We had an early breakfast at 8.15 this morning at Bergen Montana Youth Hostel, and this turned out to be the best breakfast of the tour, with many tasty Norwegian delicacies on offer. Michael did a very hasty video tour of the hostel, then we set off for the two-mile descent to Bergen.

We had kept the morning free for looking around the Bergen shops, since many were not open yesterday. We started by purchasing some fish from the Bergen Fishmarket by the harbour, where everyone did some nifty negotiations with the market trader. After a while Gavin thought we should leave before the guy persuaded us to buy anything else! We couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for the living lobsters in the tanks that would soon be boiled alive.

Next stop was the Galeriet Shopping Centre, although we stopped briefly outside to watch a local band of folk musicians keeping the shoppers entertained by the Sailor’s Memorial. The Shopping Centre was very modern on multiple floors, so we took the lift to the top and worked down through the pet store and various other shops. Michael had to buy a seventh Mini-DV tape for the camcorder at 12:29 for 299 Norwegian Kroner, although he got a tax certificate to claim back the 61 kroner of tax. Both Tao and Olly saw coats they would have liked but ultimately decided not to buy. We did our food shopping here as well, in Lerøy Mat at 11:53, then made our way back to the lake with the fountain – Lille Lungegårds Lake – to eat our lunch.

After some difficulty we picked up the North Sea Cycle Route again – here it was marked with a different type of sign for some reason – and made our way out of the busy Bergen region. Olly couldn’t help taking a photo of the sign saying “Gods Terminal” as we passed the bus station. There was a climb along the route just after Nesttun, but on the whole it was mainly flat. Tao had a spectacular blowout on a piece of metal hiding in the mud, but we repaired it effectively.

We bought more strawberries at Halhjem, then took the 6pm crossing to Sandvikvåg. We had booked the night at Fitjar Farm guest house, but they had cancelled at the last minute, so we had to try to find a suitable replacement. Fortunately, Olly had a mobile phone with him, although the battery was nearly dead. Michael asked the farm people if they could recommend somewhere that might offer us a taste of Norwegian life, the kind that we couldn’t experience in a normal hotel, and they recommended the Langenuen Motel, Jektavik. Michael made another call to the motel – much of it caught on video by Tao – and quickly had our night arranged. We would get a luxury cabin all to ourselves for a knock-down price in view of the cancellation at Fitjar Farm. Now we could sit back and enjoy the 50-minute ferry crossing bathed in the glorious late afternoon sunshine.

The motel was very comfortable, and our luxury cabin even boasted a Jacuzi which Olly hogged for a considerable time – it could do side jets, bubbles, or both together! It really was the height of luxury, so we all took turns in it during the evening.

The proprietor of the hotel was a very lively woman who was keen to fulfil our desire to get a taste of Norwegian life. She had kindly arranged to take us all on a midnight crabbing trip, which is apparently what many locals like to do when they have time. Olly needed to stay back at the motel to carry out more repairs on Tao’s tyre, but three of us set off just before 11pm for the walk to the waterside along with some other motel guests.

The very large crabs apparently creep up from the deep at around dusk, and at this point they can simply be raked out of the water and dropped in a bucket. We all stood along the rocky short gazing into the water as the sun set, but the only creatures we could see for nearly an hour were midges, which bit us incessantly. Fortunately our host had kindly brought midge repellent for us to use, which helped a lot.

It was around midnight that the first crabs came into view. The first two were raked out unceremoniously and prized off the rake into the bucket. We thought that would be more than enough, but our host insisted on getting a crab for each of us. This was a slight problem, as the only real seafood eater in our group was Gavin. The rest of us had never eaten crab before and didn’t know if we would like it. To be honest we were also a little concerned that they would have to be boiled alive to get the best flavour, although Michael wanted to be polite for our generous host so refused to say that when Tao was videoing him.

As the last few crabs were harvested from the water, the moon rose behind the distant mountains making a pleasant site with the reflections on the water. We headed back at around 12.30, wondering how we could possibly eat four crabs between us for breakfast tomorrow!

(Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 38 miles)


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The above report was written from the following notes made at the time, which will be deleted shortly.

Early-ish start with the best breakfast of the tour at Bergen hostel. Spent much of the morning looking around the many interesting shops, doing our food shopping and buying fish at the fish market. Then back past the park lake where we ate lunch.

After some difficulty we picked up the North Sea cycle route again (marked with a different sign now) and made our way out of the busy Bergen region. Tao had a spectacular blowout on a piece of metal hiding in the mud, but we repaired it effectively. There was a climb along the way, but mainly it was fairly flat.

Bought more strawberries at Halhjem, then took the 6pm crossing to Sandvikvag. A quick telephone call on Oliver's dwindling mobile battery finalised our accommodation for the night at a motel near Jektavik, where we were given a luxury cabin all to ourselves for a knock-down price in view of the cancellation of our intended farm.

The landlady insisted we accompany her on a crabbing trip at midnight, so three of us obliged (Oliver carried out more repairs on Tao's tyre). The crabs creep up from the deep at dusk, only to be raked in by our host and dropped in a bucket - for boiling later! She didn't rest until she had a crab for each of us, although many (including myself) didn't want to eat one at all. Midges out in force, but she kindly provided midge repellent.

After an extended lie-in to make up for the midnight craziness last night, out morning started just before 10am with Gavin and Michael visiting the reception to see what our host had done with the crabs. They had all been boiled to death and were now waiting for us in a lidded container on the doorstep. Oliver and Tao had already decided they weren’t eating even the smallest piece of a crab, but Michael had thought he might try some – even though he is mainly vegetarian, he does sometimes eat plaice and cod.

Unfortunately, the boiled crabs were still whole, and by the time the host had demonstrated (on video) how to crack open the shell with a hammer, twist off claws and suck out the contents, Michael had decided he couldn’t stomach any of it either. It was Gavin, a fisherman at heart, who saved the day by agreeing to take two whole crabs to eat. He set about his task bravely back in our cabin, but he only managed to make his way through half of the first crab before he had to submit. It really was a gruesome sight for people unfamiliar with seafood, although clearly this is a tradition for many Norwegians and it had definitely been an education for all of us.

It was around 11.15 when we finally set off to traverse the remainder of the island in a southerly direction. At Leirvik we found a good bike shop where Tao bought a new tyre, just to make sure he could make it home tomorrow. We also found a good café that provided the usual custard cake with some ice creams and drinks.

Making our way out of Leirvik we soon found the pair of bridges that took us to Bømlo island, avoiding the undersea tunnel that is barred to cyclists. The island turned out to be very desolate and devoid of all shade from the now sweltering heat. We paused briefly in a garage to buy drinks, but otherwise saw virtually nothing until we reached the ferry quay at Langevåg, where Tao hastily bought some milk and managed to roll onto the ferry as it was about to leave. We really do like cutting things fine!

This final ferry crossing brought us to Buavåg. On arrival we had been instructed to ride about a mile along the road and look out for "something red or blue" by the road! Just as we found a blue bucket our host turned up in her car and showed us to a very comfortable basement flat with extremely thick walls, which meant it was beautifully cool. Just what we needed after a hot day of cycling.

The night was disturbed by a cat and kitten coming in the window of our flat to eat our remaining bread and nose through the waste bag!

(Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 47 miles)


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The above report was written from the notes below, made at the time, which will soon be deleted.

Morning started with Gavin and Michael visiting the reception to find the poor crabs boiled and awaiting collection. Oliver, Tao and Michael didn't want any at all, so Gavin (a fisherman at heart) represented all of us by taking a couple of crabs. He was instructed how to break them apart and suck the white flesh out of the claws, but he only managed to make his way through half of the crab before he had to submit. It really was a gruesome sight.

Set off early and traversed the remainder of the island at a good speed. Through Leirvik, where a good bike shop provided Tao with a new tyre, just to make sure he made it home. Good cafe provided the usual custard cake and some ice creams and drinks. Then made our way out again, and soon found the two bridges that took us to Bomlo island (avoiding the undersea tunnel). This proved to be very desolate and devoid of all shade from the now sweltering heat. We paused briefly in a garage to buy drinks, but otherwise we saw virtually nothing until we reached the ferry port, where Tao hastily bought some milk and just rolled onto the ferry as it was about to leave. We really do like cutting it fine.

Final ferry crossing brought us to Buavag where we had to ride about a mile and look for "something red or blue" by the road! We found a blue bucket, and our host then turned up in her car and showed us a very comfortable basement flat with very thick walls - lovely and cool. The night was disturbed by cat and kitten coming in the window to eat the bread and nose through the waste bag!

As we woke this morning conditions were once again bright and sunny outside, but the thick walls of our basement flat were keeping us much cooler inside. We had a very comfortable breakfast in our private dining area, then after some rather late packing we set off at around 10am for Haugesund, maintaining a good pace on the mainly level route. The scenery was still very desolate, and there was little sign of habitation until we approached Haugesund.

The temperature quickly rose to create the worse heat we had ever experienced – all our chocolate supplies melted early in the ride, the water in our bottles actually got hot and there were sheets of heat radiating off the near-melting tarmac.

The original plan was to do some shopping in Haugesund, but by the time we arrived our priority had changed completely – now we simply wanted to find a cool place to sit and have a cool drink. The KIWI supermarket near Haraldsgata was very cool, but we couldn’t stay in there forever. The cafe next door was out of the sun, but not as cool as the KIWI. We tried browsing some shops and managed to buy a souvenir or too, but the heat was so oppressive that our energy was just draining away. The icy water of the fountain in Torgata provided some momentary relief, but we soon headed back to spend some more time in the supermarket and the café.

Time was ticking by, and in the end we had no choice but to ride the nine miles to the airport and hope we could find somewhere to cool off again there. Another fast sprint left us exhausted on arrival, with the heat even worse than earlier, but then finally we could get inside the airport building and out of the sun. We used the washroom to have a good wash down, retrieved our bike bags from the left luggage area and packed the bikes into them.

We were booked on Ryanair Flight FR2255 which was due to depart at 17:55. Everyone was on board by 17:30 so we left early in our air-conditioned plane. A Norwegian family sitting near us chatted with us about our travels on the journey home. Clouds began to appear as the journey progressed, and by the time we reached London it was heavily overcast - we had never been so grateful to see cloud as we were today! There were thunderstorms below us over Stansted Airport which meant we had to circle for ten minutes before landing, which was perhaps a little concerning for Michael, but everyone else was fine. Journey time was around 1:55, so with the circling we landed at Stansted by around 18:45.

With our usual fine timing we only just caught the Stansted Express train that was waiting at the platform, then after assembling our bikes again at Liverpool Street station and taking the underground back to Paddington we only just caught the last train to Exeter with six minutes to spare. We were too tired to conduct our usual video interviews, but we did chat briefly about the ups and downs of the tour, particularly the extremes of temperature we had experienced from icebergs to melting tarmac. Generally, we all felt it had been a great adventure, and had been much better than we had all expected.

It had been a very long and very tiring day by the time we arrived home at 1.30am - effectively 2.30am Norwegian time. We were all very grateful to get home to our own beds, and needless to say, slept very well until the middle of the next day.

(Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 26 miles)


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The above report was based on the following notes made at the time, which will be deleted shorty.

Bright and sunny outside, but cooler inside owing to the very thick walls. Very comfortable breakfast, then we set off at a good pace for Haugesund. Scenery still very desolate with little sign of habitation until we approached Haugesund. This was the worst heat ever - chocolate all melted very early, heat coming off the tarmac, water very hot in bottles.

The plan was to do some shopping in Haugesund, but our first plan on arrival was to find a cool place to sit and have a drink. The Kiwi supermarket was very cool, but the cafe next door less so. We tried browsing some shops and managed to buy a souvenir or too, but the heat was so oppressive that we were all feeling drained of all energy. The icy water of a fountain provided welcome relief before we headed back to the supermarket and cafe.

There was nothing for it but to get to the airport and hope we could cool off there. Another fast sprint left us exhausted on arrival, the heat even worse than before. But then we finally escaped the sun, using the washroom to have a good wash down and packing our bikes into the bags that we had left at the airport the previous week.

[Ryanair flight FR2255. Depart Haugesund 1755 local time, arrive Stansted 1850 (journey time 1:55)]

Plane left early as everyone was on board. We had never been so pleased to see cloud as we were on arrival back at England, although the thunderstorms caused us to have to circle for 10 minutes before landing. Norwegian family chatted with us on the journey.

With our usual fine timing we just caught the Stansted Express, then after assembling our bikes again at Liverpool Street we just caught the last train to Exeter with 6 minutes to spare. It had been a long and tiring day by the time we arrived home at 1.30am - effectively 2.30am Norwegian time - so we all slept very well.