Experience the quiet tranquillity of the small fjord villages, cultural folklore, countryside and rugged, dramatic, and famous mountainous 'fjords-capes.' 'fjord' means 'go, pass or cross over' in Norse. You, too, will cycle and travel across this magical, unique and mythical wilderness on your Norway adventure, exploring the stunning roads and climbs filmed by ROUVY's professional, well travelled video creator, René Hannnemann.
Cycling in Norway offers various terrains through quaint little villages and stunning natural surroundings along bike-friendly, flat, undulating or challenging climbs for road and mountain biking enthusiasts. You can ride along 4,500km of coastlines from east to south, through Fjord Norway with the most famous fjords, along canals and craggy mountains all the way to Kirkenes on the Russian border in Northern Norway.
Norway is also a destination for some well-known UCI stage races and cycling events, and the most famous is the Arctic Race of Norway, organised by ex-pro Thor Hushovd, held in August and the Tour of Norway, which takes place at the end of May and both events have four stages each. You will see Norway's professional team, Uno-X Pro, with some famous names. They have a men’s and women’s teams and a development team owned and operated by the Norwegian mobility company Uno-X Mobility. Alexander Kristoff, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Christian Eiking and Eric Bystrom are top active riders in the team.
Another well-known event for recreational riders is the Styrkeprøven, also called Den Store Styrkeprøven (The Great Trial of Strength). This 540 km long cyclosportive, an endurance classic, with many years of tradition, starts in Trondheim and finishes in Oslo every June taking participants through Dombås, Kvam, Lillehammer, Gjøvik and Eidsvoll.
Below are a few beautiful routes you should aim to put on your bucket-list and try at least once!
Nusfjord to Haukland Beach, a paradise fishing village on the coast
Discover a magnificent narrow winding road in Norway, one of the Scandinavian countries, on a route with its sheltered bays and coves, deep fjords surrounded by spectacular, dramatic and rugged mountain scenery, dense forests, and deep valleys. In summer, when the sky is blue, the fjords take on a rich azure blue colour reflecting the sky and contrast against the rugged cliffs and deep green vegetation and forests, completing a masterpiece of a landscape unique to Norway.
Nusfjord is a small fishing village in Norway that lies on the southern shore of Flakstadøya island in Lofoten in the north. Glaciers created the fjords of Norway that, over 2,5 million years, changed and altered the landscape by carving deep valleys into the coast below sea level. Nusfjord is among the most famous fjords found on the coastlines.
Venabygdsfjellet, Rondane National Park, Norway's first National Park
Located in a spectacular landscape, Venabygdsfjellet is the gateway to the Rondane National Park along Route 27, heading northwards in southeast Norway. Rondane National Park is Norway's first National Park, established in 1962 and known for its mountains surrounding extensive lichen-covered plateaus, separated by valleys providing a striking contrast. Most of the park is above the treeline at between 1,000m to 2,178m above sea level. You'll begin with an 11 km climb before you reach the plateau, where you will see all the lichen-covered ground as you ride for another 17km.
Oldedalen to Briksdalsbreen Glacier, a piece of a giant
Explore the scenic Oldedalen Valley on a flat route in the southwest of Norway. Beautiful lush green natural landscapes surround ancient glaciers and high mountains etched with sparkling waterfalls that tower over the aquamarine-coloured Oldevatnet lake you'll follow to your right. Finally, the long road eventually narrows and leads you steeply for 1 km to the heights of the Briksdalsbreen Glacier, which has intrigued travellers worldwide for over a century. This section of the glacier drops 1,200 metres (not seen from the road). It is just a tiny part of the gigantic Jostedalsbreen glacier, the biggest glacier in mainland Europe.
Trollstigen Climb, the iconic, mythical mountain and engineering marvel
A spectacular and iconic climb! 21km of sheer cycling beauty and pleasure with some challenging climbing. Trollstigen is a breathtaking route in a unique wilderness from Andalsnes, beginning from the Isterdalen Valley following the Rauma River, with its source at the Romsdalsfjord, where you can warm up the legs before you start the dramatic climb.
The climb, Norway's most famous road, has a magnificent and unique natural backdrop of a road snaking upwards and the beautiful 240m high Stigfossen waterfall cascading down with a thunderous spray and sound, slicing through the middle of the winding 'ladder,' dominating the mountainside, lends itself to a dramatic and mythical setting. The road snakes its way spectacularly up 11 switchbacks and over multiple arched bridges at an average gradient of 8% over 743m in 10km and past Europe's highest vertical rock face. Look for the modern lookout point strategically placed along the route designed by the architectural firm Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter. The contemporary glass and steel structure blends well with its surroundings, with sections carved into the natural rock face.
The historic road up the Trollstigen displays a masterpiece in engineering, but the mesmerising nature is even more impressive. Massive mountains surround you, such as Bispen (The Bishop) (1,462 m), Kongen (The King) (1,614 m), and Dronninga (The Queen) (1,544 m) to the west, and Stigbottshornet (1,583 m) and Storgrovfjellet (1,629 m) in the east providing an idyllic place for hiking and cycling and feeling at one with nature. Each bend in the road has a name, names after the construction workers who built the road, plus one name for the cook!
The name Trollstigen means troll's ladder and originates from mysterious Norwegian folklore where according to legend, evil trolls roam the mountain at night and turn to stone when light falls on them. Enjoy your ride while exploring the climb and the incredible views up the tight hairpin bend switchbacks representing the legendary troll's ladder. But always keep your eyes open for these mythical creatures, especially in the first section as they like to hide in the mist!
Dalsnibba, ride from fjord to summit
Known to be one of the best travel destinations in Scandinavia, the spectacular scenery of the Dalsnibba climb is incredibly beautiful, making the area one of the most famous in Norway. The climb begins right from the start with an average gradient of just under 7% from the border of the Geiranger Fjord, nestled in the iconic and beautiful valley. You'll pass ancient stony arched bridges and ride up 35 hairpin bends that turn 180 degrees on themselves. The surrounding wilderness, created during the many ice ages, when glaciers carved out massive fjords and sculpted the high mountains you see along your route, will be your backdrop as you cycle into the historical evolution of the area and Norway's highest fjord view from a road.
Use the first section to ease into the climb, find your pace and rhythm and enjoy the surrounding natural beauty through lush vegetation up towards the snow banks and glaciers, where the landscape becomes more rugged and stark as you ride up multiple switchbacks to the summit. At 16 km at Lake Djupvatnet, the road becomes steeper until the end, for the last 5km, where the road has gradients of 9-12%.
The annual Dalsnibba Cycle Race 'from Fjord to Summit' is held every June and takes you up this stunning climb over 21km. The race starts at sea level on the rim of the famous Geiranger Fjord and then goes straight up to finish at Mount Dalsnibba, 1,500m above sea level. You also have the opportunity to ride the Dalsnibba route on ROUVY.
Geirangerfjord, the jewel in Norway's crown
The deep-blue UNESCO-protected Geirangerfjord in Geiranger, in the region of Ålesund, forms the background to the start of your climb at the base of towering mountains that rise steeply like walls out the fjord with majestic, snow-capped peaks at their summits, gushing waterfalls and lush, green pristine vegetation. The climb on this 15km route starts on Ørnevegen or Eagle Road, Route 63. The road almost immediately takes you up 11 steep hairpins known as the Ørnesvingen to 620 m above sea level over a distance of 7km with an average gradient of 8,8%.
See if you can spot an eagle, a typical habitat at the summit at the Ørnesvingen Viewpoint and waterfall. From 8km at the top and on the descent, you can relax and enjoy the panoramic views and a tunnel to the end of the route as your reward for completing this challenging climb.
As serene as it appears, Geiranger is vulnerable to massive rockslides. When a natural disaster such as this occurs above a fjord, the results can be catastrophic. In 1934, a rock avalanche hundreds of metres above the fjord caused a tsunami that flooded the villages in the area. For this reason, a warning system is in place using probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (PTHA), which uses a GIS approach to identify all possible hazardous contours present in the area to warn residents before a landslide begins.
Strynefjellet, a road going up and back in time
Gamle Strynefjellsvegen is one of the most famous and historic roads in Western Norway, and the most stunning. From the 11km mark, the old and narrow road begins and takes you up six steep switchbacks. The road, built in 1881 to increase tourism in the area and typical of its time, has hand-built stone masonry walls with long rows of barrier rocks lining the narrow road like giant jagged teeth. The stony guardrail was helpful when horses and wagons traversed the region for trade and travel. On your ride, view this engineering masterpiece of a bygone era and, at the same time, the idyllic scenery while finding a good rhythm to get you to the top with a view of the lakes. The scenery along the way, especially in the last third of the route, is exceptional.
Venture into a unique and mythical landscape and explore these fantastic routes on ROUVY from home on your indoor trainer and check off some well-known and famous bucket list Norwegian routes.
