Family Trip on the Navvy Road (Rallarvegen)
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© Paul Lockhart
After a couple of days of fun at the bicycle park near Vestlia Resort, they are ready for what Ane hopes and believes will be a really nice experience for both big and small, namely the Navvy Road.
The long variant of the trip, that goes all the way to Flåm, had to wait for a few years until both the children were preferably over 12 years. That didn’t matter as long as the variant Finse – Haugastøl, which not only is suitable for family cycling, but is also free for snow earlier in the summer than the stretch further west. Perfect for a vacation early in July.
Instead of taking the bicycle train from Geilo to Finse, start your trip with your own car by driving just over 20 km to Haugastøl.
Free parking, bicycle rental, have a chat with those who know the Navvy Road the best, the people at the Haugastøl Tourist Center are a good place to start your trip. By the way, they have heavenly-good cake in the café counter, so there are many reasons to start your trip there!
With a mix of rental bikes and personal bikes, the gang cycles to the train station to get on the bicycle train to Finse. About 20 minutes later, the train stops at the station at the highest elevation on the Bergen Railway, Finse, at 1,222 meters elevation. Off with the people, off with the bicycles, a trip to the Navvy Museum, helmets on, chocolate in the backpack. Take-off eastward with the starting point Haugastøl as the goal. Suddenly, there is a small snowdrift to conquer on the road just east of Finse, which invites a snowball fight and the exercise “cycling in snow.” Soon the gang was over and on dry ground again. The road eastward is in good condition and offers easy cycling.
The fall height is just over 200 meters on the 27 km long trip.
The trip goes through beautiful, mountain terrain along the Bergen Railway and at the foot of the Hallingskarvet mountains. There will be a stop before Oksebotn, then we pass the Storurdi guard houses. Then it’s time to replenish energy for the two boys, and also for the adults. There are several idyllic resting areas, also with the opportunity to take a dip in the fresh, mountain waters.
Suddenly, a cuckoo is heard, which lives along the Navvy Road, calling out from where it sits in the low, mountain birch. The adults prick up their ears; but the boys, now with refills in the form of sausages from a thermos and chocolate, are full of new energy and ready for the last leg of the trip. They are promised ice cream at the finish line at Haugastøl, 27 km after they left Finse.
Ane, who had not cycled this shorter variant of the Navvy Road, is really happy with the route choice and the day the family has had in the mountains. The boys aren’t disappointed in their own efforts either, as they receive praise for the trip—and the joy of cycling—that contributed to the trip on the Navvy Road, which was a perfect ending point to their cycling vacation in Geilo.
©
© Paul Lockhart