Stromstadt to Oslo Norway

July 1, 2023

The early morning light starts at about 4am but we are getting used to rolling over for a few more hours of sleep. We clambered out of the tent at 7:30 to bright sunshine and a strong, cool wind, even though we had chosen the least windy spot we could find to set up last night. After breakfast we took a last ride through Stromstadt, admiring the yachts and ferries, then stopped at the grocery store to spend our remaining Swedish Kroner at what are reputed to be cheaper prices than in Norway. These countries that haven't joined the Euro harken back to the days when a traveller had to change money at every border!

Outside of town there were no bike lanes so we plotted a 38km route to Halden showing back roads that avoid the highway. It was a 10/10 ride through rugged land with coniferous forests, massive granite outcrops and the occasional area flat enough for a farm, with almost no cars and all on beautifully paved roads - well, almost all. After four tours we know that Rides GPS will sometimes put us on odd routes, but generally the app has been very accurate at showing when a road is paved or gravel. Today's route showed 100% paved, hence my surprise to see that I had missed a turn about 2km back although I had stayed on the only paved road. A brief mapping consultation to consider continuing on and rejoining the route about 5km further along, but being in the middle of nowhere, the prudent choice was to retrace and follow the plotted route. It turned out to be a gravel road that actually looked more like a driveway than a road, but we boldly ventured forth, and continued as it got progressively rougher to the point we were on two tracks with tall grass in between leading to an abandoned farm. Another consultation and again we chose to follow the plot. The scenery was wild and beautiful, but riding up and down hills, on gravel, fully loaded is tough so we didn't think to take pictures when stopping to catch our breath. Eventually, we joined a substantial dirt road and bounced down to the pavement and civilization.

Quite quickly we were out of the woods, the scenery changed drastically, we were on a bike lane beside the highway and almost at the border where a huge Burger King sign lured us in to spend our last 50 Swedish Kroner on French fries. We took advantage of the patio tables to set up our picnic lunch and, while eating, we were joined by a young couple from France with loaded bikes who were riding from Nantes to Bergen and back over six months.

The border crossing was uneventful, just a sign on the bridge and we were in Norway, but soon our second disaster of the day struck: Steve had a flat tire. With over 8,000km on our trusted Schwalbe Marathon tires, this is only the second flat, so we can't complain, but I guess it's almost time to retire these and will now act on Susan's advice and order two sets of the lighter, Schwalbe Mondial tires for the next tour. We dug out the repair kit, put on a patch and soon were rolling again.

Next stop, Halden, where we hoped to catch a train. Regular readers of our blog will know of our struggles to get a train to Oslo. At Halden we learned that there is a train and it takes bicycles, if there is room, but only as far as Ski which is one stop before Oslo, and once there, maybe the replacement bus would accept bicycles. We bought tickets, boarded, relaxed, watched the scenery and used the Norwegian Rail wifi to search (in vain) for a last minute deal on a hotel or air B&B. On arrival we couldn't even find the bus to ask and by then we were loaded and ready to ride. It took about 1 ½ hours in the lovely evening light and was surprisingly hilly with over 200m of climbing, but we got to the campsite in time to check in and buy a few ingredients for a basic supper. Looking through the tourist pamphlet, Oslo offers an extravagance of things to see and do so we are glad to be staying three nights.

Stromstadt bay, looks like Georgian Bay?

The harbour was full of luxurious yachts from Norway, as one of the locals said, even the millionaires like to come to Sweden to buy the cheaper liquor.

A classic cabin cruiser. These Nordic people do love their old boats.

Beautiful roads through the northern forest.

This stone was carved in the 17th century, but that’s all I could decipher from the plaque.

The Ida Fjord forms the border between Sweden and Norway. Great for a photo but no customs stop.

That patch kit was going be needed someday! But not often; this was only our second flat in over 8,000km.

Coming into Halden with the fortress on the hill.

Restored industrial building now used for commercial showrooms.

On the train to Ski, pronounced Shee in Norwegian

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Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 2,961 km (1,839 miles)

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