The greatest roads on earth
Why Norway is the place to go for life-changing adventure
‘The Alps are a mere rockery compared to this’
After a day riding along the immense Norwegian coastline, around spectacular fjords, indomitable cliff faces and mountain gorges so impossibly grandiose not even Hollywood could scale them down to fit on a movie screen, you understand why the Norse creation myth involves great thundering gods smashing the landscape asunder with mighty hammers. Because nothing else can explain the enormity of what you’re seeing. The lumps of rock and holes full of water are so big, so steep, so massive they simply can’t fit in your eyes, or your brain for that matter.
As you round the next corner, of which there are so many, you’re confronted by another vast, infinite slab of granite, its face scarred and striated with gouges hundreds of feet long, or another mind-boggling mountain-top panorama, you can’t help but slow down in awe at the unimaginable forces of nature that have somehow, sometime, forged this awesome, beautiful country. If you’re familiar with the majesty of Glen Coe in Scotland, then believe me it’s a doddle compared to Norway. The Alps are a mere garden rockery. And I’m not joking. But while offthe-scale scenery is reason enough to put Norway on your bucket list as a must-visit, there are lots of others. Such as the roads. Riding the 1500 miles from Oslo to Nordkapp, the most northerly point on mainland Europe, via an island-hopping scenic route, you’ll experience the best you’ve ever ridden.
‘The smaller the roads look on a map, the better’
And not just a few miles of good stuff, then a boring bit; hundreds of miles of sweeping arcs, gentle bend-swinging and, if you want, crazy hairpins, all through the isolated, traffic-free splendour of pine forests, mountains, lakes and fjords. And, as native touring expert and Moto Guzzi fan, Hans Petter Strifeldt points out: “The good thing about Norwegian roads is you can’t basically go wrong; the smaller the road looks on the map, the better.”
Hans runs a Ride Norway blog (ridenorway.com) and has spent his biking life exploring both his home country and the rest of Europe, including Wales, Scotland, Germany and Italy, but says Norway is his favourite place to ride and there’s enough room to spend the rest of his life doing it. “Norway has 5.2 million people in 149,000 square miles [the UK is 66 million people in 94,000 square miles] and nearly 63,000 miles of coastline; the second-longest on the world. So there’s lots of space. And what traffic there is, is polite, and the roads aren’t congested: so there’s lots of open riding when you might hardly see another vehicle for a while.”
When we think of Norway, we immediately think it’s a cold place. And it is, in winter. But it’s not permanently frozen; in the summer it’s as warm and temperate as northern UK (which isn’t to say it doesn’t rain sometimes). I’ve stood at the Nordkapp, 600 miles above the Arctic Circle, in mid-July in a T-shirt. “This year the weather has been exceptional,” says Hans. “It’s currently over 25°C across the country, so we’ve had an amazing May. But, usually, the riding season is between May and early September.”
Perhaps the biggest barrier to riding in Norway is getting there. It’s a two-day trip as there hasn’t been a direct UK ferry link to Scandinavia for a few years now and the closest you can land is Rotterdam on an overnight from either Grimsby or Harwich. From there it’s another day’s ride across northern Germany and Denmark to Hirtshals, and from there it’s a few hours by ferry to Kristiansand, Larvik or a 10-hour trip to get further round the coastline to Stavanger.
The second biggest deterrent is cost. Fuel isn’t much more expensive than the UK, but everything else is. Hans says there are ways around it, that he uses himself: “Norway has a Public Right Of Access Act,” he says. “Which means you can pitch a tent anywhere. That can save you a lot of money and official campsites are plentiful and cheap; around £10 a night.” Norway has many hostels too, which are much more affordable than hotels.
So with the world’s best scenery, amazing, deserted biking roads, the freedom to set up camp anywhere that isn’t someone’s garden and good weather, is there anything bad about Norway on two wheels? Yes, if you’re a habitual speeder; speed limits are strictly enforced and if you’re caught breaking them it’ll cost you a lot of money and potentially your licence. Most speed traps will be near villages and towns; you’re unlikely to get one on a remote mountain road. But, as Hans says, “Norway is about scenery and time so why be too hasty?”
Riding in Norway isn’t a weekend break; two weeks is a minimum. But it’s worth the commitment for an unforgettable riding experience. And it’s what puts Norway on the biking Bucket List.
“Ferries are like buses and are regular, cheap (£5 to £10), and bikers are specifically asked to filter to the front of the queue.”