Bykle-Haukeliseter (84 km)

The sun was shining on my tent when my alarm rang at seven o’clock this morning. Although it was becoming quite warm in the tent, I preferred to stay on my comfortable Exped mat which can be turned into a chair, and have breakfast inside. 

The bike ride started with a small uphill stretch and then a rather flat part. After 25 kilometres, I reached Hovden – a ski resort in the winter. Here I had a short coffee break and bought new freeze-dried dinners in a sports store. They didn’t have Real Turmat, so I have to try Summit To Eat instead. 

From Hovden there was a bit more uphill to go before I started a long descent down to Haukeli. Here I turned left on route E134 towards Haugesund, which had a bit more traffic than the E9 I was on before (but not too bad).

From Haukeli it was a steady ascent up towards Haukeliseter fjellstue, the mountain lodge where I am staying tonight. 10 kilometres before my goal, the main road went into a tunnel. So I had to take the pass over the mountain instead. I was rewarded by a beautiful landscape with the Kjelavatn lake to my feet and mountains with single snowfields all around. I took quite many stops to take pictures today. 

Back on the main road I cycled the last few kilometres to Haukeliseter, which is located at Ståvatn – another beautiful lake. I will sleep in a regular bed tonight and it seems like I have the room for myself as well. Since it is Friday, I already enjoyed a Radler/Alster (beer with sprite) in the sun. And I am very much looking forward to a three course dinner with pheasant as main course tonight (guess a red wine goes well with the bird).

I took many photo breaks today

Nice colours

Snow fields in the background

Very nice detour

Winding road behind

View over Kjelavatn

At Haukeliseter fjellstue

Today’s elevation profile

Day 3: Byglandsfjorden-Bykle (107 km)

The night was a bit rainy after all, but luckily in the morning it was dry and only overcast. I continued my journey on the west side of the Byglandsfjord. It was a very nice, woody road with literally no traffic at all (I met one car on the first 20 kilometres). I saw a very pretty woodpecker from close distance, but couldn’t get my GoPro camera running so quickly. 

After 40 kilometres along the fjord, I reached a village called Osa. I went to the local grocery store (Coop marked) and enjoyed a free coffee and a little chat with two gentlemen. The lady who worked there told me that there are five (!) people who live in Osa. But they have a grocery store!

The whole trip today took me through the beautiful Setesdal valley – always next to the fjord or following the Otra river. My lunch break was in Rysfjord where they have a petrol station. Circle K has “always a wiener for 10 kroner”, so easy choice for main course 1 and 2, accompanied by some fruit and kefir drink. 

My goal today was to reach Bykle, so that I have a manageable distance for tomorrow’s mountain stage to Haukeliseter. The last kilometres to Bykle at almost 600 metres above sea level were quite a climb, too. So I was content when I reached my goal at half past four. 

I set up my tent on a lawn next to the church. It started raining again just before I arrived, but it’s supposed to be nice weather tomorrow. 

Reiårsfoss waterfall

Weather not so great – nature great

Into the mountains

Let’s camp next to the church, Mr. Nansen said.

Map of Setesdal valley

Close to winning the red and white dotted jersey now

Svenevig-Byglandsfjorden (113 km)

I started the day with breakfast in bed because I was too lazy to get out of the tent for it. It was a sunny morning, and I started cycling from Svenevig around 9 o’clock. I first had to pass through Vigeland once more, my starting point from yesterday, and then further north on road 460. 

After a bit more than 3 kilometres, however, I noticed that I wasn’t wearing my gloves. So I figured that I must have either forgotten them at my tent spot or put somewhere on the bike when I left and lost them on the way. I returned to my camp, but they were not there. Nor did I find them lying on the road somewhere, so it seems like I have to buy a pair of new ones eventually. Fortunately, it wasn’t a more vital thing I lost, so I continued cycling without. 

I cycled through a sunny and wide U-shaped valley after I passed Vigeland towards Sveindal. (Quiz question for geology nerds: If a valley is U-shaped, is it formed by a glacier or a river?) The last bit up to Sveindal was quite steep, so the name (valley) was misleading really. From here I continued on road 42 which started with an even longer and higher slope. Although I have most of the climb up to Haukeliseter (at 1000 metres) still ahead of me, I got a little taste today of the terrain to come. 

At Evje I had a little pit stop. One of the parts which link my panniers to the front wheel had broken. The second one actually. In order to fix it I had to borrow a pair of pliers. (Udo told me I should have them in my luggage, so now I agree.) Luckily, Evje also had a building supplies store, so now I’ve got my own pliers and some extra screwdrivers (of which I only need one really, but they are super-light).

Finally, I arrived at Byglandsfjorden and found another nice spot for my tent here. When I opened my bags to prepare dinner, I found out that I had had a small “eggcident.” I bought this plastic container for six eggs because I thought it would be very nice to have eggs and bacon for breakfast from time to time. Well, two of them were broken and the container was not quite egg-yolk-proof. Fortunately, almost everything else was packed in small plastic bags. So after a small cleaning job, everything is fine again. 

It is half past eight and I will go back to my tent soon. There are some few raindrops falling, so I set up my tent rainproof tonight. The forecast for tomorrow is still OK though, so I hope there will be no more rain. I have around 190 kilometres to go to Haukeliseter where I am going to enjoy a nice three-course dinner in two days (which is after all even better than the Real Turmat chicken with lime I had tonight). My plan is to cycle a bit more than 100 kilometres tomorrow, so that I will have a slightly shorter day on Friday. 

At Mandalselva south of Sveindal

Camp at Byglandsfjorden

Elevation profile of the day

Day 1: Vigeland-Lindesnes fyr-Svenevig (44 km)

The long trip has started. I reached Vigeland at 13:30, and instead of waiting for two hours for another bus which could have taken me closer to Lindesnes fyr lighthouse, the intended starting point of my trip, I decided to cycle there instead. This meant 27 kilometres of cycling in the wrong direction, but given the distance which lies ahead of me, this seemed neglectable. 

I reached Lindesnes fyr at 15:30 and took some compulsory pictures there. I can certainly say that German tourists are well represented here, so Norwegian or English skills wouldn’t have been necessary. The lighthouse itself is a picturesque landmark, so I stayed some time to take pictures and enjoy a cup of coffee. 

They had a book there in which all Norge på langs tourists can write a greeting. So I took some time to read the stories of my predecessors. Most people seem to travel the other way around – from north to south. So this was there endpoint. Many of them were cyclists, but many of them have also walked/skied the whole way (which is the real Norge på langs challenge, I assume). My favourite quote in the book: “This trip must be experienced. But it cannot be recommended.” (“Turen må oppleves, men anbefales ikke.”)

I was not going to cycle long today. After another 17 kilometres in the opposite, that means the right direction to the north, I found a lovely bay with a perfect spot for my tent. I’m sitting by the sea now on a bench writing my diary and will soon go into my tent. 

I have booked a room at Haukeliseter fjellstue, a mountain lodge, for Friday. So I have three days to go there which is a bit less than 300 kilometres from here. The weather was great today and is supposed to be fine tomorrow, too – according to yr.no and Mr. Nansen. 

Starting point Lindesnes fyr – Norway’s southernmost point

Punxsutawney Nansen predicts sunshine

2500 km to go to Nordkapp – beeline that is

First camp spot at Svenevig

For the next six weeks my plan is to cycle through Norway from the south to the north – or “Norge på langs” in Norwegian. I’m currently on the train from Oslo to Kristiansand from where I will take a bus to Lindesnes. Lindesnes fyr is a lighthouse which will be the starting point for my trip. 

From here I will cycle north, pass by the Hardangervidda plateau and cross some of the fjords of the Westland. I plan to reach the coast south of Ålesund and follow it through Molde and Kristiansund. Next stops are Trondheim, Steinkjer, Namsos and then a looong stretch along the coast again to Bodø. From here I plan to take a ferry to the Lofoten peninsula and continue via Andøya and Senja to Tromsø. From Tromsø the final section goes via Alta to Nordkapp – which is my final destination. It’s actually not the northernmost point in Norway, but Mr. Nansen accepted this choice. 

In total I have planned six weeks for this trip of roughly 3100 to 3200 kilometres. In average, my plan is to cycle 100 kilometres per day which would allow me to take a rest day every fifth day. I will try to mostly sleep outside and brought both a tent and a hammock – which I have never slept in before, so that is going to be exciting. PDF version of the map above.