Close Menu
    Bicycle Touring

    A week of family cycling in Scandinavia?


    Hello friends! My family and I want to explore part of Scandinavia by bike next summer. Help us narrow down how to do this?

    CONSIDERATIONS:

    1. The CHILDREN are 11 and 13 and experienced cyclists, but mostly mountain bike (have never ridden more than 50k in one day, but probably could do 65-70)

    2. We would like to prioritize varied sights and terrain with lots of opportunities to get off bikes and EXPLORE (coastline, forests, villages, museums, cultural sites)

    3. The WEATHER & INSECTS. I have not been to Scandinavia and hear the midges and mosquitoes are bad in the summer. Are there best/worst times to visit between June and August from this perspective?

    4. We plan to do a POINT TO POINT tour and will be renting bikes, so will need to return via ferry or train, or start and end in larger cities so we can arrange bike transfer.

    5. Major hubs: it would be great to travel between two major CITIES (Oslo? Copenhagen? Maybe throw Amsterdam into the mix and travel north from there?) but because of the distances we would need to skip portions and go by ferry or train to make the mileage manageable in 6-8 days cycling, any thoughts on this portion?

    6. Accommodations: we will be staying at INNS/HOTELS and not camping. Should we book ahead, or will it be easy to find places to stay en route without reservations?

    Thanks so much!

    by CleanDistribution791

    Share.
    View 2 Comments

    2 Comments

    1. bikeonychus on

      I can’t answer most of your questions, but; my brother owns a small house in the north of Sweden near the arctic circle. He says the mosquitoes in summer eat you alive. They use those mosquito net hats to keep them out of your face, as it’s necessary, or the mosquitoes start trying to go in your mouth, up your nose, in your eyes etc. Cover every part of your body (luckily it does not get too hot up there). You will likely be fine while moving, just not when stopping.

      I don’t know anything else – I’ve never been to Sweden myself. My brother and his wife fell in love with it years ago though, and now pretty much have a second family up there!

    2. e033x on

      A few options I know of:

      Norwegian mountains:

      Lots of up and down. As in serious amounts, did like 10km at average 10% grade at one point during my trip this summer. But there’s plenty of DNT (norwegian tourist association) cabins that you can rent. Train connectivity between Oslo/Bergen or Oslo/Stavanger. So you can tailor your route to take andvantage.

      Lots of pretty sights, sheep and polite german motorcycle tourists. Mountains at night can be a bit sketch due to weather though, so don’t get caugt out.

      See cyclenorway.com and associated youtube channel for more inspiration.

      Denmark:

      Fantastic infrastructure, nice rides and close proximity to camping sites or hotels everywhere. Not *that* exciting, though I’m biased from living and biking here all the time. North Sjælland is perhaps the nicest part, and you can follow Sjællandsodden and take the boat to Ebeltoft (also nice), and perhaps go down to the lake areas around Silkeborg (also nice). A bit “choose your own adventure”.

      Sweden:

      Kattegatleden. The milquetoastiest of bike routes, which isn’t particularly a bad thing. Train connectivity along the way between Copenhagen and Göteborg, and hotels in every town and camping sites in between. Perhaps the most approachable.

      All options have a certain mosquito level, but coastal or mountainous usually means more wind, which means less flying bastards. But also headwinds.

    Leave A Reply