Please watch the Relive video here: (goofed up and didn’t record the whole ride) https://www.relive.cc/view/vxOQjzLPr26

On the Road: 39 miles/ 63km I Elevation 3,876 ft/ 1191 metres

After rudely getting awakened at 3:30 am by a fire alarm due to some idiot in the hotel smoking in his room, we later had breakfast and proceeded to walk to the dock and board an old river boat, The Victoria, for a 2 1/2 cruise down the Telemark canal to Ulefoss.

Even in the light rain and cloud, the historic and impressive Telemark Canal lived up to its reputation .It was hailed as “ one of the eight wonders of the world” when it was built in 1861.

We admired the green landscape reflected in the canal and heard the water roar as the locks lifted our boat, the Victoria, then headed out across the Norsjø lake.

We started the day this way, both for the history and road quality as it bypassed the busy roads and tunnels which would be otherwise unavoidable on the bike.

Disembarking at Ulefoss Lock we grabbed a coffee, kitted up and then jumped on the bikes( the bikes and 3 of the 5 guides drove the vans and the bikes to Ulefoss. The price for this leg of the cruise was 400 Norwegian Krone(NOK) per person and 225 NOK per bike! That is $52 and $29 CDN)

Heading along the canal on the south side the riding was gentle and pretty, but when we crossed the canal the scenery became much more dramatic with amazing views of the surroundings and the mountains growing ahead.

Lunch by the water and a couple of tunnels to ride through…

Our riding day finished with a challenging 5 km climb with average grade of 6.9 %, and then descended into the quiet village of Straand on the Bussvikfjorden fjord.

The Telemark Canal is regarded as one of the most beautiful waterways in the world and makes for an incredibly scenic bike route. Painstakingly carved into the rock and finished in 1892.

The canal connects interior towns such as Skien and Dalen with the coast of Telemark. It consists of 8 locks and is 105 km long. A popular start point is to take the Krossobanen, Europe’s first cable car, from Rjukan up to Gvepseborg at an altitude of 886 metres.

We finished in the village of Straand and stayed at the Straand Hotel, the original section built in 1864. It is in the Telemark region(the birthplace of competitive skiing) but not on the Telemark canal system, we will head back there tomorrow

Below photos at 10pm at the shore by the hotel…Life is Good in Straand!