Touring - Touring scandinavia

Thinking of doing a tour in Norway/Sweden in September. Anybody got any ideas, must-sees,
places to avoid, anything?

If you go to western Norway bring an umbrella, find a ferry schedule and a guide to cycling through tunnels. (I am not kidding)
Gordon p

I cycled Kristiansand, eastwards, then north through Lillehammer and north through to Trondheim.
Eastwards I cycled through Roros hitting Sweden's Harjedalen, the most boring county in the world (350km of trees).
This however was a welcome releif in that it was incredibly flat.

Personally I would recommend you keep distances short. (I had a 21km climb to Geilo!!!!!) but tunnels are no major problem.
THere were no warning signs on the one tunnel I went through.
With minimal traffic on no ' No Entry signs' I found the air quality reasonable for a fairly long 700m tunnel.
It is possible that the major tunnels are to the west going towards Bergen but I sure it would be easy to thumb a lift through.

Norway had the most breathtaking scenery I have ever come across, though the plateau towards Tronheim does get dull.


Whatevey you choose be adaptable. Accomodation I found no problem but camping was seldom enjoyable with too many mosquetoes.

Good luck however you go.

I lived in Bergen, Norway in 1988-89 and had an apartment across from the Nordkapp ferry docks and would wakeup every morning to a different ferryboat. The Hurtigruten coastal steamers, as they are called, journey from Bergen to Kirkenes and back in 11 days, with the ships calling at 34 ports along the coast. It may be possible to do a trip up the coast with the ferries by stopping in the different towns or islands for a few days of cycling. Another idea I thought about doing was the road along the train line that goes from around Oslo to Bergen. The road is now a trail and it is cycleable, but I don’t know how difficult it is, but I imagine it is something like the Kettle Valley Railway Trail in BC. It rains everyday on Norway’s west coast, more rain than Vancouver, but to me, it is the most beautiful place on the planet. I was in Sweden in January of 2002 and traveled the route from Copenhagen to Stockholm and it was not very interesting, the coast might be more scenic.

Here is a link to the M/S Nordkapp web cam: http://www.bt.no/kamera/english/article87025#
And another for the Bergen area.
http://www.bt.no/kamera/english/

More rain than Vancouver?
I may have to reconsider.
Thanks for the info everybody.

Originally posted by skookum
More rain than Vancouver?
I may have to reconsider.
Thanks for the info everybody.

In Sweden we have pretty good summer weather. September (the last part of sept.) is the beginning of autumn but can bee really nice and beautiful. Hard to predict :) , if you know what I mean. Why not concentrate on Sweden? If there is a lot of rain in Norway in september it is probably because of their high mountains along the coast.

Anders

anders
I was thinking September as I thought July/august would be too busy. What do you think?
Do you have any suggestions for touring in Sweden?

The best thing would be to get hold of any guidebook about Sweden. How long would you be here, and how long distance do you plan on cycling? Do you take a plain to get here, and does it land at Landvetter airport or Arlanda airport, or somewhere else?

I would choose to bicycle one of the long bicycle/path/ways. They are shown with plates/signposts along the countryside.

Check out this:

http://www.meravsverige.nu/

http://www.cykelleder.nu/

They have info in English.

If you want any help you can PM me.

Regards
Anders

anders
I want to visit a friend in southern Sweden. I'm not sure what town she is in right now. I plan on spending about a month and would like to do a ride that would be about 2-3 weeks, with a little time for relaxing.
I haven't made any firm plans yet, but I would be flying from Canada.

only problem is that northern europeans are a bit square...:o

just kidding guys just kidding

I did a 25 day solo tour between Trondheim to Bergen in 1991. Wonderful scenary! Some rain even during the summer. Very long days, sunlight at 10:30PM. Every time you cross a waterway like a fjord you start uphill. Lots and lots of climbing in Western Norway. Tunnels can be a bit scary when they are not lighted. I remember riding into this non-lighted tunnel with a turn in it, uphill no less. It kept getting darker and darker until the walls and road become one in the darkness. I turned around and headed back towards the light. Instead, I took the side road with the 19% grade. My legs hurt just thinking about it. This was near the famous Stalheim Hotel between Voss and Gudvangen. I remember the great view.