We’re cycling together again! How great that is? I am in the seventh heaven! Just look at the first three pictures. Remy was cleaning the the guesthouse, he was cooking and he does the heavy lifting!
Thursday morning Remy arrived in Oslo by ferry. After seeing each other for five weeks was reason for a celebration. Where I first had had work with a vacation element, I had now a vacation with a work element as Remy quickly found out, since we had a meeting on the same day with Øyvind Wold of the Norwegian Cyclist federation, and later that day a meeting with Anna Runesson of the Pilgrim center in Oslo. Last year Øyvind made a bicycle route though Oslo passing various highlights specially for the cycling guide of the Olav’s way (See: Cycling in Oslo)
It was great seeing him again! We had a lunch together and a 30 km bicycle tour through Oslo. With Anna we were discussing some thing and brought along a few guides for sale at the Pilgrim center. The (Dutch) guide is now for sale in Oslo as well!
Because of some appointments I wanted to make in the coming weeks, we decided not to cycle the whole of the route. Friday we drove with the car north to Ringebu and leave it there. On our way we had some coffee with Ann-Elin in the Pilgrim center of Hamar and half way the afternoon we arrived at Janke of the pilgrims hostel south of Ringebu. How great it is to see everyone again and to show Remy what I’ve been up to these last years…
For Remy it’s the first time in Norway and I would love to show hime the complete route of the Olav’s way, including the extra routes, but we just don’t have the time for that. We decided to see in Ringebu which way we would start: north or south. The weather forecast gave the answer: we’re going south first!
The first day we had some rain, but it cleared up soon and got sunnier than was said in the forecast. We cycled to Hamer in two days over the national cycling route 7 which was a bit disappointing for us because it went alongside a highway. We choose this way so we won’t cycle the same route twice (and as a warming up).
In Hamar we visited the Pilgrim center again, but this time we stayed for the night. The next day we would meet with Tone, the manager of the Pilgrim center of Hamar. I met Tone the previous year by coincidence in a forest. (See link and go to Double meetings ).
It was great to see Tone again and to exchange ideas about the cycling route. We even got a private tour from her in the ruins of the Cathedral of Hamar which was closed on Mondays in this period.
Remy and I left that afternoon and headed north for an extra loop over the peninsula Nes and the island Helgøya and cycle back to Ringebu. This time we cycled the Olav’s Way from the bicycle guide. A heavier route than the route we used earlier, but much more beautiful.
I enjoy Norway and all the warm meetings we have. And the fact I am back together with Remy. To camp with him in the wild, ‘show him’ the Olav’s Way, having a laugh or nagging to each other (‘Remy, please, don’t cycle so fast!’) and enjoy Norway together.
We’re now in Ringebu and we’ll continue our journey north…
