Vikings Day 8: Tolsberg to Skien

“The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up”…

Please Watch my Relive Video Here:https://www.relive.cc/view/vYvrQJAN9Lq

On the Road : 56 miles/ 89 km. I Elevation 4,985ft / 1,468 metres

“Toto, we’re not in Kansas(or Denmark) anymore” —Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz

Now we’re cooking! Denmark was a warmup for Norway, today did not disappoint!

Our first day’s riding in Norway and with so many epic roads to come! We started from Tolsberg on paved bike lanes and with gentle undulations which ominously built as the day went on giving us a taste of the Norwegian challenge to come!

We crossed the pretty Skrim-Sauheradfjella Nature Reserve on a combination of quiet narrow country roads and bike paths today heading into Telemark, one of Norway’s many centres of adventure. However, it is from here that more folk tales have been collected than anywhere else in Norway.

Today’s ride had steep rolling hills, small farms and rocky outcroppings which reminded me of Haliburton Highlands and the Muskokas in Ontario and southern Quebec. Fellow Canadian Janice commented later that she felt the same. Connecticut riders Michael and Michelle thought of places in Vermont.

We got a good taste of some 13, 14 and 15 % gradients, some of the 19 climbs were over 5 km in length. After a picnic lunch by a lake,

we finished the day in the town of Skein, the birthplace of playwright Henrik Ibsen (A Doll’s House ), and starting point for one of best canal cruises in the world.