, read a little and then sleep. A place might look a little shabby like on the first picture below. But then it might just be a matter of finding the right angle... you turn around and you have the most stunning lake right at your bedside :)