With one week to go before we leave for Norway, we thought we'd get in trim with a sauna in the French Alps - if today is an indicator, the daily temperature is going to be in the mid-30's with azure blue skies and plenty of Factor 50. This will compensate nicely for temperatures of 10-15 degrees and lowe hanging cloud in Norway. We are staying in the Hotel Allobrogues near the centre of town. I've been for a stroll while the others napped (we were up at 04:30). The old town is just a few hundred metres away and the Saturday market stalls are up - heavily pedestrianised, it reminds me of a cross between Sarlat, Venice, and the old centre of Stockholm. Very glad we chose to book rooms here in the centre with parking en suite, because the town is a maze of narrow one way streets. It does turn out to be a lovely place to stroll around and window shop in though.
Saturday, 27 July 2013
At Annecy
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Finse station webcam
I'm sure you've already seen this, but if you haven't and you know our itinerary you can keep an eye out for us waving at you in the picture from this live streaming webcam at Finse station, providing that you've got Flash installed :-)
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
Finse Hytte
Finse on the Rallarvegen is well away from the road network but Stan has helpfully pointed out to me that it does have a DNT hut with a campsite attached. Our DNT membership has expired, unfortunately. Without membership,the prices for dormitory accommodation would be in the region of £42 for the two of us without meals, or £150 with breakfast and supper provided (well, this is Norway).
I'm not sure what we're going to do for provisions on this stretch of the trip, but looking at the bikes I can see we aren't going to be able to carry much in the way of food - possibly nuts, crispbread, cheese, butter, packet soup, dried pasta, dried fruit, and oats for the stages until we're back alongside the road? A meal out would cover the costs of rail tickets between Bergen and Gol though.
Finse DNT hut in a whiteout, by Oliver Hansen
Camping may be an option because the track is apparently free from snow today - may all change by the time we arrive though.
I'm not sure what we're going to do for provisions on this stretch of the trip, but looking at the bikes I can see we aren't going to be able to carry much in the way of food - possibly nuts, crispbread, cheese, butter, packet soup, dried pasta, dried fruit, and oats for the stages until we're back alongside the road? A meal out would cover the costs of rail tickets between Bergen and Gol though.
Cycle Touring Insurance from Cyclosure & Butterworths
Any recommendations here?
After reading Jon Houseago's cautionary tale about the perils of insuring with AXA, a well-known UK company providing a really poor service, I decided to bump up the level of cover we're taking out, especially because the replacement cost of the bikes would run to a couple of thousand pounds. I can also envisage the scenario of Nordicdude needing repatriation to the UK after coming a cropper on a steep section of the Rallarvegen, when 16" wheels meet a deep rut or boulder at speed, or me repeating my trick of riding into something solid while rooting in my handlebar bag.
Following recommendations on the CTC forums, Cyclosure have won the tender for travel insurance after I dropped them an email (their website is good, but wasn't working too well today). They are specialists in event insurance for amateur cyclists and seem to have a good understanding of customer needs, being cyclists themselves. Yes, they cost more than insurance from the High Street retailers, but I think it's worth it for peace of mind.
Cover for the bikes themselves is now arranged through an annual policy from Butterworth's, the CTC's other recommended insurer - I'm just reading the small print now, because this one costs around 10% of the replacement price for each Brompton...
After reading Jon Houseago's cautionary tale about the perils of insuring with AXA, a well-known UK company providing a really poor service, I decided to bump up the level of cover we're taking out, especially because the replacement cost of the bikes would run to a couple of thousand pounds. I can also envisage the scenario of Nordicdude needing repatriation to the UK after coming a cropper on a steep section of the Rallarvegen, when 16" wheels meet a deep rut or boulder at speed, or me repeating my trick of riding into something solid while rooting in my handlebar bag.
.oO There goes my holiday!
Cover for the bikes themselves is now arranged through an annual policy from Butterworth's, the CTC's other recommended insurer - I'm just reading the small print now, because this one costs around 10% of the replacement price for each Brompton...
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Along the Rallarvegen by Brompton
The Rallarvegen or "Navvy's Road" was built between 1902 and 1904 during the construction of the Bergensbanen, the railway line linking Bergen and Oslo. This car-free road runs between Haugastøl and Myrdal and then down to Flåm on the Sognefjord. During the short snow-free period between May and September it is a very popular cycle route. Most arrive at the start of the ride by train, but in 2013 we will attempt to arrive by bike from Stavanger, during a tour that will ultimately take us by folding bike to Oslo via some of the most scenic attractions in the south of Norway.
We are planning to camp and on the basis of previous experiences are carrying a roomy two-man tent and four-season sleeping bags with Thermarest mattresses. We may stay for a night or two at huts on camp grounds but expect to economise because these typically cost 500 - 750 kr for a shed with bunks and no running water. Our route is based on spending about 12 nights away and using the odd bus and train to link up the best cycling sections - we'd rather ride than use public transport, but we know we'll never be able to cycle the whole route in the time available. More on the route in the next blog post.
I've toured in Northern Norway before by Brompton bike and appreciate the need for low gears and creative packing. For this trip, the two bikes have had their chainsets upgraded to use smaller chainrings from Stronglight. Bubble (ridden by Nordicdude) has a 39-tooth Thorn chainring installed in place of the 50-tooth stock ring, and Squeak (ridden by me) has 34/46 chainrings supplied by Spar Cycles. The 34 tooth ring is the smallest that Stronglight make, and gives a low gear of just 22.4 inches - pretty low - at the expense of reducing my top speed on the small ring to around 11.5 mph (or 14mph if I put the chain on the bigger ring and go into top gear).
In both cases, the original bikes were six-speed touring Bromptons with M-style handlebars and touring racks with dynamo lighting. Apart from the gearing, we've also changed the seatposts on the bikes - I ride with a titanium seatpost and Nordicdude has a telescopic one. The telescopic seatpost allows the seat to be rapidly removed when packing the bikes into their travel bags, which are supplied by Carradice (via SJS Cycles). For added comfort, the handlebar grips on Squeak are made by BioGrip (previously available from Rose Versand, similar to Ergon bar-ends). Bubble has stock handlebar grips.
To carry luggage, we follow the advice provided by Laura and Russ at thepathlesspedalled.com in their handy guide to touring with Bromptons; we use the Brompton touring bag on the front of the bikes, and carry our clothes and sleeping bags in a 30 litre rucksack on the back, secured to a short length of dowel that is tightly strapped to the saddlebag mounting points on our Brooks B17 saddles.
For added luggage capacity, both bikes are fitted with a front handlebar bag - Bubble has a 4l bag that FW Evans have started selling this summer, while Squeak has a slightly modified Altura front bag with the mounting plate for the bar bag repositioned so that it is towards the bottom of the rear of the bag; this is straightforward to do because the plate is bolted rather than riveted on the Altura bag, which uses a Rixen and Kaul attachment system.
We are planning to camp and on the basis of previous experiences are carrying a roomy two-man tent and four-season sleeping bags with Thermarest mattresses. We may stay for a night or two at huts on camp grounds but expect to economise because these typically cost 500 - 750 kr for a shed with bunks and no running water. Our route is based on spending about 12 nights away and using the odd bus and train to link up the best cycling sections - we'd rather ride than use public transport, but we know we'll never be able to cycle the whole route in the time available. More on the route in the next blog post.
I've toured in Northern Norway before by Brompton bike and appreciate the need for low gears and creative packing. For this trip, the two bikes have had their chainsets upgraded to use smaller chainrings from Stronglight. Bubble (ridden by Nordicdude) has a 39-tooth Thorn chainring installed in place of the 50-tooth stock ring, and Squeak (ridden by me) has 34/46 chainrings supplied by Spar Cycles. The 34 tooth ring is the smallest that Stronglight make, and gives a low gear of just 22.4 inches - pretty low - at the expense of reducing my top speed on the small ring to around 11.5 mph (or 14mph if I put the chain on the bigger ring and go into top gear).
In both cases, the original bikes were six-speed touring Bromptons with M-style handlebars and touring racks with dynamo lighting. Apart from the gearing, we've also changed the seatposts on the bikes - I ride with a titanium seatpost and Nordicdude has a telescopic one. The telescopic seatpost allows the seat to be rapidly removed when packing the bikes into their travel bags, which are supplied by Carradice (via SJS Cycles). For added comfort, the handlebar grips on Squeak are made by BioGrip (previously available from Rose Versand, similar to Ergon bar-ends). Bubble has stock handlebar grips.
To carry luggage, we follow the advice provided by Laura and Russ at thepathlesspedalled.com in their handy guide to touring with Bromptons; we use the Brompton touring bag on the front of the bikes, and carry our clothes and sleeping bags in a 30 litre rucksack on the back, secured to a short length of dowel that is tightly strapped to the saddlebag mounting points on our Brooks B17 saddles.
For added luggage capacity, both bikes are fitted with a front handlebar bag - Bubble has a 4l bag that FW Evans have started selling this summer, while Squeak has a slightly modified Altura front bag with the mounting plate for the bar bag repositioned so that it is towards the bottom of the rear of the bag; this is straightforward to do because the plate is bolted rather than riveted on the Altura bag, which uses a Rixen and Kaul attachment system.
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