After a long and harsh winter, the summer is finally here providing not only nice temperatures but also those fantastic, short nights. This need to be celebrated, which we’re doing by utilizing the shortest night of the year (Summer Solstice) to ride from dusk till dawn. This night, the sun sets at around 23.00 and rise again sometime before 04.00, and it will stay quite lit for much longer.
The plan is to leave Oslo at 20.00, moving towards Moss, enjoying the view of the sun setting over the Oslofjord. The aim is to catch the ferry from Moss to Horten, where the last one departs at 23.45. From Horten we continue the ride, mainly following the fjord back to Oslo, while we get to see the sun rise over the fjord again. We will probably be back in Oslo sometime around 05.00.
Practical info: The first stretch, from Oslo to Moss is 65 km, while the second stretch is 95 km. The ferry ride is 30 minutes and of no cost for human-powered passengers. There should be good opportunities to buy hot dogs and the traditional ferry snack “svele” onboard. It will also be room for more breaks, as it’s a social ride, not a race. Still, you should be aware that 160 km might be really demanding.
We should target a pace of about 20 km/h. The first leg has a bit of rolling hills, but from Horten to Drammen it’s quite flat. Then there is a major climb up to Lier, but the rest of the ride won’t be too bad. If we feel really energetic after arriving Vestfold, I know about a 10 km detour that includes a nice climb, idyllic country roads and a fast descent (Holmestrandsfjellet and Hanekleiva), which we can discuss during the ride.
Riding surface will be mainly asphalt.Bring lots of snacks, warm clothing, lights and reflectors, probably some chamois crème and what else you need.
