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Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 10 May 2014, 10:09am
by Vorpal
FarOeuf wrote:
The traffic road signs are good. It's the bicycle-path signs that are a bit odd. Often you cycle along, some armco barriers appear and you then realise a segregated foot/cycle path is running alongside the main road, but you can't get over the barrier. And the NSCR sometimes ends up in pretty steep offroad tracks, which are more mountain bike than touring bike; quite different to the NSCR in the other countries.


This problem of coming to a place where cycling is banned can usually be avoided by taking the road through a town or village, rather than the bypass road; or the minor road, rather than the main road (this may not be true in remote areas).

Cycling is sometimes banned through tunnels, on narrow bridges, and some dual carriageway sections. To be honest, I don't see any logic to it, except when it comes to something like an E road. That said, the route through a village may be the better option, anyway, but it's not always obvious on a map, because it may not look like a through route. Old through routes have often been blocked off to reduce motor vehicle permeability, but even where there is no through route for motor vehicles, there normally is for pedal cycles.

As for steep off-road tracks... they are everywhere. It's the nature of the landscape. Some of them are roads or converted roads. If my bike can't handle it, I just get off and walk for a bit. One route near me used to be the main road to Oslo, but it was closed to wagon traffic in the 18th century when a less steep route was built. It's still a right of way, and used by quite a few cyclists, but most walk up it and ride down. I only know one person who can ride all the way up.

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 12 May 2014, 2:40pm
by thighmaster
Good advice, thanks! :)
Trying to ride through villages rather than riding past them, if only possible, tick. Not necessary to get detailed maps since 2/3 of upper Norway don´t have that many banned roads/ options, tick. Sticking to minor ( old) roads rather than the crowded and potentially hazardious main roads ( was intending to, anyway), tick.

Getting more confident of one´s abilities to navigate while cycle touring. Mackerels and frozen fish-items, here I come :)

Safe trails for all of you!

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 12 May 2014, 10:37pm
by jjpeterberger
Pete Jack wrote:I agree. A couple of years ago I tried to follow the North Sea Cycle Route south from Stavanger in late May. It was horrible,the signage was lousy, much of it single track mountain bike stuff really, cold, rain and howling headwinds. After about 50 miles of that rubbish and a freezing night in a tent I abandoned it and caught a train to Kristiansand and the the ferry to Denmark ("We drink coffee at home" when I asked where I could get a cup of coffee.) The train was a typical arm and a leg deal, it cost me a child's ticket for the bike.

I attempted to start in Bergen, which has a good YMCA hostel BTW. I couldn't find a hint of the NSCR which is supposed to terminate in Bergen. Nobody seemed to have heard of it. The traffic (and rain of course ) was horrible so I caught the ferry to Stavanger.


Does anyone have a link for the ferry between Stavanger and Bergen?

Thanks,
Jay

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 12 May 2014, 10:44pm
by FarOeuf
jjpeterberger wrote:Does anyone have a link for the ferry between Stavanger and Bergen?

Thanks,
Jay


I was in Stavanger a couple of weeks ago, asking about this ferry at Tourist Information. The ferry has been stopped, and it didn't take bicycles even when it was running.

cheers,

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 13 May 2014, 12:22am
by PJ520
didn't take bicycles even when it was running.
Sad to hear that yet another ferry has gone. When I went from Bergen to Stavanger they were not very friendly and made me lug my bike up a flight of stairs to the top of the thing. Here's the ferry you won't catch
Image

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 13 May 2014, 5:58am
by jjpeterberger
FarOeuf wrote:
jjpeterberger wrote:Does anyone have a link for the ferry between Stavanger and Bergen?

Thanks,
Jay


I was in Stavanger a couple of weeks ago, asking about this ferry at Tourist Information. The ferry has been stopped, and it didn't take bicycles even when it was running.

cheers,


Thanks. That explains why I hadn't found anything...

Jay

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 13 May 2014, 8:02am
by Vorpal
There might be a work around Stavanger - Bergen .... I will investigate.

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 13 May 2014, 8:24am
by FarOeuf
Vorpal wrote:There might be a work around Stavanger - Bergen .... I will investigate.


it's either the boat to Tau and up route 13 (which I did), or the boat to Skudeneshavn (this wasn't offered as an option by Tourist Info, so check) and up the coast (more boats on this route) to Bergen. If you want to take the E39 northwards then you must take a bus to Mortavika (ferry).

Route 13 is a nice road, and lots of campsites up there. The only problem is that it makes Bergen nigh on impossible without taking a bus/train, or doing many more km's than is ideal. If you were to take route 13 then it continues up to Voss via the old road which is really nice (from Granvin). You could take the train from there to Bergen (with bike), as it's a pretty scenic train journey.

Alternative would be a day trip to Bergen on the train/bus, because cycling route 13 from Voss to Vik really is a spectacular pass. The hostel in Voss is really friendly, I'm sure they'd store your stuff/bike while you visited Bergen.

cheers,

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 13 May 2014, 8:28am
by FarOeuf
thighmaster wrote:Getting more confident of one´s abilities to navigate while cycle touring. Mackerels and frozen fish-items, here I come :)

Safe trails for all of you!


good luck, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. may be worth posting back here any hints and tips you discover, as it's turning into quite a useful file of info on Norway touring.

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 13 May 2014, 8:41am
by pal
Here's a bit more on the demise of the Bergen-Stavanger route: http://www.fjordnorway.com/en/Corporate/News-from-Fjord-Norway/Flaggruten-stops-its-service/ The Bergen-Leirvik bit of the route is now covered by Skyss (https://skyss.no/nn-NO/Rutetider-og-kart1/Baat/); the Stavanger-Haugesund section has been taken over by Kolumbus (timetable at the very bottom of this page: http://www.kolumbus.no/ruter/bat/). The tunnel on the E39 south of Leirvik is closed to cycles, so one would have to detour round on the Rv541 to plug the gap between the two ferries -- but it looks like it should be do-able (though it's a shame that the non-stop link has gone...)

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 26 Jul 2014, 3:02pm
by serbring
I don't really like cooking when I camp, also because I prefer touring light and eating street food. But since I know that Norway is expensive I'm thinking to bring with me camping cuttery and a plate to prepare some cold meals. In this post someone posted the interesting suggestion of preparing cous cous with cold water. Cheap and quite fast. Do you have any other cold meal I may prepare in Norway without a stove?

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 26 Jul 2014, 10:46pm
by Vorpal
Many grains will soak up water overnight, or during the day. Porridge oats can be soaked overnight, though I've never tried it. Pot noodles are partly cooked and dehydrated, rather than uncooked, so they are okay just soaked for a long time. It's common for university students to do this :)

Bread + stuff to eat in it will generally be better & cheaper in Norway, though.

Re: Surviving Norway?

Posted: 27 Jul 2014, 11:10am
by serbring
Vorpal wrote:Many grains will soak up water overnight, or during the day. Porridge oats can be soaked overnight, though I've never tried it. Pot noodles are partly cooked and dehydrated, rather than uncooked, so they are okay just soaked for a long time. It's common for university students to do this :)

Bread + stuff to eat in it will generally be better & cheaper in Norway, though.


thanks.