Day 4: The Road to Hellvik

Yesterday, as we cycled to Studeshaven, we crossed paths with a Swiss cyclist headed in the opposite direction. She was a tiny woman, but had come all the way from the border of Germany and Denmark in three weeks. We asked her what the scenery was like ahead of us, but her English was poor and she didn't understand. "Beautiful?" I asked, pointing down the road. She said yes, very beautiful. "Hilly?" I asked, making a waving motion with my hand. She nodded vigorously and then paused for a minute, pointed at my leg and said "Little bit strong." We smiled, nodded, and went on our way, unsure if she was trying to say that we were strong, or if we would be physically unprepared for what lay ahead. This is my attempt at ominous foreshadowing...

Anyway! We spent last night, as Joe said, in Tananger, where we had arrived on the night of the town's annual festival. We stayed up late watching the revelers return home, some walking in straighter lines than others, and enjoying a feast of sugar-heavy groceries we had bought earlier in the day. Best of all, we had met some great new friends who had invited us back to their home for breakfast the next morning.

So, despite our 2:30AM bedtime, we woke up at 7:30, knowing we wanted to be decked out in our nicest spandex for breakfast. We arrived promptly at 9, and were greeted by a table groaning under the weight of huge plates of cheeses, breads, meats, and a Norwegian fish pudding called fiskepudding. Our hosts were Anne and Torild, two lovely Norwegian locals, Anne's granddaughter Mayra, visiting from Stavanger, and two friends of theirs. We had a delicious meal and a great time -- and it was with difficulty that we turned down Anne's offer to come spend a few more days at her home in Stavanger. As we left, Mayra, who is in 5th grade and whose favorite subjects are history and crafts, handed us a handmade card. It read: "To Ben and Joe! Thank you for everything! I hope you will enjoy your trip here in Norway! It was very fun to meet you guys! Have a nice trip! Love Mayra!" Needless to say, the card put big smiles on our faces for the rest of the day. Anne and Torild (both grandmothers several times over) have promised to track us down on Facebook, a website they actively use! Amazing.

Today's route marked the culmination of a slow change in landscape that we've been witnessing as we move South. Whereas our first few days were spent along jagged coasts and in thick forests, we're now cycling through rolling farmland. It is reminiscent of Eastern Kentucky, except interspersed with white sand beaches, and is breathtakingly beautiful. After a slow start, we settled into a great rhythm and flew South with the help of a strong tailwind (and our huge breakfast!) By 12:30, we had knocked out 40 kilometers. Our progress slowed though, when we had to navigate our way across a rickety old bridge, a tedious process that required delicately ferrying our gear across in loads. Still, by 3PM we were a mere 20km from our endpoint, and, feeling pretty good about ourselves, settled down to a hearty meal and a nap. Our lunch quickly spiraled into a competition to see who could find the most delicious way to pack the most calories into a single bite. Cheese plus Nutella plus potato pancake plus apricots: winner. Nutella plus peanut putter plus ham plus banana: too far.

Rested and ready to finish the day's ride, we set off and found that our route led us away from the coast and into a new type of terrain, steep sloping countryside filled with rocky outcroppings. The path itself turned from pavement to gravel, and it was clear that we were essentially entering a mountain biking park. Our pace slowed dramatically as we struggled to get the hang of the new terrain. With 50+ pounds on our rear racks, clipping a rock the wrong way or taking a turn too hard guaranteed a wipe out. And we did have several of those, including a spectacular Superman-style fall by Joe that sent him soaring over his bike but left him completely unscathed. But Joe was quick, much quicker than I, to get a feel for the gravel, and soon we were huffing and puffing our way up the seemingly endless (and brutally steep) hills with relative ease. A quick break in the trail put us in a town called Hellvik, aptly named, we decided. The last 10km were equal parts exhilarating and exhausting, and we eventually emerged onto the crest of a high ridge overlooking a beautiful ocean inlet, with idyllic farmhouses dotting the horizon. From there, we cruised downhill to Egersund, where we arrived around 9PM caked in dust and a bit scraped up, but still basking in the excitement of a great day on the road.

We are now camped beside the town church, about 15 feet from the harbor, and even managed to grab some showers. We have an early start planned for the morning.

Please drop us a line if you have suggestions or feedback on what we should (or shouldn't!) be writing about. We're working on establishing a sort of pattern where one of us writes a summary of the day whilst the other writes about a topic or theme -- but we also don't want to bore folks to tears, and we're worried we might be doing that, so get in touch!

Km covered today: 94
Km covered total: 337

-Ben.
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