#RaceDay1 Oslo-Rjukan. Registering at #Peloton. Nice weather. Tough climbs from Tuddal. Freezing descent from Gaustatoppen-ish. Exhausted.

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RaceDay#8, Vadheim-Lom (265K, elev. 3639m). After a brilliant serpentine descent from Gaularfjellet, I had a dinnerlike lunch and bikefix at Sogndal (rear disc must be replaced though). People sitting outside and a sense of easy living along Lusterfjorden, even a small festival somewhere. Nice.

I was thrilled too see Wittgenstein's cabin resurrected. And I was truly surprised when what I believe was Erik Resell with Uno X team showing up for a photo shoot of the new Dare aero bike. Neither he nor the photographer had heard of Wittgenstein's cabin. What's wrong with school these days? (Forgot, of course, to take Resell's picture.) Going up Sognefjellet was hard at the end of a long day. But going down was pure hell. It was raining and I was freezing, again. Didn't have any force to pedal, just sat with the palm of my hands on the aero bar pads. The valley down to Lom was never-ending. I looked at my computer five times every kilometer. The bike just wouldn't move. And the camping hut was a shithole. Argh.

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Arne Fredlund during AroundNorway on his way down to Lysebotn!
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Lysebotn on a sunny day during #bikepackingaroundnorway 😍😎✌️ ...

Mindaugas happy during #bikepackingaroundnorway ...

When I picked the mighty Sognefjord as my destination for the apidura #parallels24 challenge I knew I was headed towards stunning landscapes, but I had no idea that it would be like that almost all the way. This weekend I'm heading of for an ultracycling challenge almost 10 times the distance I covered here, visiting most of the iconic climbs and roads to ride on in Norway. Accompanied by a healthy amount of fear, the excitement is growing on a daily basis.
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RaceDay#5. Horror, horror, horror. Horrible traffic and horrendous weather over Haukeli mountain. The tunnel bypasses would have been nice on nicer days, especially the one over Røldalsfjellet.

Morning repair session, reinserting and tightening the gap cap expander, was successful. So was the newspaper insulation under shoe soles.

Unfortunately I had a silly fall, so now my rear wheel is not spinning freely.

All in all it was a day like had it been made by the devil.

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RaceDay#6, Gaupholm-Vadheim (approx. 248K, ekv. 3200m). I used to love Bergen. With all the twists and turns the route was so knotty as to make you nutty. I was glad when I left the Bergen area behind.

There were two ferries on this stage. Had to wait half an hour for the first. That was OK. But it was unfortunate having to wait more than two hours for the last. Met a very nice family that knew the other Norwegian rider. Nice. Small world.

The night was a little troublesome as I didn't find any hotels or the like. Ended up sleeping on the stone floor of the bus waiting room.

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RaceDay#14, Rondane-Fagernes (202K, elev. 3085m). No sooner had I descended from Rondane, than a new gravel section ascended. Although it was not too long (that's irony, obviously), it was long enough to give me a puncture. For 6-8 rotations of the wheel, sealant squirted on to my leg. Then it stopped, and the tyre was not flat. I ferociously blessed the miracle working power of the tubeless set up.

At Vinstra I was so lucky to find the most competent and helpful bike mechanic. He added new sealant and fixed the rear brake disc. Thanks to #Sykkelbuavinstra. I decided to give it a try along the gravel shortcut to Bygdin, the so-called Milky way. The gravel section didn't start until after Skåbu where I had chips and whatnot. On my way up I met the whole Uno-X team coming down. The gravel ride was long, but the scenery was brilliant.

Having a Shermer's neck means, apart from the discomfort and the general inconvenience of not being able to lift your head and look forward, that there's a particular challenge going downhill. I had to thrust my hips forward, and halfway seated on the top tube with my upper body in an as upright position as possible, I could manage. Shermer's trick worked, by the way. In between, when conditions permitted, I would have only hand on the steering, and then I rested the chin on the fist of the other - reminding, or not, of Rodin's The Thinker. I tried to lower the seat a little, and that might have helped. Will lower a bit more tomorrow and hopefully reach Oslo.

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RaceDay#11 (Leite gård-Meldal (approx. 255K, elev. 2900m). Sunny morning. Back, shoulders, legs and everything felt fine. Made good speed. Only the right achilles was bothering me. Bought an ointment to soothe the pain. Got my long lost/awaited sleeping gear at Meldal. Slept outside one of the houses at the museum. Nice.

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RaceDay#15, Fagernes-Oslo (256K, elev. 2012m). Sunny, but cold morning. With the lowered seat I could ride "normally" for a couple of hours. From then on I had to pull Shermer's trick and rest my head on the left hand fist and steer with the right.

Approaching Dokka I encountered the first of the two gravel sections of the stage. Only this first one wasn't a road at all. It was more like a hostage held by the ministry of tarmac: "Yes, we know, we're incompetent and there's no end to the stretches of bumpy roads with rifts, ruptures and dangerous holes. But look, it could be worse, it could be like this, all gravelly." Well, the tarmac officials have a lot to answer for. I will personally be present at the beheadings that shall take place on my behest.

Some extra-curricular art-watching at Gjøvik campus, courtesy of erlendleirdal.

All things must pass. In the evening of a long, wonderful and tiresome
summer day I rode into Oslo. Michael, the organizer, met me at the Opera. We had a good chat. Then I went looking for a hotel and an after-ride kebab. That's all folks.

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RaceDay#13, Stugudal-Rondane (255K, elev. 2321m). This day followed the opposite trajectory from the day before. It all started well. I saw a black grouse fly across the road, a little later two reindeer, and som time after that a moose. A crowd of fans (my parents) also turned up along the road.

Now Nature in the modern sense of the word is to some extent the result of a joint undertaking the last 200-400 years. Artists discovered the landscape. Engineers drew maps and found metals for mining. Røros fits nicely into this picture. As I approached the world heritage site however, the route took a different course onto a graveled road. The scenery was partly beautiful and had I had some more time, I should have stopped to buy some of the renowned Galåvolden cheese. But it was a poor decision to skip Røros, as poor as the gravel was.

The condition called Shermer's neck is when you can't lift your head. It was named after a rider in the first Race Across America. After endless hours and days of strain his neck muscles simply couldn't do the job any longer to keep the head up. It is said that he finished the race by holding his head with one of his arms. I got some version of this condition. Was it wearisome or cumbersome or some other -some? No, it was excruciating.

After Koppang there was another, and this time utterly pointless, gravel section. I was infuriated.

From Atna I rode into Rondane. I climbed as far as I was able to. Then I stopped.

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RaceDay#2 Rjukan-Evje, 248K. Lightning, thunder and pouring rain after climbing from Rjukan. Then it dried up and the sun appeared. Several times I got crazy tired and wondered whether I would fall asleep on the bike. I didn't but I napped for half an hour at Treungen. Gorgeous.

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RaceDay#3 Evje-Byrkjedal (236K, elev. 2247). What a miserable weather: Scandalous temperature and non-stop, neverending rain. Everything felt really slow and heavy, and yet my legs ache like there was no tomorrow from the ordeal. #5

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RaceDay#4 Byrkjedal-Bykle (201K, elev. 4047m) Oh man, what a day. I was totally on the ropes and spirits were low. The combination of showers, strong wind and low temperatures really drained me. The Lysebotn detour and climb also took its toll. Meeting some of the other riders was nice though, we wished for each other to stay strong.

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RaceDay#12, Meldal-Stugudal (250K, elev. 2858m). Again a sunny morning, but soon I was surrounded by mist. Getting the sleeping gear made my seat bag to full to close properly, so I didn't bother to stop and find long gloves. After all, it was reported to be warm later. My fingers were so cold they didn't get un-numb until after Trondheim. And I was without the force to pedal. Stopped at Klett for brunch, and then I ditched the items that I deemed unnecessary for the rest of the trip and sent them home. Byneset was wickedly protruded, and at Trondheim I touched the thought of not going further. Sitting by the Cathedral was nice, though. At the southward turn at Hommelvik I started feeling better. I still could not sit properly and ride on the hoods, but I pedaled away in the silly upright position with palms on the aero bar pads. In the evening I pushed hard, and then I found myself a nice camping spot at Stugudal.

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RaceDay#10, Near Trollstigen-Near Averøy (250K). After a freezing night out in self-made bivvi, it was hard to appreciate Trollstigen. I had to stop several times and take small naps in order to move forward. I lunched at Eresfjord and Kurt Asle Arvesen was perceptive enough not to disturb the cold, wet and exhausted rider further down the table. Of course the little boy that ran silly fast up Vistdalsheia as I descended, turned out be the son of Arvesen. He'll be one to look out for. In the evening it was good to reach the Atlantic and smell the salty sea.

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RaceDay#5, Tyssedal-Gaupholm (222K, elev. 2672m). Approved. That goes both for today's effort and the improvement of the weather. In the morning it was raining cats and dogs, but it stopped after a few hours, and then it was mostly sunny. Hardanger was beautiful. I was a little concerned about the small, narrow road from Odda to Ulvik, but compared with Haukeli it was a bliss.

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Wow, I did not actually expect that I had enough pictures from this drowned-in-the-rain adventure to make choosing a set of ten difficult. After 1,600 km and 20,600 m elevation over 6.5 days I called it quits on this journey - the rain and yellow-storm-warning-grade headwinds in the south had already started making me ill, and much more rain was forecast for the coming mountains over the next 1,000 km. The headwind got slower eventually, but never turned. Between that and waking up more and more ill every day I just wasn't having a good time anymore. Looking at the numbers now though I am happy with what I achieved in these conditions and discovering that I am stronger on the bike than ever before. The next challenge is already in its final planning stages.
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Thank you all for your support and kind words during this journey and its challenges!
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