Southern Norway Part 5

July 15th Kristiansand-Nidelv camping (close to Arendal), 80 km

It was a beautiful morning in Kristiansand, and Berthe’s bay is a wonderful spot for a morning dip. I managed (somehow!) to convince Dražen to join me, and I maintain that it is the perfect way to start the day (especially when the water is 19 degrees!).

We got on the road a bit before 10, and found our way out of town reasonably easily - the path is pretty well marked, and we were on separated cycling paths for quite a long way. The paths were nice, of course, but cycling next to big roads is a bit boring. I was glad that once we reached Birkeland (the tip of a big detour since there are few alternatives to E18 in that stretch) we returned to quiet farmland roads.

The hills have definitely gotten gentler, but we are still (as expected) managing to make use of all gears. Once we returned to the coast, we got a few lovely stretches by the sea and the forest before we turned off-road - back to den vestlandske hovedveien. It started out gently - along the water - before getting back to the usual combination of walking and riding which are required for the steep hills on gravel.

The gravel stretch took us quite a long time, but we made it to the farmland outside Grimstad with enough time to spare that we could visit a former colleague (and meet his wife). They graciously accepted our visit (not sure how appealing it is when sweaty cyclists drop in) and we spent some time chatting on the balcony before we rolled down to the pretty coastal town center. I got an ice cream! We needed a bit of refueling to get to the campsite about 15 km away. Another strange place - they overcharged me, gave us incorrect info about the showers, etc... It’ll do for a night (at least after a refund). 

Break in Grimstad

July 16th: Nidelv Camping - Lovisenberg camping (Kragerø) 97 km

Another sunny morning - with another lovely dip, though Dražen skipped it this time. We had a long day planned, with two ferries at the end, so we tried to be reasonably efficient. The first stretch through Arendal confirmed my suspicions that we have reached the trotting grounds of the well-heeled. It’s a beautiful area, with lots of summer cottages, immaculate speedboats, sun, smiles... and very nice cycling!

Arendal

We were mostly on small roads rolling through the forest, to the coast, back to the forest - just very pleasant. No spectacular fjords, but very pleasant areas, and the cycling route is pretty varied, so it’s not boring. We reached Risør in good time before the 4:15 passenger ferry to Øysang. It is then about 20km to the next ferry. We stopped to pick up some extra groceries at an extremely well-stocked store about halfway, which probably resulted in our just missing the ferry from Stabbestad to Kragerø. We had to wait almost 2 hours, so we cooked and ate our dinner while waiting. I suppose we could have called a shuttle boat, but it’s a bit complicated with the trailer, and it was just as easy to eat! 

Another cyclist pulled up a few minutes before the ferry - a 10-min jaunt over to Kragerø - and the three of us cycled together to the world’s most expensive (at least, it feels that way) campsite. The road in was beautiful, but it feels like a waste - we don’t need all the facilities here. But we’ll definitely swim at this price!