This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
through the forests of Norway...
fter a couple of days at Jeanine’s parent's house in the mountains, where we helped construct a wooden log hut, we started our cycle ride back to Oslo. Our trip started with an 800-metre plummet down a steep road to the township of Vinstra below. We were sure grateful to be heading down for a change, but were mindful of the rest of the trip. Rather than cycle down the main highway back to Oslo, we decided to take a backcountry route and do some mountain biking. First we cycled down the valley to Ringebu and then we climbed up out of the valley to the mountain plateau above. On the way we passed by an impressive 800-year-old church, built when the Norwegian saint St Olav christianised the country in the 1100s. The temperature in the mountains was certainly a lot lower than the 21°C at Vinstra, and that night we wondered if there would be a frost as the temperature fell to 4°C. We were glad it was still summer in Norway! Our second day was spent cycling along backcountry farm roads, past a number of Norwegain “farms”... We kept wondering about how Norwegian farmers could have such flash houses, and better tractors etc. than in NZ, and only have a dozen cows. Fre-wonders of North Sea oil To doubt help to keep some of the world’s most uneconomic farms in business. We were soon past these hobby farms and into the large forests that exist behind Lillehammer. This area was certainly idyllic and some of it was used for the cross-country ski races in the 1994 Olympics. We had an excellent campsite for the night among
Wayne Stevens & Jeanine. Langvik the trees and next to a really nice river. The following day we made quick progress through the backcountry forestry roads. Forests in Norway are milled, and unfortunately we had to experience an afternoon on a dusty road with a side effect of logging — a number of logging trucks. Covered in dust and dirt we headed down from the mountains to visit one of Jeanine’s cousins who was a judge in the town of Elverum. The next morning started with a 114-hour cycle road along the highway to Hamar. From Hamar we took the oldest still-running paddle steamer in the world. The boat, which originally commenced operation in the 1850s, provided a great way to travel to the southern end of Norway’s biggest lake — the Mjosa —— and it enabled us to avoid having to cycle along the main highway north from Oslo. After reaching Eidsvold, rather than heading directly south to Cslo alung the main highway, we headed west and were soon back into the large forest areas north of Oslo. One of the things that Oslo is famous for is the large forest of Nordmarka. The forest, which starts at the edge of the Oslo city limits, is a popular winter skiing area and summer mountain biking area. Cars are kept out Of the dfea so travel through the forest was fast and pleasant. In winter this area is so accessible to the people of Oslo that Norwegians will often take the suburban tram to the city limits after working all day, for an evening of cross-country skiing. We were soon back at Jeanine’s parent’s house and thinking of where to go next in Norway...