Norway.

[mark]

I will be (hopefully) cycling from Bergen to Oslo via Hagafoss, Gol & Honefoss and returning to Bergen along the E134 (Kongsberg Amot, Odda), June 2005. I have read but have been unable to verify, that some of the longer road tunnels in Norway are closed to bikes. Is this so and are there any I may have difficulty with along my intended route. Also generally, how well lit are they. Many thanks.

[mike6]

I can only recommend you thoroughly research your intended route. Many tunnels are definitely out of bounds to cyclists. The tunnels you are permitted to use may well be unlit or poorly lit, noisy and fume filled. There are various options for routes between Oslo and Bergen, but you might have to consider using trains and ferries for sections.

[Jeremy Parker]

I think there's a list, and it may even be on the web somewhere. I also have vague memories that generally the limit is 5 km for permitting bikes.

i also remember being on a CTC trip where we were bussed through a 7km tunnel. We met two Germans who had known nothing of the prohibition until they got to the tunnel entrance. Deciding that it was then too late to return and detour, they carried on through.

Jeremy Parker

[mark]

Many thanks for your advice gents. I have done a lot more homework and didn't appreciate the number of tunnels closed to cyclists. I will still do a Norway tour but leave it a year or two and spend longer there than time will allow this year. Will be heading to Switzerland instead, starting and finishing at Geneva by way of Brig, Grimselpass and Interlaken.

[martin]

Mark--You must go to Norway! The riding is tough but rewarding and the scenery is simply spectacular. I was reminded of this last year when on a brief excursion to the coastal area south of Narvik. Alas I was not travelling by bike. However, I did make couple of bike trips through Norway about ten and twelve years ago--first, a trip through the Lofoten Islands and then south from Trondheim through the fjord country to Bergen (perhaps a better bet than Oslo to Bergen?), and second, a long ride from North Cape to Oslo, keeping to the coast as far south as Steinkjer. I recall riding through many tunnels, although only twice when confronted by 8km jobs was I forced to take a bus. Once up in the mountains on a dirt road I went through a pitch-black tunnel with a hairpin bend in the middle of it. My front light cast a feeble light and I had to grope my way along the length of the tunnel with one hand while keeping the bike upright with the other. On other occasions, if the road was pretty quiet and flat, and the tunnel not too long, I would flag down a car and ask if the driver would be willing to drive behind me and light my way. Those I asked appeared to be quite amused and happy to dawdle along while I tried to keep up the revs. Doubtless many more tunnels have been constructed since my travels a decade ago....

Best, Martin


tour that I have done by bike.

[alali]

Have been living in Norway the past 15 years, originally from Manchester. There is a map which contains tunnel information for cyclists at this address http://www.modulez.no/zkv27/
The website is in Norwegian but you may be able to contact them direct.
A must if you are cycling between Oslo - Bergen is "Rallarvegen" a road bulit along side the railway tracks, its possible to cycle all the way from Flåm to Haugastøl on this track which is free from vehicles and takes one right across the top of hardanger vidda. Due to snow its not passable before mid July.