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Norway 2007: The Fjords - south of Sognefjord |
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Sunday 24th June: Flateland - Mandal (188 km) |
Our world is obsessed with success.
We are told that if you aren't a winner then you are a loser. This attitude is repugnant to those of us who want to succeed at something without making someone else a loser.
After 24 days of getting up at 5 am every day, success was close. It is interesting to look back and see what we think contributed to this success:
Consistent effort. You don't cycle 3000 km by doing it all in one day. You cycle 3000 km by doing an achievable distance every day for many days.
Bursts of extra effort. On some occasions it may be really important to put in a bit more effort, to reach a shop or a ferry.
Planning. It is a good idea to plan the things that should be planned. We never booked accommodation in advance, but usually knew where the accommodation would be.
Flexibility Sometimes planning is not appropriate and spontaneity is called for. When we started out on this trip we did not expect to cycle through the fjords, let alone all the way to the south of Norway.
Taking things one step at a time. When starting out from Nordkapp, we did not concern ourselves with the final destination, we focussed on Honningsvåg, 33 km down the road, because if we didn't make it to Honningsvåg then we certainly were not going to make it to that final destination.
Stopping to check the map on route 9 (Setesdalen)
Karen's diary:
We knew it would be a long day. There is very little accommodation before Mandal so we had to do it all in one go. I decided to put the hammer down; if we could cover the 100km to Evje before lunchtime we stood a chance of getting to our destination.
We travelled fast on a good, flat road for the first 50km - then we made a tactical blunder and headed for the 'quiet' road on the other side of the lake. We needn't have bothered; it was winding and more undulating than the main road so we lost precious time. When we finally reached the end of the lake (almost 50km later) we switched back to the main road only to find it was still almost deserted. We were passing through a fine, craggy landscape with big rock walls and plenty of pine trees. The village of Evje was very quiet, more or less as we expected on a Sunday, but the petrol station was open so we stopped there (along with everyone else) for morning tea. Evje is an adventure-sports village. Just outside the village we watched kayakers and white-water rafters from the roadside.
We changed our plans last night. Instead of charging straight down to Kristiansand we have decided to go further southwest to the island of Skernøy, a much more southerly point. This would be a more fitting end to our 'Length of Norway' trip. After that we could wander into Kristiansand and see about catching a train back towards Oslo. So, a little way past Evje we left the main road and headed west on Route 462, a narrow, pretty and hilly road past small lakes, forests and the odd house. It is remote country. At Bjelland we turned south onto Route 455; it was quiet at first but got steadily busier as we approached Mandal. During the afternoon Brian called a short halt to show me the bike computer - we had just clocked up 3,000km. A bit further along I called a short halt for a very different reason: wild strawberries! A small but productive berry-patch by the roadside kept us busy for a while. Then we did the last little slog down to Mandal - our last stop before Skernøy. It has been a very long day and everything hurts, but we're nearly there. We are tenting tonight.