In the previous newsletter, I wrote that the expectation was that the last part of the route would not be that tough at all. That was a mistake. The last few days were perhaps the toughest of the whole route. Between Mandal and Flekkefjord there are some vicious bits. Not high, but sometimes very steep. But still... it was so incredibly beautiful! Perhaps the most beautiful part of this holiday. Although... there were many more 'most beautiful places'. Actually, the whole route was beautiful. Actually, all of Norway is beautiful!! Our holiday is over, but I will stay here for another month to be able to work in this beautiful Norway for a while longer. "What will you be doing in Norway in the coming weeks?" is now about the most frequently asked question.
About the title: Veni Vidi Fietsie / Veni vidi vici… I came, I saw, I conquered. Famous words of Julius Ceasar after a victory in 47 BC. Apart from the fact it alliterates nicely, the last word ‘vici’ sounds like the Dutch word ‘fietsie’ (spoken as ‘feet-see’) which is slang for small bicycle.
"Sure". And then he asked something I didn't understand and I told him that I don’t speak Norwegian very well.
“But you did take a picture of me!”.
“Because I understand that,” I said. (I didn't know the past tense of 'understand'.
“Which words don't you understand?” he asked.
“Difficult words”, I replied, meanwhile almost breaking my tongue about “vanskelige”, difficult.
He looks at me with a look of understanding. "Me neither!".
That was a fun conversation on the last cycling day! And on that last day, by the way, we had rain! Not much, an hour of drizzle, but still. The first newsletter was entitled "Norway is hot". And I thought, the second or the third will be "Norway is cool" because the forecast was for rain and cold, something the west coast of Norway is known for. Back in April, when Halldis asked me to map this coastal pilgrimage route for cyclists (see newsletter 2) and I thought of what pros and cons there are and another thing running through my head: yes but it always rains there... or, at best not always, but almost always. And I'm actually a fair-weather cyclist. Really! That's why it's always such nice weather in Norway when I cycle here. And it was beautiful weather in Norway on the coast this summer. All the extra (rain) clothes notwithstanding. It's just that Remy is not necessarily a fair-weather cyclist, otherwise we might not have had any rain at all!
On Monday, we arrived at Bøye and Vigdis' place in Flekkefjord. This is where our car was parked and because we had accidentally left a small light on (the USB charger), the battery was dead. Fortunately, Bøye had its own charger and the car was able to 'drip' there. After two fine days with them, Remy and I explored another small part of southern Norway by car: Setesdalen (Evje, Dalen) and the east coast (Arendal, Kristiansand). On Friday afternoon, I took Remy to the ferry in Kristiansand. He is now back home.
And now an answer to the 'most frequently asked question', what I will be doing in Norway this month. Well, initially I was going to return to the Netherlands with Remy, but apart from being asked to map the coastal route, I also got an invitation for two press trips (for journalists and guide writers) for the coastal pilgrimage route. One at the end of August and one at the end of September. Since I thought it would be a shame to have to travel back and forth for that, I will stay here until and including the press trip at the end of August. And actually, it's quite handy that I'm staying in Norway in the meantime, because apart from the fact that I can work basically anywhere, in order to check bits of the routes for the next guides, it's handy (even necessary) to do it on location. I can also give a few Norwegian people the guide to the Kristians Route and thank them personally for their cooperation. For example, yesterday I visited Trond Otto and Torhild (see last year: Kristian) and Øyvind Wold in Oslo. The latter you may have seen in the newsletters before: he created a route along Oslo's highlights especially for the first guide and is a great inspiration for me, as a connoisseur of many Norwegian cycling routes.
Now I am staying with 'the boys' again, as I affectionately call them. Louis and Pieter-Jan are, like us, members of Warm Showers (international travel cyclist community: cyclists can stay overnight with cyclists). This Dutch couple lives in Oslo and I get to stay here again for the third year in a row. Initially, I wanted to go to the campsite in Oslo so as not to be a nuisance to anyone and then from there just bike to the boys. But Louis called me: "You can also stay with us. We are away (cycling), but will be back home tomorrow evening. You know the way. Oh, and we will have more WarmShower guests on Sunday night, a couple and a solo cyclist". I accepted this offer with both hands. And to give something back, I have meanwhile gone shopping to cook for an entire orphanage tonight. Then, when everyone arrives at the end of the afternoon, I hope to serve a pasta dish (oef, exciting, am not exactly a cook, but 'Albert Heijn's' recipes are obvious even to me).
Tomorrow I will go to the pilgrims centre in Oslo (again) to thank Anna in person. Then I will drive north, via Sweden, to check some more bits of routes in the coming week. I hope to start describing two new routes after the summer: On the way to St. Olav (from Oslo to Selånger) and the (Swedish) St. Olavsleden (from Selånger to Trondheim).
From about mid-August, I will stay in Hjerkinn, together with Ria Warmerdam (writer of the hiking guides). We will then be in the Eystein kirke every day to welcome pilgrims. If you happen to be in the area, you are welcome between 15:00 and 19:00 for a cup of coffee/tea, a chat and a stamp in your pilgrim passport (non-pilgrims are welcome too!).
I will be on the west coast for a week at the end of August for the press trip. When I get home, I don't know. I have a concert on September 2nd, so I'll definitely be back then. And yes, I have my clarinet with me and will spend the next month studying! Norway and Sweden are big enough to do that undisturbed....
Map
Map of the route travelled. Red is the cycled route (incl. ferries and 2 x buses), blue is the train. The little flag at the bottom is start and end points. In total, we cycled 1562 km.
Some numbers:
By the bicycle:
- length: 1562 km
- timer: 102 hours
- maximum speed: 70 km per hour
- average speed: 15.5 km per hour
- climbed altitude: 18.3 km
- gradient average: 2.1 %
Further:
- 2 x with the bicycle on the bus
- 3 x with the bicycle on the train
- 5 with a ferry
- coldest temperature: 9.5 °C
- hottest temperature: 30 °C
- bike breakdown: Remy: nothing, Gea: two punctures. Or rather, old stickers were coming off an also old inner tube. After replacing it with a new one, I had no more punctures.
The rest of the pictures between Mandal and Flekkefjord):
