The Cream on the Waffle of Norwegian Cycle Routes

An unforgettable gravel adventure through Norway's epic landscapes, rich history, and creamy waffles—riding Mjølkevegen and Rallarvegen was pure magic for Jacob.

Norway has always been on 'The List' and the Of Milk and Navvies route combining Mjølkevegen and Rallarvegen was the perfect way to tick it off. Being accustomed to 'gravel' riding in the Lake District, the hard packed super smooth dirt road that made up 95% of the 250km Mjølkevegen was an absolute dream to ride.

Mjølkevegen is the old milk route and was used to transport fresh milk from the summer mountain farms down to the dairies in the valleys. The route endlessly winds its way through stunning mountains and traditional fell farmland, taking in a couple of stunning passes and lots of rural villages and towns making resupply straightforward.

Riding into a strong headwind had us up against the ropes for the first half of one of the biggest climbs of the route, but as the climb turned back on itself at the halfway mark, the previously formidable headwind was now providing some much needed extra watts blowing at our backs. With a stunning 360° alpine backdrop at the summit, this climb will be sure to stay with me for a long time. Back down in the valley and faced with a poor weather forecast, a 20 minute train ride proved to be a worthwhile decision to skip the urban section linking the end of Mjølkevegen in Gol to the start of Rallarvegen in Haugastøl.

Rallarvegen is an old road that runs adjacent to the Oslo to Bergen train line and was used for the initial construction of the railway by workers known as Rallare or Navvies. A fast rolling gravel track passing through stunning mountain valleys along the shores of icey cold lakes made for yet more incredible riding. Passing through Finse near to the Hardangerjøkulen glacier which was used to film the planet Hoth in Star Wars The Empire Strikes back was a particular highlight of mine. There was still some snow on the trail breaking up the riding for the next 10km or so after Finse, but a chance to use some different leg muscles to push our bikes across the snow patches was very welcome.

Making full use of Allemannsretten, or everyman's right as it translates, to wild camp, we made one last stunning camp next to a lake before the final descent. Riding steeply alongside a roaring deep turquoise river and down a section of never ending switchbacks was the most exhilarating section of riding so far and joined up to a fast tarmac descent ending in Flåm, marking the end of our ride.

The epic scenery, enjoyable riding, interesting history and opportunity for some out of this world camp spots made this one very memorable adventure to take on our Sonder Caminos. And the multiple mountain huts we passed providing delicious coffee and treats really was the icing on the cake… or the cream on the waffle as I seem to remember the saying goes.