Kongsberg --> Austbygdi

June 24, 2023

First 1000m pass

Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/f3aQu6K3KBb

I started the day off by sleeping in at the Kongsberg Hotel. Good blackout curtains really help. After getting up around 9am, I made my way down to the free breakfast buffet. The buffet was even more gourmet than the previous morning: Fresh baked bread, cold cuts, lox, smoked salmon, bacon, and eggs. I shamelessly ate about 4 plates of food, which I figured would get me through most of the day.

Mystery sauce that almost made me vomit. Likely a fermented fish sauce with a strong herbal flavor as well

After reviewing my route for the day, I realized I had a couple of different options than what I had planned: There was an alternate route that followed the Numedalslågen river upstream to Veggli (pronounced "vaguely"), before going over a 1000m pass before descending to Lake Tinnsjå. This route added 30km, and had more elevation gain overall, but all the elevation was gained in one 10km stretch from Veggli to the top of Vegglifjell. This sounded more appealing to me than the endless rolling up and down I had ridden yesterday.

As I left Kongsberg, the separated bike path ended, but I was on a very low traffic road that paralleled Norway's highway 40. I would maybe see a car every 5 minutes. The way along the Numedalslagen River was incredibly scenic, slightly uphill, and with a tailwind.

When I reached the 60km mark in Veggli, I was greeted with a perfect park alongside a swimming hole. I stopped here for about 1.5 hours and enjoyed the water

After this long break, I decided it was time for a late lunch. I ended up having a bratwurst from a gas station with an ice cream cone (110NOK).

From Veggli I began the 10km, 1000m climb to the top of Vegglifjell. The first 2/3 of the climb was paved, but then it turned to a graded, packed dirt road. There was a toll station about half way up for 70NOK, but bicycles didn't have to pay. Near the top of the pass, there was what appeared to be a vacation village of cabins that had sod roofs. This is apparently a big ski area in the winter, which became apparent with the patches of snow still sticking around in June. At the top of the pass there was a small lake that I decided was too cold to swim in. I had a 15km descent and didn't want to freeze. While at the lake, a man who had passed me in his car going up took interest in what I was doing. and we chatted for a few minutes. There were no other cyclists on the top of the pass, so It must not be a very common route.

The descent from Vegglifjell provided great views of the surrounding Norwegian Alpine, with snow patches dotting the mountains. After descending almost 1000m to lake level, I decided to cut my day short and stay at a campground, "Sandviken Camping". For 250NOK, they provide every amenity you could want at a campground. I ordered a pizza from their restaurant, and went to bed early.

Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 172 miles (277 km)

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