Cycling: Hikletten (22.09.2019)

Written by hbar (Harald Barsnes) GSM

Start point Lønborg (56m)
Endpoint Lønborg (56m)
Characteristic Bike trip - road
Duration 11h 50min
Distance 115.1km
Vertical meters 2,007m
GPS
Visits of other PBEs Blomdalsleitet p-plass (235m) 22.09.2019
Båtaleitet p-plass (350m) 22.09.2019
Træet gård (220m) 22.09.2019

Cycling: Hikletten

Gaupåsvatnet
Gaupåsvatnet
Bruvik
Bruvik
Bruviksnipa
Bruviksnipa
Midtvatnet
Midtvatnet
Hikletten and Torvavatnet
Hikletten and Torvavatnet
Torvavatnet and Træet Gård
Torvavatnet and Træet Gård
Hikletten and Botnavatnet
Hikletten and Botnavatnet
Hikletten trailhead
Hikletten trailhead
Bruvik
Bruvik
Sunset at Eidsvåg
Sunset at Eidsvåg

When summer made a surprise return in late September, I decided to have a go at my ambitious plan of using the bike as my transportation for a visit to Hikletten on Osterøy. I therefore got up early Sunday morning and began the long bike ride towards Botnen just as the sun was starting to rise. Thankfully a relatively cold morning soon turned significantly warmer, and even though my legs were still tired from yesterday's hike, progress was initially good.

Bruvik was reached without any difficulties and it was now time for the main challenge of the day, i.e. the long climb up to Båtaleitet. By now my legs had started to complain slightly, I therefore mixed in short stretches of walking next to the bike for a bit of variation. But the first lunch break halfway up the climb was still very welcome and also provided an excellent viewpoint.

After the break, Båtaleitet was finally reached and the speed picked up dramatically for the descent to the crossroads at Vassdal. The bad news was of course that I would have to go back up all of those vertical meters on the return… Upon turning north and leaving the main road, the road changed into a gravel road and I soon passed along three lakes on my way to Træet Gård and onward to Botnavatnet and the marked trailhead for Hikletten.

Here I left the bike behind and continued on foot to Hikletten, recorded in a separate trip report (see Hikletten), before returning to the bike for the long ride home. But at least I was now moving closer to home with every kilometer cycled, and not further away, which had been the case for the close to 60 km up to this point.

Making it back up to Båtaleitet was tougher than expected, but the following long effortless descent to Bruvik was all the more enjoyable as a result. At Bruvik I stopped for another short bite, before continuing towards the bridge, with each kilometer now requiring a lot more effort than when heading in the opposite direction several hours earlier.

But in the end I somehow made it home to Lønborg, having to turn on the lights when getting to Eidsvåg, thus adding to the energy required to move the bike forward, given that the front light is run via a dynamo attached to the front wheel. Thankfully I was pretty close to home at that point.

Conclusion

To conclude, an excellent trip that can be highly recommended. But do note the extended distance and the significant number of vertical meters in both directions. For me, on this particular Sunday, after a long hike the day before, it was probably around 30-40 km too far to really be enjoyable. So I’m not planning on redoing this one any time soon. ;)


Start date 22.09.2019 08:21
(UTC+01:00 DST)
End date 22.09.2019 20:11
(UTC+01:00 DST)
Total Time 11h 50min
Moving Time 9h 37min
Stopped Time 2h 13min
Overall Average 9.7km/h
Moving Average 12.0km/h
Distance 115.1km
Vertical meters 2,107m

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