At this juncture it’s about planning the ride as to where the campsites are. There’s a campsite on the edge of Oslo that gets such bad reviews I’ve decided to land slightly short of Oslo today and ride through it tomorrow. Having visited the city already a few years ago I have no desire to see it again. Nothing against the city , it’s just a box that doesn’t need to be ticked again. Especially given its costs.
Possibly only in Scandinavia could you come across some Bronze Aged (500-1,100 years ago) Nordic stone etchings that are totally accessible , unprotected , and haven’t been abused with graffiti . Cycle through the small hamlet of Soldberg as I did shortly after leaving Hoysand and this is what you’re privileged to see.
Ride through Sarpsborg and you’ll come across Europe’s largest (by volume) waterfall. What was once a natural phenomenon proved too enticing to local electricity authorities who transformed the natural version into a man made one and placed a few large turbines at its base. With 1,200 cubic metres of water per second passing over the edge its impressive . Natural or not.
Meet a blurred Larsse. He and his mates run a bicycle shop next to Sarpsborg train station called Pedalen Sykkelverksted. Discovering that I was riding northwards for charity , and with a credit card machine unable to read my card he gave me the new inner tube I had wanted to purchase for free. “Consider it a gift for your journey”. You can’t fault the Nordic spirit. Thank you sir for your kindness.
Clearly the city planners have their street naming priorities in the right place.
Remember those days? I do with fondness. Would make doing a daily blog a little difficult but there was always something exciting about receiving back from the developers that envelope of 12 or 24 photos. In my case 11 or 23 were usually write offs.
“Take the coastal road. The scenery will stun you “ they screamed. Mmmm in what was a typical view for 75 of the 77 km today I ain’t seeing a whole lot of ocean. One farm after another ? Yes. Ocean? Nope.
Nope. No ocean views on this stretch either.
If you think that by taking the secondary roads you’ll avoid the tolls. Then think again. In a country as wealthy as this I found it somewhat surprising that toll cameras would be placed on b-roads.
I came across this very Nordic looking church just before days end. Unfortunately the doors were locked . However peering inside through a darkened window what I saw was a very high ceiling , walls that had zero decoration on them, (think plain white washed) , a Nordic Viking ship hanging from the ceiling , rows and rows of very plain pine pews, and a simple beech wood type altar with a similarly made lectern. Oh ... and one multi candle holder .
In a testament to the engineers of yesteryear the modern motorway builders decided that their forefathers had got the gradient and route right so they simply placed the new E6 motorway right alongside the old road. Almost for its entirety . If you’re Oslo bound and doing 110kph in an air conditioned car listening to some “Spearhead” or “Dire Straits” then you’re on that road to the left. If however your doing 10kph on a luggage laden bike, have the sun on your back, and are wondering when the “stunning ocean views “ are then you’ll be like I was , and traveling slowly on that road to the right. For large sections of today’s ride this was my view . “Ocean views” - my a**e .
