We're Famous!!!

Good grief... how long's it been since my last post? Too long. Anyway, believe it or not my bike is still in the box it was packed it when we were in Oslo. Need to unpack my bike, clean it and get my forks serviced. Getting too lazy these days...

Anyway, one thing I meant to mention a while back but haven't mentioned until now is that we made the papers in Sweden. Just before we started our third day of cycling, travelling from Fjällbacka in Sweden to Sarpsborg in Norway, we were interviewed by a journalist from the Strömstads Tidning Norra Bohuslän. Below is a copy of the article in the original Swedish and also a translation kindly done by Fred Eriksson, one of the team members. Hopefully the newspaper won't mind me reprinting the article...

Cyklar för sjuka barn

En grupp arbetskamrater startade i lördags en över fyrtio mil lång cykeltur.

Målet är att dra in pengar till en välgörenhetsfond för sjuka barn i Skottland. Turen går från Göteborg till Oslo och i tisdags cyklade de förbi Fjällbacka.

Gruppen som just nu cyklar mot den norska gränsen jobbar alla på Stena Bulk i Glasgow, ett dotterföretag till Stena. Målet med cykelturen är att samla in så mycket pengar som möjligt till CHAS, en välgörenhetsfond som driver två barnsjukhus i Skottland.
– Det hela började med att en kollega till oss fick ett son med Krabbes sjukdom, han hette Jack och gick bort i början av året, berättar Fredrik Eriksson, från Göteborg, som jobbar på företaget i Skottland.

När Jack föddes med den vanliga och obotliga hjärnsjukdomen, vårdades han på ett barnsjukhus som finansieras av välgörenhetsfonden, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, CHAS. Det var till den fonden Fredrik Eriksson och hans kollegor började skicka in pengar.
– Det är jättevanligt i USA och Storbritanien att man samlar in pengar för att hjälpa en kollega som drabbats, man vill liksom dra sitt strå till stacken, säger Fredrik Eriksson.

Han konstaterar samtidigt att det inte är så vanligt i svenska företag och att många är skeptiska och undrar om folk verkligen betalar bara för att man gör någonting annorlunda.
– Men det funkar. Därborta kan man hitta på vad som helst, som till exempel ”hur mycket ger du om jag rakar av mig håret” till större grejer som sådana här cykelturer.

Cykelturen började gruppen planera förra året, när det sedan blev bestämt vart det skulle åka har de träffats varje söndag de senaste sex månaderna för att planera och cykla tillsammans.
– Först tänkte vi åka till Gotland, men eftersom jag är härifrån bestämde vi oss för Göteborg-Oslo och det är ju bra för då cyklar vi i två länder.

Turen kunde ha börjat bättre men efter att ha kommit iväg lite sent från Göteborg, åkt vilse de första timmarna och cyklat på motorvägen, kom de på lördagkvällen ändå fram till den första etappen på Orust. Från Orust cyklade de sedan upp till Valön, där hade en fri dag i måndags för att samla krafter till nästa etapp, Fjällbacka-Sarspborg.
– Idag blir det nog en av de jobbigaste dagarna, vi kommer att cykla cirka 20 mil och hela sträckan är på över 40 mil, det blir ju längre på alla småvägar. Och vi är inga professionella cyklister så vi har ont överallt, säger Fredrik Eriksson och tar sig om vaderna.

Redan innan avresan började gruppen blogga om projektet och söka olika sponsorer och killarna har fått mycket respons, ett företag sponsrar till exempel minibussen som kör runt med packningen och ett annat sponsrade tröjorna.
– Några företag i koncernen har bidragit med pengar och tillsammans med alla privata bidrag har vi framtills nu samlat in närmare 85 000 kronor och allt går oavkortat till välgörenhetsfonden i Skottland, säger Fredrik Eriksson, stolt.

Gruppen har även satt upp en hemsida så att privatpersoner enkelt kan skänka pengar till insamlingen. Och allteftersom killarna trampar vidare rullar pengarna in, bara genom hemsidan har gruppen fått in närmare 50 000 kronor.

Många bidrag har kommit in från vänner, släkt och kollegor men även andra personer som hört talas om dem har skickat in en slant. Förutom pengar får gruppen uppmuntringar på hemsidan, ”Good luck guys. Fantastic what you are doing. Dont break any legs”, är ett av meddelandena som skickats in.

Gänget har redan börjat planera för nästa projekt men ännu är inget spikat.
– Vi funderar på att göra en auktion för att samla in pengar till någon svensk välgörenhetsfond som jobbar med sjuka barn, säger Fredrik Eriksson.

Elsa Maréchal

Cycling for sick children

On Saturday, a team of workmates started biking an over 400km long route. The target is to raise money to a charity trust for sick children in Scotland. The route stretches from Gothenburg to Oslo and last Tuesday they passed Fjällbacka.

The group which currently are cycling towards the Norwegian border all work at Stena Bulk in Glasgow, a subsidiary to Stena. The goal with the cycle is to raise as much money as possible to CHAS, a charity trust managing two children’s hospices in Scotland.
-It all started with a colleague’s son was born with Krabbes disease, his name was Jack and passed away in the beginning of the year, says Fredrik Eriksson from Gothenburg who’s working at the company in Scotland.

When Jack was born with the incurable and unusual brain illness he was treated at a children’s hospice financed by the charity trust, CHAS. It was to this trust Fredrik Eriksson and his colleague started sending in money.
-It is very common in both the States and the UK that you raise money for to help a colleague who’s been badly affected by illness, you want to pull your weight says Fredrik Eriksson.

At the same time he states that this is not so common amongst Swedish companies and that many are sceptical wondering if people really pay just because you do something slightly different.
-But it works. Over there you can do whatever, from for example “how much money will you donate if I shave my head” to larger events like this cycle ride.

The group started planning the cycle ride last year. Once it had been decided where they should go they have met every Sunday over the past six months to plan and cycle together.
-At first we thought of going to Gotland but because I come from here we set the route from Gothenburg – Oslo and that is good because we are then cycling in two countries.

The route could have started better but after a slight delayed start from Gothenburg, got lost in the first hours and cycled on the freeway they did reach all the way to Oslo on Saturday evening. From Orust they cycled up to Valön where they had a day off on Monday to relax for the next leg from Fjällbacka-Sarpsborg.
-Today will probably be one of the toughest days, we will cycle some 200 km and the entire route is 400 km, cycling on the small roads takes longer time. We are no professional cyclists so it hurts everywhere, says Fredrik Eriksson touching his thighs.

Already before the start the group started blogging about the project and searching for sponsors and the guys have received a lot of response, one company for example sponsor us with the van driving around with our luggage and another sponsored us with the shirts.
-Some companies in the conglomerate has donated money and together with all individual donations we have until now raised almost 85 000 SEK and everything goes straight to the charity trust in Scotland, says Fredrik Eriksson.

The group has even started a website so that individuals easily can donate money to the charity. Since the guys continue to pedal the money’s rolling in. the website alone has raised close to 50 000 SEK. Many donations come from friends, relatives and colleagues, other people who have heard about them have also sent in money. With the donation the group get comments on the website like: “Good luck guys. Fantastic what you are doing. Don’t break any legs”, are a sample of the messages to the group.

The team has already started planning for the next project but as of today nothing is set in stone.
-We are thinking of having an auction to raise money for some Swedish charity working with sick children, says Fredrik Eriksson

Elsa Maréchal

We're back!!!

Well, we are back again after our invasion of Norway. We got in to Glasgow Prestwick late this afternoon after our flight from Oslo Torp airport. I've missed my wife a lot and so it was good to be home again and have life return to some assemblance of normality.

So much has happened over the past week and I will get round to publishing a sort of daily diary of events as and when I can. I spent most of the flight writing up notes in my notebook. I've spent a good few hours over the past week keeping it up to date. A couple of the guys think I should write a book about the experience. Who knows? Maybe that might come to fruition one day.

Anyway, as you can probably tell from the time this entry was published it is very early on Saturday morning. Before I go I wanted to thank some people:

To all the guys who shared the experience with me I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It was one of the best experiences of my life and am sure it was for you too. We went through a lot of pain at times pushing ourselves to our limits and perhaps beyond, some more than others, but we all came through in the end. It is something I am immensely proud of completing.

Mr & Mrs Bertil Fredriksson for allowing us to stay at their beautiful holiday home.

I would also like to thank our sponsors, without whom the journey would have been more difficult:

Stena Bulk / North Marine Management / Concordia Maritime - thanks for supplying the kit we wore all throughout the trip. You have no idea how much more comfortable we were because of it. Thanks also for the donations you made as well.

Herbalife - for supplying us with supplements which helped us during cycling.

Brantas - for buying us loads of spares.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who sponsored us through the Just Giving web site and offline as well. Your generosity is very much appreciated by one and all. To date we have raised over £7,000 which is a fantastic amount. Hopefully this will rise and we can give CHAS an excellent early Christmas present.

So, what next? Well, we've had one or two discussions about what we might do next year. No decisions yet of course but you will be first to know as and when anything is decided. Watch this space...

Got. To Oslo Day 8 - The journey home

Today was a sad but a happy day. Sad that our journey was over but happy that we were going home. I missed my wife and my home comforts. Again, Mauro and I woke up early and headed for breakfast. No fishy pancakes this time. Thankfully they were replaced by meatballs, Scandinavia's other staple food... well it is if you go to Ikea. Sadly they weren't as tasty as theirs so I could only stomach a few.

We had a lot of packing to do before we left for the airport, not just our clothes and stuff but also the bikes. After a gash appeared in the box when we got to Gothenburg I was going to make sure it didn't happen again. I had to match up all the bits of foam tubing that I brought with me to the various parts of my bike. I managed to piece it all together again. Off came the pedals and handlebars. The wheels came off and the skewers protected. Actually, I think I packed it better this time in a car park better than I did at home before we left home. The wheels certainly fitted back in the box better than they did before. After the bike was packed I used so much tape around the box reinforcing it everyone started to laugh. You can never be too careful though. Nothing worse than it splitting and all the contents coming out.

Bob was coming back from Gothenburg this morning but we were meeting him at Oslo's main airport. We packed his bike and then loaded up the van. Amazing that we got all the bikes and all our luggage back in there. I swear there was more stuff than before even though Shaun had gone home yesterday. Then again we did have Fred's bike with us but it wasn't in a box as he was driving back to Gothenburg after dropping us off at Oslo Torp airport.

We set off ahead of schedule. First stop was Oslo's main airport to pick up Bob. Amazingly enough, when we got there and went into the car park there he was and we were able to get on the road again straight away. We had to go back the way we came and back through to Oslo before heading North to Oslo Torp. Luckily the journey was all by motorway and so although we had around about 60 miles (100 km) to go the time passed fairly quickly. We passed through a number of tunnels through hills which you don't really see at home.

Arriving at the airport we unloaded the van and bade our farewells to Fred. It was sad to see him go, as it was with Shaun the day before, but he had to get home again himself. Again, we had fun putting bikes on trollies and trying to navigate them through airport doors. Because we were early the flight hadn't even opened up for booking in. Luckily there was someone there from the UK behind one of the service desks and he got it opened for us. I weighed my big bag and found I was almost a kilogram over my weight allowance. Had to remove stuff from it and pack it into my rucksack. Sorted!!! We then booked ourselves in and put the bikes onto the large luggage conveyor.

With a couple of hours to spare we just sat in the café area. Had to take out some more money out of the hole in the wall. Ended up spending most of it on a hotdog, a small container of Chinese food and a small packet of sweets. It's the one thing I won't miss about Norway... the prices. Don't think I will ever moan about them over here in the UK again.

The flight home was a chance for me to update my notes of the past week. It was amazing to see how Norway looked from the air as we rose into the air. You could see vast expanses of trees and lakes. I guess the stereotypical view of Norway. Soon, land changed to water as we crossed the North Sea. After that it didn't seem long till we were ready to land at Prestwick.

We disembarked the plane and went to pick up our luggage. Before that we had to go through passport control. Tom went through and then came back again. The little boy, Jack, whose name we were doing all this in, had a teddy bear and we had taken him with us on our journey. We got passport control to stamp his little teddy bear passport so that we could then give it back to his mother. It probably doesn't seem like much but we knew that Jack's mum would appreciate it.

Luggage all collected we headed through to arrivals. Mauro's sister was there with her kids and his dad. They had a banner welcoming us home which was fantastic. I must admit I had a bit of a tear in my eye when I saw my wife. My mum and dad were there too with my niece Lucy. It's always nice to go away to interesting places and meet wonderful people but when all is said and done there is no place like home.

Got. To Oslo Day 7 - Day off in Oslo

I got woken up at 4am this morning by the guys coming back from their night out on the town. Still managed to get back to sleep for another couple of hours afterwards though. Mauro and I got up early and even went to breakfast just after 7am. The hostel is an extension of the hotel next door and so breakfast was served in their dining room. We both started off with a bowl of cereal before deciding to have a cooked breakfast as well. There was a tray full of pancakes as well as sliced sausage and potatoes. We both loaded up our plates and then returned to our seats. Mauro took a bite of one of the pancakes. His face immediately went sour and said that it tasted awful. I took a bite as well and immediately did the same. What we thought we pancakes turned out to be something a little less savoury. It was like a pancake with fish mixed into it as well except that the fish tasted off. Obviously an acquired taste.

After breakfast we had a wander round the park next to the hotel. There was a river running through it so we had a stroll along the banks, soaking up the morning sun. A man on the other side of the river bank stood there in full view of everyone with his trousers down at his knees. Thankfully he wasn't doing anything else but it gave us a good laugh. On a more serious point, however, after that I started to notice that there were a good few homeless people. Even in rich countries it's still a problem. I did notice that they sell a Norwegian version of the Big Issue.

We decided to head into town for a wander round. We passed by a sports shops that sold bikes so decided to investigate. They had a lot of nice bikes in there. Carbon fibre frames costing a few thousand pounds and some less pricy... well relatively speaking. Prices are nuts here. We found a carbon fibre bottle cage which was about 700 NOK (approx £70). Yikes!!!

I wanted to grab a drink as I think I was still dehydrated from all the cycling we had been doing. We went into a sandwich shop and I looked in the fridges. I couldn't believe my eyes. A bottle of Pepsi which would normally cost a pound or so back home was 280 NOK (approx £3). I bought the bottle grudgingly. Having said that, if you are prepared to shop around (I was dying of thirst and so couldn't wait) then you can find cheaper places especially in supermarkets.

After that we headed back to the hostel where we met Pete. He had just come back from Oslo's main airport where he had just dropped Bob off. He had to fly back to Gothenburg for a meeting. He would fly back the next morning... staying in a luxury hotel no doubt on expenses... lucky man. Poor Shaun was also heading off as well. Unfortunately he couldn't get the Friday off work and so he had to fly back to Glasgow today. Mauro decided to tag along with Pete and Shaun to Oslo Torp airport, a round trip of around 4 hours.

Fred, John, Tom and I sat in the communal area of the hostel's reception area. John and Tom played table football while Fred and I did a little work on the final newsletter. Aftwerwards we all decided to head on into town to do some exploring. Before then I decided to get changed and find my shades as it was a sunny day. When I was locking up my bag I suddenly couldn't find the keys to my bag. I searched everywhere but could I find them? The realisation suddenly hit me that I must have dropped them in my bag just before locking it. Nooooo!!! I had visions of me having to rip open my bag. Luckily I was able to open it up and find the key. Could have ended badly...

Fred took point as he had been here before. The first place we visited was Youngstorget which used to be Oslo's greatest fruit market. It was also a place for political demonstrations and in fact a couple of unions have their headquarters here. There was a small market on today. I bet my wife wishes she was here. Markets and car boot sales are her religion. ;-)

We wandered around the shops before we entered Karl Johan's Gate. This street forms part of a square, much like George Square in the centre of Glasgow except a little more picturesque... okay a lot. The street contains the Olso Parliament building at one end, and the National Theatre building as well as the Royal Palace at the other end. In the middle is a park type area with a fountain and trees.

By now we were feeling hungry and so we decided to go to the Hard Rock Café. It was a stunning day and so we wanted to sit outside on the pavement. We had to wait a little but it was worth it. We bought a burger each (cost about £10.. Nachos were around £12.. Yikes!!!

We decided to head for the harbour area to explore. On the way there we passed Oslo's city hall building. This is a huge dark-red brick building which was designed in the 1920s but not finished until after WWII in 1950. From the outside it's perhaps not the prettiest of buildings but once you are inside it's quite impressive. There is a large hall which has a huge painting at the far end. To be honest I joked that it looked as though it had been coloured in by kids with crayons. Still, it was an impressive sight. Fred then remarked that they had awful curtains. :-)

Around the square the city hall sits in there are a number of tourist shops... and you know we just had to go in and have a look. They were full of the usual touristy stuff... trolls, hats, jumpers, various trinkets with the Norwegian flag, etc. I tried to find my wife something but couldn't see anything worth buying.

We headed for the busy harbour area. There are lots of offices and accommodation around here as well as restaurants, bars, shops, etc. There are ships and luxury yachts moored up along the jetty as well. To be honest, this is the way I would have liked the development around the Finnieston area of Glasgow to have been like. There is a lot of life in the area and the people are friendly.

We sat and ate some ice cream we bought and just soaked in the atmosphere. Tom then got a text from Pete saying they were back from dropping Shaun off at the airport. I had the key so I had to make my way back to the hostel. I have a pretty good sense of direction so I was able to find my way back pretty easily. After meeting up with Pete and Mauro we headed back into town and to where I left Tom, John and Fred. When we got there they were sitting outside one of the bars. I shuddered to think what it was going to cost us but we ordered some beers.

Afterwards, Pete, Mauro and I went exploring further around the harbour area. Again, like Glasgow, it has been subject to a lot of investment. Mauro wanted to go see the new opera house which you could apparently walk up on to the roof of. As we came out of a shop after buying some juice a guy stopped us and asked where we were from. We told him what we had been up to and then he told us about how he had cycled all over Scotland. He then gave us rough directions for the opera house and with that we set off.

On the way there we had to pass through the Akershus Fortress which was built in the late 13th century to protect Oslo from invaders. It was occupied by the Nazis during WWII and after the war a number of traitors were executed here by firing squad. From the ramparts you get an amazing view over the Oslo fjord. On the hill behind Olso you can also see a ski jump that was used in the 1952 Winter Olympics.

It was getting late so we only had time for a quick look around before heading for the opera house. After asking for some directions we eventually found it. The building is shaped liked two wedges; one sitting on top of the other. You can walk up the first wedge and then on to the second one. The building was completed this year ahead of schedule and way under budget. How often does that happen these days? Anyway, it's a fairly steep climb up the roof. Once we reached the top, Mauro did his best Rocky impersonation. I guess that's how we were all feeling then after the journey.

Again, the view from the top of the building was great. You could see the fjord again along with the harbour and the city around that area. We stayed a while admiring the scenery but by now it was after 7:30pm and was beginning to get dark. On the way back to the hostel Tom phoned and said that they would bring in pizzas for everyone again. Not the healthiest of diets considering our healthy regime for the past week but certainly a welcome one.

When we got back to the hostel someone else had taken up residency in Shaun's bed. He turned up a little later on. I forget his name but he was originally from Iran. He was persecuted back home for printing a Christian newspaper and so had to flee. He spent time in Turkey before coming to Oslo where he works as a web developer. Mauro, Pete and I laughed as we all realised we were in the same business. The guys arrived a little bit later on and we tucked into the pizzas. By the end of the night there was a pile of around 16 pizza boxes in the corner of the room.

All in all we had a great day. Was good to be able to relax and do some exploring in such a great city... even if it is so expensive. Never did get to see Edvard Munch's "The Scream" but perhaps another time. Tomorrow we were heading back home again.

Got. To Olso Day 6 - Sarpsborg to Oslo

Well, here it was... the final day of cycling. Muscles ached but our resolve to finish this journey had never wavered. Before we set off today we took some pics for the various organisations who sponsored us namely Stena Bulk, Concordia Maritime, North Marine Shipping, Brantas and Herbalife.

We'd been told that Oslo was only about 50-something miles (90 km) away which, considering we'd done 75 miles (120 km) the day before, seemed easy. We set off around 10am in sunshine. The forecast was for rain but luckily it was wrong... so far. Around about 3 miles (5 km) outside of Sarpsborg on route 114 we encountered what I consider to be more like the picture of Norway I had in my head before I came here. There was a large lake surrounded by hills covered in trees.

We crossed a bridge that spanned part of the lake. An older bridge, or rather what was left of it, stood beside it. We stopped for a time to admire the scenery and take some pictures. I prayed that I wouldn't run out of memory on my camera or battery power right now. Luckily I was fine on both accounts.

We carried along the side of the lake for a time before climbing the usual endless supply of Scandinavian hills. The road which was tree lined all the way never got monotonous though. To think that hundreds of years ago the UK was heavily forested, but look at it now. Norway, on the other hand, still is, from what I could see. Samuel Pepys once said that, "A man who is tired of London, is tired of life." He obviously never travelled this far North.

On the way up the hill we passed the entrance to a ski resort. It's funny but you never think that there would be much skiing at this altitude. However, this far North they obviously get a lot more snow than we do these days. Probably the same amount that we used to get way back in the 70s. Am I showing my age now? Oh well...

Although the sun was still shining the air was thick and cold. It was actually quite hard to keep warm. I was quite glad I had my cycling vest on which kept my body warm if not my arms which were freezing. This has been an ongoing thing about Scandinavia, that even though the sun is in the sky the air has been kind of thick which has meant that cycling through it has generated cold winds. Good when you are warm but not so good when you are cold.

We cycled for a few hours going through places like Nordby and Meieribyen taking a few breaks. Eventually we met up with Pete again in Spydeberg for a rest and something to eat. We had only had snacks so far since breakfast so we were ready to get stuck into something a little more substantial. Norway is, as you would presume, relatively expensive but when you gotta eat you gotta eat and forget the cost. I bought a ham and cheese roll in the shape of a large horseshoe. Fred then bought a waffle filled with ice cream and jam. It called my name - I just had to have one too.

After lunch we lolled around a little outside. I cycled over to a book shop to see what they had in their window. I managed to unclip my right foot from the pedals but not my left. I lost my balance and tipped over sideways much to the amusement of everyone, including myself. If you can't laugh at yourself in these situations then you have no right laughing at anyone else.

It was dull again as we headed off once more. I pulled my wind proof top on as well as my cycling vest and waterproof jacket to try and build up some heat. A couple of miles outside of town I saw a sign warning about Moose. I could just imagine going round a bend and coming face to face with an angry moose ready to charge me with his horns. Luckily, I didn't. Not something you see back home but over here it's probably like wild deer running around.

At some small town we kind of got a bit lost and had to ask for directions. A lady put us back on track in the direction of Ski. The sun came out again, lulling us into a false sense of security. Again, it may have been sunny but it was still cold.

Ski is a large commuter town some 15 miles (25 km) or so from Oslo. By now we had travelled around 50 miles (80 km). We arrived there around teatime and so stopped off at a service station (thank God for service stations, without them we would have gone hungry and thirsty on large parts of this trip) to buy some refreshments. Mauro needed a big sugar crash urgently as did I and so we both bought some sugary jelly sweets. Boy did they taste good!

Taking some advice on how to get to Oslo we found a sign saying "Oslo 25". 15 miles (25 km) doesn't seem like much but when you have covered 50 miles (80 km) already it seems like a whole lot more. As we headed off again the weather took a turn for the worse and it started to rain again. We all had our wet weather gear on apart from Fred who showed true Viking spirit and carried on regardless although he did manage to borrow a thermal cycling top from Bob. Cycling along one particular road Shaun managed to get a "snake bite" puncture on his rear tyre. This occurs usually when one of your wheels hits the edge of a kerb hard causing the inner rim of the wheel to pinch the inner tube and tearing it, somewhat resembling a snake bite, hence the term. We parked up in a bus shelter and resident mechanic extraordinaire, Mauro, went to work again. He changed the tube and had the wheel back on again in around 6 minutes. Not bad going.

We headed off again, tired, wet, cold but determined to complete the final few miles and "Get to Oslo". At the end of one particular street we had to enter a park area passing some football pitches and then going down the middle of a golf course. Norwegians may not have as many famous golfers as us but they are still daft about the game, like us. There were some many people and cars around even in the pouring rain.

My wrists were hurting from all the cycling and so I decided to change the angle of my handlebar stem to see if that would alleviate some of the pain. It worked, at least for a time. The path through the park changed to little more than a dirt track which by now had seen a lot of rain and horses by the look of things. There was no choice but to cycle through it and get covered in mud as we descended the path. By then we pretty much didn't care as we were already cold and wet so what could some mud do?

Eventually after passing some stables the dirt track finished and we descended a residential street jumping off of the speed bumps. My forks by now were in a sorry state. They were bottoming out very easily. At the bottom of the hill the directions started to get a little confusing. Beforehand there were definite signs saying "Oslo". Now there were directions probably to places in Oslo but none looked familiar. We crossed a bridge going over a main road and then down a ramp on the other side. Shaun's tyre gave out again and we had to stop for a time while Mauro took a look. I think there must have been some damage to his wheel as he had another puncture in a new inner tube. We sheltered under the ramp we had descended earlier and Mauro went back to work on the wheel. A group of cyclists went by and waved to us. Road cyclists, in my experience, rarely acknowledge people on mountain bikes.

I tried to wash some of the dirt off of my bike using a large puddle that was right next to us. When your rims get dirty it causes the brakes not to function properly as well as wearing them down quicker (both the brakes and rims). I then washed my shoes which were caked in mud too. They were soaking wet by now anyway so splashing about in a puddle didn't matter.

With Shaun's tyre fixed again we set off again for the centre of Oslo. We passed a red phone box like the ones at home. It felt so very long ago that we set off from Gothenburg even though it had only been a few days. Again, the route to the centre of the city became a little hazy. Fred had stopped a couple of guys and asked for directions. We headed down a slip road onto what I can only presume to be the E6; the road running all the way from Gothenburg to Oslo. The trasffic was very fast moving and I was a little uneasy about going down this road. On the other side of the road I saw a cyclist going down a cycle track at the side of the road. I got off my bike and headed back up the slip road again. I crossed over an overpass and went down the ramp on the other side. The others soon followed suit. There's no point in living dangerously on strange roads. Our luck had held this far and I didn't want anyone getting hurt when we were so close to finishing. This road, was as we discovered in due course, the final stretch of road leading us to our destination.

We stopped off at another service station. Fred found a couple of watering cans full of water and I washed more of the dirt off of my bike. By now it had stopped raining but it was still overcast. From the cycle path you could see out on to the Oslo fjord which the city is built around. There was a sailing regatta or something going on in the distance. There were many large sails. We passed by the docks and eventually around 8pm we finally reached the centre of Oslo.

Part of the centre was having some work done to it so we had to get off our bikes to walk around the temporary path. At this point I lost Mauro. I went back to where we were but I couldn't see him. I met Bob coming back down the street where everyone else was. He had his high visibility rain jacket on and so I thought that Mauro would spot him more likely than me. I headed on up the street through the pedestrian traffic to where everyone else was. Evetually we spotted Bob's luminous jacket coming back up the street. We couldn't see Mauro but as Bob got closer we saw that Mauro was walking. One of his feet had given way under the stress of cycling all week.

We stopped a passing girl who took a couple of pictures of us on Bob's camera. After that, all we wanted to do was book in to the hostel and relax. We were booked in at the Anker Hostel on Storgata, which, after what we had just been through was a decidedly underwhelming place. The guy at the front desk did his level best to get everyone's back up. He decided to process everyone's booking in the order in which we gave him the sheets we had to fill in. It didn't matter if someone was out at the van, that was just the way it was and he stuck to his guns (to Bob's grudging admiration). Eventually though we managed to get into our rooms.

Bob, in his infinite brilliance, decided to go out with Peter and buy everyone a large pizza. To say that the cooking facilities in the room were basic would be an understatement. You even had to rent pots and pans off of the front desk. He returned an hour later and it was the best pizza ever. Bob, you should be Knighted for keeping us fed over the course of the week. Thanks so much, you are a top man.

After food, Shaun, Tom, Fred and John decided to have a night out on the town. It was around 10:30pm by now and I was just wanting to hit the hay. We had finally done it. What had started off at an estimated 220 mile (352 km) cycle had finished off being 275 miles (440 km). Now to sleep, perchance to dream of home again...

Got. To Oslo Day 5 - Fjällbacka to Sarpsborg

After the rest and relaxation of the day before, today was going to be a tough one. We had a long journey ahead of us across the border to Sarpsborg in Norway. Not only that, but after the bright sunshine of the past 4 days it was now raining... and not just drizzle either.

We managed to get the hotel to serve breakfast just after 8:00am instead of 9. In fact, we had to get over to Fjällbacka for 9am as Fred was going to meet us at the harbour with a reporter from a local paper. We made it over in time and after posing for some photographs the reporter asked us some questions.

Photographs and questions over it was time to hit the road again. We headed off to Grebbestad some 7.5 miles (12 km) as the crow flies. From there we moved on to Tanumshede. As we cycled the weather started to get better. The clouds began to disappear and the sun started shining through. Only problem was, my feet were still soaking wet.

After reaching Tanumshede we headed for Lur, crossing over the E6, the motorway from Gothenburg to Oslo. By now we were in bright sunshine and so we were felt able to remove our waterproofs. After reaching Lur we found that we had taken a wrong turn and so had to head along the side of the E6 so we could reach our next port of call, Skee. The traffic was fast moving so we had to travel single file.

At Skee we stopped for a while at a service station where we met Pete with the van. I managed to sit down for a while and removed my shoes and socks. I wrung out my socks amazed at how much water they had soaked up. There was a lot. So much for my SPD shoes being waterproof. Anyway, when I put them back on again they didn't seem so bad. I know it's not a good thing putting wet gear back on but when needs must... Was just nice not to have to feel my feet squelch in my shoes again.

Break over we headed off in the direction of Hälle. The road was largely tree lined and had many lakes lying just to the side of the road. There were quite a lot of hills to climb on this road but, to be honest, with scenery like this around, you didn't mind so much. Before we reached Hälle, though, we changed direction and headed for Näsinge. This would be our final change of direction before crossing the border into Norway at Svinesund.

We reached Svinesund just after 4pm and stopped at the Svinesund Center. The center overlooked the Iddefjord which divides the west coast of Sweden from Norway. I'd never seen a fjord before and it was quite a sight. When we crossed from Fiskebäckskil to Lysekil a couple of days before we passed the Gullmarn fjord but it was away in the distance and so we couldn't see much. This was much more like it; steep tree lined hills leading down to the water's edge. Stunning!!!

There was a restaurant in the Svinesund Center so we decided to have one last feed in Sweden before we headed over the border. The food in Norway would be more expensive so we thought we better make the most of it. We paid 125 SEK (£10-12) for the buffet that was laid out. And what a feast it was too. I kid you not, this was one of the best looking and tasting buffets I have ever had. Steak, chicken, sausages, salad and so much more. We were famished after cycling for around 6 hours and so we loaded up our plates. Definitely a meal to remember.

Hunger sated, I went outside to sit on the veranda and gaze at the fjord. I removed my shoes again and tried to let my socks dry in the breeze. The sun was still fairly high in the sky but the was a breeze coming from the direction of Norway. It was nice to just sit and take in the scenery for a change instead of glance at it while we were on the move. The bridge we were going to cross is actually the old bridge. They redirected the E6 to go over the new bridge but there is still a lot of traffic flowing over the old one which is probably good news for the Svinnesund Center.

The bridge was under repair and so was down to single lane with traffic lights determining which side of the bridge got to cross. Luckily there was a pavement which meant we could walk across with the bikes. Pete, on the other hand, had to wait in line with the traffic. The view from the bridge was even better than the Center. You could see both up and down stream. It was a long way down to the water too. Again, the view was incredible. The sort of sight you could never tire of looking at.

On the other side of the border we all met up again at a service station before starting the final leg for today on to Sarpsborg, some 15 miles (25 km) away. By now it was after 6pm and we were tired and saddle sore. Sarpsborg couldn't come quick enough. The countryside was unremarkable, in stark contrast to Sweden. To judge Norway on this would be silly though as we all know what kind of lanscapes they have.

We reached Sarpsborg just after 8pm. The sun was beginning to set and as we entered its bounds we passed through and industrial area. There was a river which had a pretty impressive weir, perhaps used to power something. To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed with the place so far. As we cycled through the streets it felt more like home than Scandinavia. I don't want to be unkind as we probably didn't see the best parts of the place.

Eventually we found the hostel and were pleasantly surprised. It was a lovely looking place and the rooms were nice too. We had travelled some 75 miles (120 km) today and I was shattered. I had a shower and then watched CSI on TV before falling asleep.

3 days of cycling down... 1 more to go.

Got. To Oslo Day 4 - Day off in Fjällbacka

Fjällbacka, where we were staying, is a fishing village with some 800 inhabitants. It is famous for being the home of the great Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman when she was in Sweden. It is just short of 100 miles (150 km) from Gothenburg although we had taken 130 miles (196 km) to get there.

After the past couple of days we were glad to have a day off from cycling. Mauro and I both woke up around 7am and so decided to go have a wander around. The hostel is set in the grounds of the Fjällbacka Valö hotel and has a view that few can match.

Across from the dorms where we were staying there was a large crop of rock which allowed you to view the sea across to Fjällbacka and the surrounding area from an elevated position. The view across the bay was like most of the scenery I had seen so far on the journey up the coast... stunning. We sat on the jetty and soaked in the atmosphere of the place. Shoals of Whitebait were swimming around the jetty which was an unusual sight.

Breakfast was served around 9am in the hotel at the top of the garden. We ate heartily and discussed the past couple of days' cycle. Afterwards a few of us went back across the water to Fjällbacka with Fred. It was his girlfriend's birthday so he was taking the van and driving back to Gothenburg and would return in the morning. Before he left he told us about a large crag in the rock behind the harbour that we should go and have a look at.

Tom, John, Mauro and I headed up the steps from the harbour which led to the crag. How something like this crag is created I have no idea but it was an amazing site. The entire rock was split in two with a large channel down the centre. Further on into it there were 4 huge boulders wedged in between the two halves of the crag. It was a but unnerving walking underneath them but we were completely safe. The locals call it the Kungsklyftan (The King's Shaft).

Safely through the passage there was another set of stairs leading up on top of the rock. From the top you could see over the whole bay and beyond.

After climbing down from the rock we bought some supplies at the supermarket then sat down at the bar on the harbour for a drink in the sun. There are few better ways or places to relax on such a beautiful day.

1:30pm and the taxi boat came and took us back to Valö. We had some food and then I decided to take the path round the back of the hotel and follow the trail on to the top of the hill that constitutes the bulk of the island. The hill, in fact the whole island, is a massive piece of rock sticking out of the sea. The route to the top of the hill was marked with white paint.

The proprietor of the house told me that in winter they can experience temperatures of down to -30˚C because of winds coming down from the North. Amazing then that the hill supported so much life. There were bushes and even a small wooded area on the summit. From the other side of the island you could see for tens of miles. I am fast running out of superlatives to describe the scenery here. Breathtaking isn't a word I use a lot (if at all) but the views from here were all that.

After climbing all over the hill for a couple of hours I went back to the hostel via the beach that the other guys had discovered earlier. For dinner Bob made a superb curry. Everyone ate well that night. Afterwards Pete and I sat on the rocks across from our dorms and took in the view of the bay. Later on I took a walk down the jetty to call my wife on the phone. Big mistake. This was the realm of the local mosquitos. Ouch!!!

Today was an amazing day with amazing weather. Unfortunately that was soon to change...