TRAVELING NORWAY WITH TWIN

What do you do if you’re heavily into bicycle holidays and your beloved partner simply states he or she doesn’t like to see lots of paint worthy landscapes passing by and being somewhat glued to the handlebars? What if you, on the other hand, don’t own an endless amount of patience which is needed for all those little breaks in order to sketch “that amazing fjord” or to paint some features of the surroundings in “this marvellous light”?

Simply travel

We, Berit and Carsten, found our solution: Simply travel using a recumbent tandem – one of you two can concentrate on the cycling experience (and let yourself be called “captain” for what that’s worth ;)), while the other one sits with their hands free in the back and, well, e.g. sketches and paints during the ride. Shall we call this Stoker Art?

And it did

In 2013 we tested our decision for an Azub Twin by travelling from the north of Norway along its west coast back to Hamburg, Germany, where we’re living. First the bike had to prove its ability of being disassembled into parts which fit into boxes which in turn fit into an airplane… And they did.

Almost

So after a day of reassembling and reassuring (“Yes there are high mountains, yes we’ve a lot of luggage, but no, we will not come to a halt at the first rise…”) in Alta, 200km south of the North Cape, we set off south. Shortly after, we found out that our Twin could fly not only by plane but also by itself – well, almost.

Trollstigen

After three weeks riding through amazing, sparsely inhabited landscape with a lot of wild camping, meeting nice people, loads of Stoker Art and legs which became quite accustomed to those mountains, those crammed panniers and not always supporting winds, we arrived at the bottom of the famous Trollstigen.

Says the captain

Trollstigen promises fun with its eleven serpentines and 12 percent rise – to be ridden together with buses, caravans/motorhomes and motorcycles. The only touristic hotspot we visited because it’s an unavoidable one. Especially by bike, it’s a must. Says the captain. And so the stoker has to follow…

Pure fun

And we did it! Some of the inner serpentines are very narrow so we were urged to push around them in order to avoid riding into the path of the oncoming traffic. But besides that, the ride has been pure fun. Says not only the captain…

Game changer

We found the Twin to be some kind of a “game changer” at least for us: While we normally absolutely don’t feel like making a lot of contact with other people during our holidays, the sight of a recumbent tandem simply works like a magnet. And so we came back with a lot of new acquaintances and even new (real-life) friends.

Welcome to visit us

If you’re living somewhere in northern Germany, you might be interested in the ADFC Radreisemesse, taking place on 23.02.14 in Hamburg. We’re taking part in the “Reiseradlerallee” (“alley of bike travellers”) and can of course tell you tons and tons of details about travelling in Norway, the Azub Twin and doing Stoker Art. So you’re warmly welcome to visit us at the fair.

Contributed by Berit and Carsten

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