Oslo to Almost Lindesnes

Gautefall, Norway, in autumn

A little less than two months ago, I journeyed through most of the Norway on my bike, from the northernmost point of mainland Norway, the North Cape, to Oslo. This trip of 2.347 km, or through 11.25 geodetic latitudes, was divided into 11 stages. It was always the intention to finish this trip, by riding to the southernmost point in Norway, Lindesnes. It's something charming about finishing things. Putting the memories in a photo album. I wanted to do this.

The timing of the trip was also no coincidence. Autumn. Cold. Cycling season's over. A new format, a new challenge.

A few problems were obvious from the start. I know a few things about cycling, and one of them is to avoid the unlucky number 13. Ending up with a 13-stage North Cape - Lindesnes would be a disaster. So, how far is Lindesnes from Oslo? 450 km you say? Alright, let's do Oslo - Lindesnes in one stage.



The previously selected weekend approached. It's October, but the forecast claimed it was a particularly warm weekend. The forecast wind direction was a strong east-northeast. This suited me pretty bad, but there were no other free weekends in sight.

Planning

I brought nearly the same gear as with the North Cape trip. Since I had an option of continuing further west after reaching Lindesnes, I thought I could use the extra gear & options. The main differences from the last trip was a thicker jacket - for the return journey, not to be sweated up - and a mesh undershirt for some extra temperature tolerance in the autumn. The pack weighed 3,5 kg.

I also brought USB-powered lights, both front and rear, without being sure of the battery life.

The route chosen was the inland route, since it had less altimetres. An alternative coastal route would have involved an additional 1000 metres of climbing. In retrospect, I regret not having chosen a route with Oslo - Drammen - Seljord/Kviteseid, and following the complete RV41 to Kristiansand. The RV41 has a wonderful descending-only profile.

Early morning

The morning didn't feel like anything special. I woke up at 05:00. Ate my breakfast of oatmeal, milk and nuts. I've done this before, and if it's something I'm sure of, is that a proper oatmeal breakfast stays for long, never upsets the stomach, and doesn't contain much sugars.

I was actually worried that I didn't worry more than I did. 450 km, 280 miles, is it even possible alone in a day? In autumn, at 5-10 degrees, moist climate, much of it in the dark?

Lunch was packed. Two bananas. Two Nutridrinks. 4 small packs of lefse. Early start, saturday morning, little traffic, wet road. Fog. Visibility of 5-10 metres at certain places through Drammen. 3 degrees celius, feels like -10. Shaking uncontrollably. It doesn't get any better than this.

Leaving Oslo while party-people still being taxied home from the city center

It's so early it doesn't matter if I ride in the left or the right lane

In the twilight zone

Under the bridge in Drammen. It's so cold that it's nearing a human rights violation.

Everwyhere there's fog. Everywhere there is beautiful.

Hills, endless hills

I selected the inland route to try to avoid hills. Well, there might be less altimetres in total, but the first half of the day was only endless rolling hills. Beautiful, but not very comfortable for tired legs.

The route that was selected on beforehand took me through Sande, Hvittingfoss, Skien, Drangedal, and over Gautefall. When I finally reached Treungen, after 12 hours of riding, it was beginning to get dark. I was shaking of cold, and the lack of food.

Another problem was the total time. When leaving Treungen, I was already an hour behind the hard cut-off time for continuing directly to Lindesnes.

Near Sande. Fog still stretching over the fields.

Gåserudbrua over the Numedalslågen river

Nice tree!

Oxen from the nightmares

Thundering down from the top of Gautefall

At Treungen. It's getting dark. Waiting for the green light to cross the bridge.

Valley of Darkness

From Treungen, and south towards Kristiansand, there is the most perfect road. Little traffic, only descending. I didn't know this. It's hard to tell if the area was noteworthy, because it was pitch dark all the way. The darkness was itself not a problem, but how early it started was a problem. How many hours of light did I have on my tiny USB-rechargable lights? I simply did not think of that before.

Height profile of the RV41 from Treungen to Kristiansand

Without incident, and after stopping at only gas stations that exist on this very sparsely populated stretch, I reached Kristiansand. It was already 23:30, it was 1,5 hours after schedule. I chose to stop at a hotel, and continue the next day.

Big mistake.

That would mean there would be a 13th stage.

I could have easily finished the last 70 km if it weren't for the lack of power to the lights. The GPS had already depleted the spare USB battery pack. Stopping at Kristiansand was the safe & responsible thing to do. Still it felt like a mistake.

Comfort Hotel Kristiansand is great hotel, by the way.

A bridge over Nidelva at Åmli

Poor visibility

Kristiandsand. Finally. 23:00 in the evening.

Stage 13

I started the 13th stage around 11 AM. Good legs, nice weather, a bit rainy. Leaves everywhere, yellowish and reddish colors in the trees. Very beautiful. The mood was fantastic. Finally, I'd put this project to rest by completing it. How should I celebrate when reaching the goal? What should I say in my Instagram, when declaring victory?

After only 10 km, I did hit a snag. To be more precise: I hit a chicane on the bike path. It was raining, poor visibility, and braking power was severely restricted after hours on the wet and dirty autumn roads the last day. I believe I held around 40 km/h when hitting this bike chicane, which seemed to be quite solid. Situated at the bottom of a steep hill, braking was to no avail.

Abrupt end to the Speed graph.

The brake lever got broken off the handlebars. Knees took quite a hit. The helmet also took a beating against the tarmac. Slight nausea, probably due to knee/thigh tissue damage. I tried continuing, but figured out that finishing this would be quite a risk: Only one working brake lever. Possibly 70 km of riding with a broken body, and no public transport available on the return journey from Lindesnes.

It turned out that the decision to stop was correct. The next day I could hardly walk, and I'd be unable to train for the next three weeks.

May look pretty, but this is no path for a road bike!

Nice & calm. 10 km outside Kristiansand

These two devils are remarkably solid. They didn't move an inch.

In retrospect

Some advice to improve your life expectancy on long trips like this:

• Avoid 13. Superstision is real.
  
• Bring adequate lights and battery power. It's important to be seen.
• Bike paths around the Kristiansand area suck. Consider if riding the E39 is safer.

It's annoying not to reach the goal, and it's tempting to say it doesn't matter, but that's just a case of cognitive dissonance. Finishing things will always be an aim, and I'm pretty sure I'll do the last 70 km some time in the future.

Anyway, trying and failing is better than not trying...

Stage (Strava)	From	To	Distance (km)	Elevation (m)	Moving time	Avg. power (W)	Total work (J)	Calories (kCal)
12	Oslo	Kristiansand	370.0	4 007	18:13:47	133	7 499	8 361
13	Kristiansand	Kristiansand	20.2	253	1:24:20	87	364	406