Two weeks to go!

Polarsykling Route

Hu og hei!

So here we are, two young Americaners setting out on an adventure like no other - to ride our bikes the length of Norway.

Why?

Well why not?  We met in Norway last year where we lived for one year as Fulbright Students.  While there, we each became enamored of the country, the people, and the wilderness.  We left the country in the summer of 2012, and by Christmas we had booked flights to return this summer.

The tour that we are embarking on is known as Norge på Langs, which loosely translates to "The length of Norway."  It will take us past many places we explored last year, and untold places yet to be discovered.  We will be hosted by friends from last year, as well as connections we are making through this trip.

As we pull together the details of our journey and get in some training miles, there have been some cool adventures to share before we go:

Ubikes goes to Fruita

I'm smiling that wide because the views were incredible in western Colorado where I went with the shop on a mountain bike trip. It was amazing to explore the trails out there and to ride a carbon Niner demo bike!! I came back with a few bruises, which will fade much faster than the memories. The last day I rode the Colorado Monument road, which was gorgeous and wound around cliffs that reminded me of the Grand Canyon.

First velodrome race!

Yes the walls are that steep. Just ask my parents and brother who came out to visit and to watch my first races at the indoor velodrome. It was exhilerating and a fun way to get in some fast and furious racing. I had a blast showing my family around Boulder, hiking, and taking a brewery tour in Fort Collins!



Lake and Mount Chocorua

I (Tyler) have been spending my time this year as a teacher's assistant at the University of New Hampshire, where I have continued my studies in Hydrology.  I have been leading a morose life outdoors in comparison to our illustrious Caitlin, but have managed to get out to the White Mountains for some hiking, paddled down the Lamprey River, and biked around the seacoast of NH.

Bruno comes to visit!

My good friend and flat-mate from last year came to visit this winter, and we took the opportunity to summit Mount Washington.  Sustained winds of 30+mph and temperatures in the single digits kept us on our toes!

This past year has been tremendously enjoyable, and we are very excited to get underway with this summer's adventure.

Southern Section: Kristiansand to Trondheim

Central Section: Trondheim to Tromsø

Northern Section: Tromsø to Nordkapp

Northern Section Return Leg: Nordkapp to Bodø

Eastcoast prep

Eastcoast prep:
By Tyler

I have been riding a Giant Kronos from the mid 1990's for the past several months, making incremental adjustments until I now feel that it is up to the task of carrying me to the arctic ocean.

The climate was so mild here in the seacoast of New Hampshire this year to permit me to ride the 6 miles from my apartment in Newmarket to the University of New Hampshire in Durham straight through the

winter.

When I moved to Newmarket in the fall last year, I was excited about the potential to ride to school and the 10km commute proved to be ideal.  It gave me just the right amount of time to wake me up in the mornings, and to clear my head at the end of the day.  After riding a few beater bikes in Norway, I was ecstatic to returned to my bike and when I found studded tires on deep discount, memories of slipping through Trondheim's frozen streets convinced me to but a pair... of course the subsequent winter was so mild that I used them three times.  Oh well, it let me ride the road bike instead.  My ride of choice ended up being Packers Falls Rd, with the intermittent jaunt down Bay/Durham Point Rd on the blue bird days, and the rare suicide run down 108 when time was short.

Newmarket further demonstrated its ideal suitability for a cycle commuting student when Independant Fabrication (IF) moved their bike factory into a suit in one of the refurbished historic mill buildings.

Historic mill buildings in Newmarket, NH  where Independent Fabrications is located. Photo Source:  http://newmarketmills.com

A blown tube first brought me in contact with the fine IF crew a few days before they opened shop.  Gary was kind enough to not only to give me the tube (the register hadn't gone online and I had no wallet with me) but to replace for me himself.  I have been back numerous times for this, that, and the other thing, including a new tires, and a bike fitting.

I was not sure to begin with if it was a good idea to take such an old, heavy bike on a 2000+ mile tour, so I asked the people best suited to deliver honest analysis - the folks who fabricate bikes from scratch.  My bike is noticeably out of place in a shop that sells exclusively custom and Belgian bikes, and I felt a bit like an impostor walking my ride through the shop, in between the multi-thousand dollar display models.  I asked Jesse, the certified bike fitter, and Gary, the president, for their opinions of my steel framed monster, and they gently confirmed that it is a well built, reliable, heavy as all get out piece of crap.  They agreed to fit me to my bike and I worked with Jesse to produce a full suite of dynamic biometrics to optimize.

Bike fitting with Jesse at Independent Fabricaitons.  The LED's were tracked with a 3-d camera to generate biometrics that we used to determine bike fit and to make adjustments.  Photo credit to the talented Paschal Vincenti.

We decided to raise the handlebars, which meant replacing the quill with a threadless adapter, stem and handle bar.  I also decided to replace the break calipers and cables and housings this spring.  In the end the bike is more comfortable to ride, lets hope it stands up to the test!

At the closure of the academic year, I packed up my belongings and moved to my family's home in Alton: one trip in the car, and a second trip with the bike and trailer.  Oh yeah, the trailer!

So the trailer story is that I had not taken a clear side in the pannier/trailer debate until this single wheeled, light, new trailer fell in my lap at a local bike swap for the right price.  I have been riding with rear  panniers for over a decade (wow, can I really say that? yeah I guess so... scary) but never front panniers.  I experimented with a passenger trailer by Burley, but they had far too much play in the connection and I felt like I was wasting a tremendous amount of energy with every pedal stroke.  This new trailer is similar in design to a Bob trailer, but has no markings. The Ortleib 85 liter duffel fits the rig perfectly and makes my load water proof (fingers crossed).

 

Riding through Newmarket. Photo credit to the illustrious Paschal Vincenti.

But I was in the middle of moving back to Alton when I interrupted myself.  I rode from Newmarket to Durham where I surrendered University keys, said some goodbyes, and picked up a cycling companion: Dr. Wallace A. Bothner.  We rode together for 10 or so miles before parting ways.

Wally, en sann Norsk mann på hjert, født den 17. Mai.

I continued on for the remaining 40 miles on my own along backroads.  I chose to take the historic main route, and discovered quickly why a new road has been built in the boring ugly out wash plain... The historical route was laid out in the forest, past large farms, and full of history  as opposed to the modern highway running past sand pits, strip malls, and box stores. However! The historic route seemed to prioritize a short path of travel over a flat path, blazing over ridges and hills making the most direct route possible between villages.  What a big difference the route makes.

Elevation profile along contemporary main roads (the way I could have gone).

Elevation profile along historic main roads (the way I chose to go).

 In the end, the same amount of elevation has been netted, but the gross elevation change is nowhere near the same.

Move from Newmarket to Alton

Once I reached my home town, I stopped into the local bike shop, Liken Biken and bought a replacement chain.  I chatted with a Sram representative for a bit about touring before finishing my ride home to a fantastic meal and a comfy bed.  If this one day dabble was anything like what this summer has in store, I cannot wait.

A wet test ride

 Ahoy from the western portion of the preparations!!

My decked out new bike!

I arrived home on Thursday with bikes, boxes, and my life from Colorado that somehow all managed to fit in my car. Friday it was off to Madison for my brother's graduation and celebration. Fun times and a great city to visit! After unpacking the U-haul for Alex and my own boxes, I had a fair bit of sorting/organization to do before the next trip. That all done, I now have what I think is everything I will be bringing to Norway.

So, I test rode the bike. In the rain. Because I had ridden for 80-something miles with weight on Monday, but with as many books as I could find--not exactly as I was going to carry it on the trip. I also wanted to see how the fenders worked because Boulder offers very few opportunities to ride on wet pavement, there being 300+ days of sun!

The mountainous landscape in Minnesota provides plenty of opportunities to do extended climbing---not! But I have taken it up the biggest hills I could find! This weekend I'll apart and pray to the mechanics at Ubikes to send me some great wrenching skills so that I can put it back together as well!

I have to say that coming back to 'flatlands' after living at altitude has felt amazing! My legs and lungs love it, the riding is smooth and fast :-). 

Publicity materials for the book!!

I am still waiting on copies of my book from the publisher, but I am making inquiries at book stores, starting with the one in my hometown. Publicity starts seriously once I get back in August!

Beginnings

We have made it to an amazing house in the mountians of Saudal at the end of a long fjord. After biking just over 500km (300 mi) in the past five days, our legs are beginning to understand the undertakings we have planned. There have been lots of detours, some road construction, some chain repair, some feasting on honey-peanut butter chocolate, but most of all there have been amazing memories built into the twists and turns of our rides on bikes, ferries and feets!

Preikestolen (pulpit rock) was a highlight so far (and also the first 'rest day' we had). It was everything the pictures show--the epitome of european scorn for guardrails as we laid down on the edge and looked at the 2000ft drop. The birds flying on the surface of the fjord looked like toys. The mountains lining the fjord and the  sunshine at our backs made it seem like we had found a piece of heaven and the multi-nationalism of the people at the top assured us that we weren't alone in our discovery.

Our hosts so far have been fantastic--it is great to get to know people along the way (and to have a shower or two that isn't freezing!). Tenting spots have also been quite comfortable and nice as well. After riding for most of the day we finally spotted a nice green area underneath a large cable bridge only to find out that it was in someone's backyard. I tried my hand at introducing us in Norwegian and the woman not only let us camp in their yard, but told us we could fill our waterbottles if we needed.

The road ways have given us a few choices, and they have all proved fruitful: apparently in Norway all roads lead to where you want to go - some jut over hill and dale to get there.  One lesson that we have learned is that one should not trust the folks who laid out the bicycle route to have the cyclist best interest in mind.  At first we dogmatically followed the sacred "Sykkle Rte 1" signs and found ourselves riding through golf courses, over mountains, and through random neighborhoods... ways that are nice to see, but not always the best surfaces nor the most compelling justifications for the extra distance.  After the extra miles induced by the sykkle route on the first few days, we wisened up and have been taking a more freelance approach by navigating country roads from one town to another.

The weather has held out for us with temperatures in the 50s (F) and mostly sunny skies.  The coastal wind has been both a bleassing in that is seems to keep the skies clear, but can also be a curse as we climb hills into the wind.  We will climb over our first really high pass tomorrow as we ride from Sauda to Røldal to Odda, and we expect the temperatures to drop as we ride through the snowy mountain pass.

That's the update for now...pictures to come when technology allows.

Takk for turen så langt!
-Caitlin og Tyler

Up, over, around and through

We camped outside of a town called Olden last night, which is apparently the 'fashion capital of Norway'. We also saw a cruise ship this morning come into the tiny finger of the fjord. Just like that there was the equivalent of a 7 story apartment behind us! Today we are headed toward Ålesund and the coast with a peek down Geiranger fjord on the way.

SNACKS!!

The weather has been fantastic and the views indescribable. Our shorts/jersey tans are coming along nicely and the contrast between snow at the tops of hill climbs and salt water at fjords make the trip incredible in terms of contrasts.

Pictures! (finally)

Met in Reykevik!

Built a bike!

On tur with Ferdinand - Day 1

A windy point in Southwest Norway - Day 2

Flekkefjørd with couch surfing host Alexander - Day 3

Make up your mind already!

Old highway through mountain... with windows of course - Day 4

Town near Forsand - Day 5

Preikestolen with Ida - Day 6

What a view!

If only I could be so light on my bicycle...

New pics!

Oh Norway!

Fjords, mountains, sunshine--one can't ask for much more

Great view of the sunset on the coast!

The Atlantic ocean road

We have arrived in Kristiansund after riding across the bridges on the Atlantic ocean road. It has been an amazingly sunny day and we have enjoyed seeing all of the islands and small coastal villages along the way. Tomorrow we set off for Tingvoll and inland again. We saw our first road sign with a distance to Trondheim, so we are getting closer to our homes from last year and to the midpoint in Norway.

Continuing to hope for sunny weather... six weeks left!!

Sulky saga

As you may have noticed, we have some luggage.  The total mass varies quite a bit depending on the amount of food we happen to be carrying at the moment, but generally it tends to run about 30 kilos (66 lbs).  This load rides with us in a series of 6 bags: four panniers, a stuff sack, and a duffel bag.  The duffel carries a majority of the weights, and rides in a steel trailer.

The trailer - picked up at a bicycle swap - has no brand markings, but is similar in design to a BOB trailer.  It has handled the abuse of the trip (not always on paved roads) well, but in Ålesund the pot holes, the 23 kilo load, and the misuse caught up with it and it developed a few catastohpic cracks.

In the words of the great "Motorcycle Diaries" - Problems!

We made some temporary reparis and limped into Molde (another 50 kilometers away) alright.  To our great delight, and good fortune, our friends in Molde have a brilliant neighbor who is developing a protype fabrication business.  He took a look at the trailer and insisted on taking it down to his shop straight away.

Fireworks!

Welder extrordinare busy at work cleaning up the electro welding with his trust grinder.

Within an hour our trailer went from tenuous at best to bobust as ever.  We are trully fortunate to have met such a tallented, and generous man to help us out along out way.  We are grateful to you Einard, thank you for your time and tallent the trailer has performed excellentlly.

Happy trailer!

Time travel or distance travel?

As we rode into the roling hills of Trondelag, the landscape took on a familiar hue, a recongnizable smell, and a discernable feel.  We could tell that we were quickly approaching our host region from last year.

From the coast, we rode inland up the Surnadals valley to Rindal, where we met Bruno, Tyler's roommate from last year.  Together we finished off the day with a 3 hour hike into a back country cabin owned by the sports association at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology.  We took some extra time to find the four person bunk house in the middle of nowhere, as none of us had been there before, but we found it with only marginal damage to our pride and only a few hours of slogging through the saturated moss.

The creatures of the cabin.

We rode on the next day to another cabin, this one in Lundamo.  We met Kathi and Kjetil and enjoied dinner, sauna, "fishing", card playing, swimming, and cake together at the cabin named Flå Koia.

Friends at Flå Koia

Sauna!



Birthday cake and coffee on the lake shore... doesn't get much better than this.

 We rode into Trondheim (the city where Tyler and Bruno lived together last year) on Monday the 18th. The 19th was our first true day of rest - our bikes sat stationary all day as we baked, cleaned, and visited.  We took cake to Tyler's old department where we met many old friends and were wished good fortune many-a-time over.

Friends for the Insititute for Water and Environmental Enineering at NTNU.

We had a dinner at Tyler's old flat where Bruno was still living, and got to visit with more friends and eat even more of Bruno's excellent cooking.

Dinner party at Moholt.

It has been crazy to ride back through a place of such recent yet distant memories.  This is the perfect time to do so, as many friends are still here.  The landscape will always welcome you back, but it has been a real joy to be welcomed back with surprised smiles and flashes of recognition on the faces of friends.

In front of the main building at NTNU

In front of Nidaros Dommen in Trondheim.