Norway?

We (3 men and 3 bikes) are going to Norway for a week mid June.

Are B&B's plentiful?
Is alcohol plentiful?
How cold will it be?
Any advice welcome, sensible or ridiculous.

TIA.

 

I'll be there from 16th -> 30th

yes, but expensive
Take a tent for emgencies but try for Hyttes (huts) , chalet type things
on campsites
http://engelsk.nafcamp.com/

Yes, but expensive, also *very* intolerent with DD. Get drunk on the
scenary instead

Not to bad, gest colder the further north you go, (Of course) may be a bit
wet but should be pleasent. Went 2 years ago and never had to bother with
thermals

Well, a bit of research would help, before booking to go !

A few google searches gets all sorts



http://www.thefjords.no/

 

Jim emerged from their own little world to say

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showth...7ac10d725110c&threadid=35257&highlight=norway

this should answer most of your questions. Some of the contributors
live in Norway so register on the site if you have any others

GS riders tend to go further than most - the site is one of the best
around for advice about obscure destinations

 

My experience is 25 years outta date, but here goes... There's campsites
(for German Hymermobiles mostly), a lot have wooden huts (expensive).
Alcohol is very expensive, carry some spirits with you. It can be cold north
of the Arctic Circle, but no colder than the high Alps. It can rain for
days... And days. There can be loads of mosquitos. And Germans. It's very
beautiful. Avoid the North Cape car park, buy a Nordkapp sticker anywhere if
it matters. Laugh at Germans with reindeer antlers on their bikes (really!).
It's a great trip, try exploring some back roads too. Enjoy.

 

Yes, but expensive. A bottle of Hungarian red in a Chinese restaurant
cost the equivalent of £15

Not very in June [1]. Depends how close to the arctic circle you (want
to) get ..

No probs.

P.

[1] In Oslo

 

Beav says...

That's fucking cheeky, being as Norway isn't in the EU.

 

Sometime around Mon, 16 May 2005 19:28:09 +0100, Jim babbled on about:

The West is nice from Bergen Northwards, it will rain so be prepared, the
mossies are a nightmare anywhere near water or trees, and stuff to keep
them off is very expensive so buy it in the UK, ideally get something with
lots of Deet in it. The police appear to have major personality bypasses
so speeding is not such a good idea, and fines can be very very severe.
Beer is very expensive as are cigs. Women can be very cute, the
Japanese/Asian looking ones are often half Inuits with attitude. There are
two types of spoken Norwegian, however the majority seem to speak English
quite well, and they can drink, swear and smoke as well as you can. The
people are very nice and I am yet to meet a real asshole in NO.

If you are only going for a week and you are looking for a scenic
coastal type ride you are not going to get very far unless you work very
hard, you can move in land a bit and take the major roads North, but then
you could just ride up the A1 in the UK for the same effect and save a
bucket load of money.

You can stop in Huts, however you can camp as well, the law is strange
it appears you can pretty well camp any place you wish as long as it
is not in someones garden.

Have a good time! I should call you a bastard at this point as I have just
cancelled this years tour of Scandanavia.

 

other queries already answered, but remember

- be sensible wrt speeding. Low speed limits, very often 70 or 80 km/h
(NB not mph) also on major routes. Tickets very expensive compared to
the UK; rates up 25% earlier this year. Easily in the range £200-500 for
what would have got you a £60 one over here.

- local hazards: sand/gravel along the road verges; motorists not used
to look out for MCs; risk of collision with large wildlife (elk) if
riding in darkness/dusk/forests

- if you plan to go camping, remember a mosquito repellent

- if you see any, make sure you visit bike dealers and check out the
prices. When you have stopped laughing, ask for an insurance quote.
After that the C2H5OH prices does not feel as expensive as before,
considering how much you have saved on the wheels

- one week will not allow you to trundle up to the north, but if you can
reach route 63, Grotli-Åndalsnes, you should be able to see some pretty
sights.

Enjoy your trip!

 

True, but that did not keep the Norw. Govnm. from preparing to scrap
their traditional yellow middle of the road paint for white several
years ago, without anyone shouting up that the bloody country wasn't
even part of the union.

 

Contrary to what others have said, you should be prepared
for nearly freezing conditions if you plan going on any of
the really high altitude mountain roads (Sognefjell,
Hardangervidda, Dovre, Saltfjell to name some).

In June some of the roads I'm interested in when in Norway
(private gravel roads) are not even open because they have
not been cleared of snow. There is one old favourite road
that they have given the tacky tourist name "The Snow Road",
that one is cleared of course and you can ride along
3 to 4 metre high snow walls in June.

Don't try doing too much in a week. Bergen and a few fjords
north of there plus a visit up in the mountains will keep you
busy. Try to find a few roads that are not the obvious route
from A to B and the chances are good that there are more
thrills and less traffic. Tunnels look the same all over the
world (even if some of the small/old Norwegian ones are
interestingly dark, damp and twisty), ride above them on the
"old road" wherever possible.

 

But not surprising. Remember Quisling?

 

ISTR they have loads of chalets dotted around the place

It's expensive - the locals all distil their own moonshine

Prolly more or less like here - it depends how far north you are going

Don't go to discos ....

The lads are all so pissed they can hardly stand, girls are all jailbait

 

Get the bikes to keep you warm. But make it clear that they're not to
talk all night.

 

Lots of crinkly bits.

 

Wuss ! Just ride up, over and through it
http://www.ytc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Scan2003/snow1.jpg

 

Actually, the two varieties of Norwegian are in the written form. When
you get there, take a look at the bank notes - on either side is printed
"Norges Bank" or "Noregs Bank" - which represent the two varieties.
Sadly no rare misprint that could have financed your trip.

Verbally, there are lots of dialects which more or less blend into one
another, but as "Ovenpå" said, you are more likely to be addressed in
(norw)English as soon as the locals figure out your'e from abroad.

 

I see a girl and I see snow but I see no bike ?

Not that I have any pictures to show but many years ago
I tried to ride the old road on the south Hardangervidda
crossing in early June.
There were signs advising that the road was not cleared
but the first bit looked good. Soon there was snow on the
road and then a big drift.
That was when I learned that street tires are absolutely
fucking useless in deep snow. It was not the cold but the
sweat that was bothering me by the time I got turned
around and back on gravel.

Maybe one should try to get there again on something
more suitable. The TTR with T63 or MT21 tyres
might get me into even worse trouble ;-)

 

We walked, in full leathers.

 

There was something interesting on TV today. Pics from a mountain road
south west in Norway, road up to a hotel. The road was cleared from
snow, but there was 6 metres of snow on the sides...