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The whole route has been divided into
29 cycling stages and 6 rest
days in Flåm, Geiranger, Trondheim, Torghatten,
Bodø and Tromsø. The cycling days have mostly the same
schedule : a start early in the morning and cycle the
distance at own speed to the next place.
The stages have an average length of 100 kilometres,
depending on the profile and the locations of suitable
accommodation. You can expect two stages of about 160
kilometers during the tour.
The whole route follows almost everywhere quiet cycling
roads in the interior in the south and along the
Norwegian coastline for the rest of the tour.
The first part of the tour you can expect some serious
climbing with an average elevation gain of almost 1.500
meters per day. The three weeks along the coast can be
characterised as rolling with roughly 1.000 meters per
day of climbing.
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Your cycling days are interrupted frequently by one of
the many ferry crossings. 21 in total.
Occasionally two or three in one day. Half of the
ferry's we take as a group, but because of speed
differences between the riders it is sometimes more
practical to take the ferry individually.
The weather conditions in Norway can be quite divers to
the good and to the bad. It's easy to prepare for the
sunny days, but it is much more important to be prepared
for rain and coldness. Also when it are more days in a
row. This requires appropriate clothes and reliable
camping equipment. The Norwegians say : "There's no
such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes". Keep
this in mind.
At the start in Oslo you get an extensive tour
guide with background information about the
route.
We advise you to bring a GPS which has
the option to upload files. It is a very helpful device
to find the correct way without stops to look at
detailed maps or to study an overload of instructions.
We cycle the last stage 85 kilometres from Repvåg along
Honningsvåg to the globe monument above the desolated
cliffs which marks the North Cape. After a short
celebration, and no doubt that we take pictures, we
cycle 31 kilometres back to Honningsvåg. We stay the
last night at a hotel in this little harbour town which
also has an airport. You can fly back from Honningsvåg
to Tromsø and via Oslo back home.
Another recommended option for your return trip is to
travel by Hurtigruten, the Norwegian
Coastal Steamer. It's a 17 hours journey from
Honningsvåg to Tromsø, but it's also possible to cruise
along the fjords further down. All the way to Bergen
takes five days. |
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