Seems like we just arrived in Norway, but if Backroads’ trip itinerary is correct we are leaving after only one day. Yep, after being totally spoiled at the Son Spa, on a fjord in Southern Norway, we are headed to Sweden. But not before the usual sumptuous, all-you-can-scarf breakfast.
An early highlight of today’s ride is Rygge, home to a Norwegian medieval stone church that is 854 years old. And here I am, bitching and moaning about verging on 80. But, somehow, I can still ride a bike — just not very fast.
On the menu today is a jaunt to Fredrikstad, an historic, delightful Norwegian town with stone streets and centuries-old storefronts. At 43 miles and more than 2,000-feet of climbing, the ride is not easy. But the hills are green and the roads are smooth.
My MO is predictable: I am passed by almost everyone in our touring group on the downhills. Then I overtake most, but not all of them on the ups. My riding companion, Marv Ordway, is way faster on the downhills and can outclimb me when the grades steepen.
But there were others in our tour who stay ahead of us seasoned cyclists even on the steepest uphills. They beat us to the summits, only with an asterisk. That asterisk is that these fellow riders were on electric bikes.
They get freshly charged batteries from Backroads each morning and are off to the races. Yes, if you wondered, e-bikes can kick ass. Several years ago, while vacationing with friends in Washington, we took a ferry to Victoria, British Columbia, an.