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August 7 Monday sunny Bicycle touring Norway It doesn't take long to warm up in the morning on our loaded touring bicycles. We start the day with a killer climb up major switchbacks. Not satisfied with the view at the top picnic area, I climb Rodel Mountain to get a complete overview of the stunning area. I can see the treacherous switchbacks, a valley, a lake and a snowcapped mountain in the distance. There is even a tunnel for a river. There are numerous tunnels on our bicycle touring route. Instead of blindly navigating the tunnels with motor vehicles, we opt to take the roads that go around the outside of the tunnels. Much safer biking and better much scenery too than the inside of a black stinky tunnel. Snow patches are constantly around us as we bicycle along. Some of the patches of snow have melted into strange shapes. Hey, there's one that looks like New Zealand. Arran and Rebecca have been ahead of us for most of the day. They didn't stop when I climbed Rodel Mountain. We finally catch up to them at their lunch stop. We hunker down between some boulders to cut the wind. The view is super. Goat bells dong below us. In town we pull our touring bicycles into a grocery store parking lot to restock our food supplies. A guy from Arizona sees Arran's New Zealand flag sewn on his bicycle pannier. "We were in New Zealand last year,"
he boasts. "Great place. Friendly people. It's just like
Holland." I think the guy meant friendly New Zealand and friendly Dutch, but it didn't come out that way. And we never lose a chance to poke fun at Americans. And we can almost understand every word. Arran fills up his fuel container at a self serve gas bar. His container take a miserly half a liter. When he pays, the gas station attendant admonishes him. "Next time remember it's a five litre minimum." "Next time I'll bring a bigger container," Arran says. We use the fuel for our Whisperlite cook stove. Kind of interesting to burn automotive fuel. A little flammable, no? "That would last us five weeks," I say. "That would last us our whole cycling trip," Arran says. "Always remember the rule: Fill up first. Pay later." I asked the gas attendant if he was busy. "No," he replied. "Summer's over. (Even though it's only the beginning of August?) Everyone is back at work," he says. "It was 4º Celsius last night." Yikes, no wonder I was chilly and we had to zip the tent doors closed. We leave town, bicycling a small road to a lake. Of course it is uphill. Rebecca wants to know what road we're looking for. Arran says any one that goes up. There is a road marked "Private Veg" that skirts the back side of the lake. Ah, that sounds like what we're looking for. In a short distance of bicycling down the private road, Sharon finds a grand free bicycle touring camp spot by a little island. And, if I get down just right behind a clump of trees, I can hardly notice the power station across the lake. |
