Tag 23 (Bergern, Norway; Monday 99.05.03; distance = 133.82; time = 7:11;
odometer = 2682.3) -- It was absolutely silent all night, and I slept great
under a nice moon. When I woke up, my sleeping bag was wetter than usual,
probably since I didn't use the top tarp. It was also pretty damn cold and
overcast. I put on my cold weather set up and after finishing my milk and
some cookies, took off at about 8:00. The big climbing I did yesterday was
a freezing descent today. I was pretty tired all morning, riding up and
down. The terrain was getting easier slowly, but it was still very
spectacular. When I got to Elersund, I noticed a "Caf" open. It really
seemed more like a Dairy Queen. It was about 10:00, and I asked the person
working there for a recommendation -- hamburger, fries and OJ. That'll be
an early lunch. After lunch, the terrain was certainly getting much easier.
I even had a micro tail wind -- i.e., flags were still. My legs felt fried
from yesterday, so I just had to be patient and ride it pretty slow. It was
also trying to rain. It was actually raining for a long time (I could see
drops in the lakes and sea), but neither I nor the road really got wet.
Odd. Eventually, the easy riding through gently-rolling dairy farms turned
more urban. There was a better-than-average bike path/route that ran the
last 30 km or so. At one point, I saw a guy struggle to catch me on a bike.
He did and then drafted for a while to rest. Then he passed. My turn -- no,
you're not going to drop me ... so I rode behind this guy for about 10 km
at about 35 kph -- a bit fast for my mood, but with such a drafting bonus,
I was inspired. So finally, I made it to Stavanger. As I was cranking
through town, hoping to yet catch a ferry, I noticed a huge park with a
monument with a Marshal Fredricks piece. I cranked to the ferry terminal.
Whew. It was 15:00 and one left at 17:30. Then I had to get cash, since
they took Visa and not Master Card. Grrr. Then I ate dinner (again early)
at a Chinese place, deceptively called "Catherine's Cafe." Then I searched
all over town for the huge park. After way more trouble than I expected, I
found it and confirmed the Fredricks piece. Cool. Back at the ferry port,
waiting and then loading. This boat is a serious speed boat. There must be
250 seats and this boat cranks. It's a twin hull and it bounces over swells
like a Miami Vice stunt. So the trip to Bergen takes 4 hours. I hope I can
get a hostel at 9:45 or so. I'll find something.... Well, a bit of a trick
awaited me in Bergen. I had a prospectus of the 2 hostels here. The problem
was that this town is very big, complicated and hilly. Also, I could find
no public map and everything was, of course, closed. I actually found the
1st hostel -- it was a YMCA/hostel. Hmm. Anyway, its doors were locked, and
no one came when I rang the bells and knocked. Ouch. What now? The other
hostel was called "Montana" and was clearly at the top of one of these
mountains. But which one, and would they be open, making such a climb
worthwhile? I was getting a bit nervous, since I really had nowhere to go.
I found a phone that took credit cards and after some serious meditating to
understand the Norwegian-only instructions, I was talking to a helpful guy
at Montana. He gave me extremely complicated and bad directions, which I
then began to follow. Three miracles: 1) my light worked with the wires
just recently having been twisted together with no binding agent; 2) I
found the place flawlessly; and 3) they were open and had a room. The
helpful guy even looked in the phone book for me to find out that ferry
service to the Shetlands starts in 2 weeks. Well, shit. There was one
tomorrow to Newcastle, though -- okay, fine. In my room, I was with a
Japanese guy and a Korean. I felt bad about my horribly smelling stuff
stinking up the room right before bedtime, but they had wet laundry
everywhere, so it was a draw. I was very relieved to find this room, and I
slept great.
![[Bike]](./only2500b.gif)
