Tor Hovland
Well-Known Member
Hi! I'm home after a 4 day, 700 km/435 mi tour between Trondheim and Oslo, and I thought I'd write up a ride report.
Motivation
I have an old Bacchetta Giro 26 that I've used on a 400 km brevet, as well as a few overnight trips. But I've never done a real multiday tour before, and this September I had the opportunity to do it, using the Vendetta I bought second-hand just before the summer.
Living in Trondheim, the most obvious option would be heading north along the Coastal Route, one of the world’s top 101 scenic routes, according to National Geographic. But autumn in Norway can be very wet, and I failed to plan an itinerary that agreed well with the weather report. Heading south toward Oslo looked much better. The only predicted rain would be the final stretch of day 3. Another motivation for going to Oslo is that many people I know have ridden the Great Trial of Strength, a 540 km/340 mi race from Trondheim to Oslo, but I'm not allowed to enter with a recumbent. In fact, recumbents were banned in the middle of the 1997 event, when M5 founder Bram Moens shattered the course record. So I have been thinking for a while that I should do a solo trip to Oslo.
Route
But I didn't want to just do the same route as the race, because that follows the primary road between the two cities. Instead I wanted to go further east, staying close to the Swedish border most of the distance. I wanted to make the most of the daylight, which lasts until 19:30 at this time of the year. The area I was going to cover is quite thinly populated, and it was almost a given that the first stopover would have to be the old mining town of Røros, a UNESCO World Heritage town. This leg is 200 km/124 mi. Based on that, a second stop should be in Trysil, and then another one around Kongsvinger.
Bike setup
When I bought the Vendetta, it was setup with a compact crank and a 12-30T cassette. Where I live, 10% hills are common. You'll also find shorter sections of about 15%. Given that I wanted to ride long distances at an easy pace, on a loaded bike, I clearly needed the lowest gearing possible. After some research I settled on an 11-speed 11-42T cassette. This gives a huge tooth range of 31 (rear) + 16 (front) = 47T. The only derailleur specced to handle that is the Shimano XT M8000. As this is an MTB part, I also needed a Jtek Shiftmate to make it work with the road brifters.
I was thinking that 11-42T might be overkill, but if so, I would replace the compact crank with a normal one and get some higher gearing on the top end. However, the cassette turned out perfectly. I definitely used the lowest gear many times, and I was able to climb absolutely all the hills without getting off. At the same time, I never felt that I needed even lower gearing, which would have made the bike hard to handle anyway.
I also had a new handlebar, the 44 cm Ritchey VentureMax WCS, recommended by ratz. They are nice and wide, like I wanted, and I agree that the 46 cm option would probably feel too wide for most people.
I only mounted some small LED lights, as I wasn't planning any night riding. I also rode with a Garmin Edge on the handlebar and a Forerunner on my wrist.
On the Bacchetta, I have been using Radical Banana panniers with a rack, and I would have to try to use these on the Vendetta without a rack. The smaller Banana Racers are the only ones designed to work without a rack, but I'm happy to report that my bigger panniers worked very well over the Vendetta seat. I really had no issues with them at all.
Shortly before the tour, I received some goodies from Cruzbike, i.e. a Ventisit pad, the Scarab and Sling bags, the neck rest bottle cages, and the security flag. As I was able to fit everything I needed into the Banana panniers, I didn't need any other bags for this ride. But the other stuff were mounted.
I literally only did a quick test lap up and down my street before setting off on the longest ride of my life with this setup
Regarding the Ventisit pad, I must admit that it wasn't as comfortable as I was hoping for. It looks much better on the bike, and it is mostly OK to use, but the top end was digging into my spine and caused some discomfort. I'm not sure if it is an inch too short, or simply too firm. I tried putting the pad higher on the seat, but there isn't much to go on before it becomes too short on the front end. I also thought it perhaps just needed some breaking in, but you would think 700 km should be sufficient
I'm going to try the stock pad again and compare. If anybody knows about a pad as good-looking as the Ventisit and as comfortable as a Bacchetta Euromesh, let me know!
Luggage
I had arranged for hotels, and was not going to bring camping equipment on this ride. This is what I packed:
Day 1
I set off around 8 on the Friday morning, knowing that I wouldn't have a lot of spare time for fooling around if I was going to get to Røros before it got dark. This first leg was not only the longest (205 km/127 mi), it was also by far the steepest (2377 m/7800 ft).
Rather than going the typical road past the airport, I headed into the woods along Jonsvatnet, Trondheim's source of drinking water. Then I went east over the only gravel section planned for this trip, until I had to tackle the first big climb over to Selbu lake.
At this point, just a couple of hours into the ride, I started feeling some very disconcerting knee pain. I have had issues with my right knee in the past, but that has been pretty much under control recently, and I have completed many long rides without issues. To be feeling knee pain here is really bad timing. It wasn't even in my problematic right knee, but the left one. I decided to just go on and see how it developed.
After the first break at a gas station in Selbu, famous for their woolen mittens, I experienced the closest thing to road rage on this trip. I was riding up a small hill and during a left hand turn I had three cars behind. They couldn't immediately pass me due to the blind turn. After the turn, the first car with an elderly couple in it slowly passed, then it almost stopped in front of me. I had to start re-overtaking it, at which point the car sped up and drove on. I gave them a wave of disapproval (no impolite gestures), and the driver responded with a crazy gesture. When these things happen, I wonder what it is the person thinks I should have done differently. It was not like I held them up for minutes, it was more like 20-30 seconds.
Incidentally, shortly after this another car honked as he passed me in the opposite direction. I was not blocking him or anybody else. I can only assume he wanted me to use the bicycle path that had just appeared to the left of the road, which is what I intended to do also, I just needed him to pass me first
Happily, I had no other incidents like that for the rest of the ride. In general, drivers behaved exceptionally well. I had one or two more honks, and a handful of drivers could have bothered to give me a bit more space when overtaking, but that's it.
Between the 110 and 150 kilometer marks I'm into the other serious uphill section, going from 250 m/820 ft before Tydal, where I stop for a hot dog to 900 m/2950 ft after Stugudalen, where I had a nice Belgian waffle with ice cream. My knees were continuing to bother me along this stretch, and eventually it occurred to me that the thicker Ventisit pad would have affected the crank distance, so I push the boom a little further out. Thinking about other causes, I remember moving my cleats all the way back earlier this season, based on a recommendation on this forum. So I move the cleats forward to where I've always had them. Finally, I pull on my wool trousers under the tights, and the extra insulation immediately feels relieving.
Near the top, I get a nice view of Stugu lake with the Sylan mountains in the background.
From here until Røros I'm basically in the wilderness.
I spot a few reindeer:
The bike is making a funny shadow:
In Røros, I find myself an American (!) diner and get some fuel.
As I walk back to the hotel, I feel shooting pain in my left knee, and I'm seriously worried that I would have to abandon here and jump on the train home. That would be bad, as I have prepaid the remaining hotels and the train from Oslo.
I decide to do all I can to take care of my knees, and after a quick brainstorm I come up with strapping tape, knee warmers and ibuprofen. I will do some shopping the next morning.
This leg is available on Strava.
Motivation
I have an old Bacchetta Giro 26 that I've used on a 400 km brevet, as well as a few overnight trips. But I've never done a real multiday tour before, and this September I had the opportunity to do it, using the Vendetta I bought second-hand just before the summer.
Living in Trondheim, the most obvious option would be heading north along the Coastal Route, one of the world’s top 101 scenic routes, according to National Geographic. But autumn in Norway can be very wet, and I failed to plan an itinerary that agreed well with the weather report. Heading south toward Oslo looked much better. The only predicted rain would be the final stretch of day 3. Another motivation for going to Oslo is that many people I know have ridden the Great Trial of Strength, a 540 km/340 mi race from Trondheim to Oslo, but I'm not allowed to enter with a recumbent. In fact, recumbents were banned in the middle of the 1997 event, when M5 founder Bram Moens shattered the course record. So I have been thinking for a while that I should do a solo trip to Oslo.
Route
But I didn't want to just do the same route as the race, because that follows the primary road between the two cities. Instead I wanted to go further east, staying close to the Swedish border most of the distance. I wanted to make the most of the daylight, which lasts until 19:30 at this time of the year. The area I was going to cover is quite thinly populated, and it was almost a given that the first stopover would have to be the old mining town of Røros, a UNESCO World Heritage town. This leg is 200 km/124 mi. Based on that, a second stop should be in Trysil, and then another one around Kongsvinger.
Bike setup
When I bought the Vendetta, it was setup with a compact crank and a 12-30T cassette. Where I live, 10% hills are common. You'll also find shorter sections of about 15%. Given that I wanted to ride long distances at an easy pace, on a loaded bike, I clearly needed the lowest gearing possible. After some research I settled on an 11-speed 11-42T cassette. This gives a huge tooth range of 31 (rear) + 16 (front) = 47T. The only derailleur specced to handle that is the Shimano XT M8000. As this is an MTB part, I also needed a Jtek Shiftmate to make it work with the road brifters.
I was thinking that 11-42T might be overkill, but if so, I would replace the compact crank with a normal one and get some higher gearing on the top end. However, the cassette turned out perfectly. I definitely used the lowest gear many times, and I was able to climb absolutely all the hills without getting off. At the same time, I never felt that I needed even lower gearing, which would have made the bike hard to handle anyway.
I also had a new handlebar, the 44 cm Ritchey VentureMax WCS, recommended by ratz. They are nice and wide, like I wanted, and I agree that the 46 cm option would probably feel too wide for most people.
I only mounted some small LED lights, as I wasn't planning any night riding. I also rode with a Garmin Edge on the handlebar and a Forerunner on my wrist.
On the Bacchetta, I have been using Radical Banana panniers with a rack, and I would have to try to use these on the Vendetta without a rack. The smaller Banana Racers are the only ones designed to work without a rack, but I'm happy to report that my bigger panniers worked very well over the Vendetta seat. I really had no issues with them at all.
Shortly before the tour, I received some goodies from Cruzbike, i.e. a Ventisit pad, the Scarab and Sling bags, the neck rest bottle cages, and the security flag. As I was able to fit everything I needed into the Banana panniers, I didn't need any other bags for this ride. But the other stuff were mounted.
I literally only did a quick test lap up and down my street before setting off on the longest ride of my life with this setup
Regarding the Ventisit pad, I must admit that it wasn't as comfortable as I was hoping for. It looks much better on the bike, and it is mostly OK to use, but the top end was digging into my spine and caused some discomfort. I'm not sure if it is an inch too short, or simply too firm. I tried putting the pad higher on the seat, but there isn't much to go on before it becomes too short on the front end. I also thought it perhaps just needed some breaking in, but you would think 700 km should be sufficient
I'm going to try the stock pad again and compare. If anybody knows about a pad as good-looking as the Ventisit and as comfortable as a Bacchetta Euromesh, let me know!
Luggage
I had arranged for hotels, and was not going to bring camping equipment on this ride. This is what I packed:
- Rain gear and shoe covers
- Several shorts and extra jersey
- Wool base layer
- Civilian clothes and shoes
- Some tools
- Spare tire and tube
- Lock
- Toiletries
- Chargers for phone, Garmins and earbuds
Day 1
I set off around 8 on the Friday morning, knowing that I wouldn't have a lot of spare time for fooling around if I was going to get to Røros before it got dark. This first leg was not only the longest (205 km/127 mi), it was also by far the steepest (2377 m/7800 ft).
Rather than going the typical road past the airport, I headed into the woods along Jonsvatnet, Trondheim's source of drinking water. Then I went east over the only gravel section planned for this trip, until I had to tackle the first big climb over to Selbu lake.
At this point, just a couple of hours into the ride, I started feeling some very disconcerting knee pain. I have had issues with my right knee in the past, but that has been pretty much under control recently, and I have completed many long rides without issues. To be feeling knee pain here is really bad timing. It wasn't even in my problematic right knee, but the left one. I decided to just go on and see how it developed.
After the first break at a gas station in Selbu, famous for their woolen mittens, I experienced the closest thing to road rage on this trip. I was riding up a small hill and during a left hand turn I had three cars behind. They couldn't immediately pass me due to the blind turn. After the turn, the first car with an elderly couple in it slowly passed, then it almost stopped in front of me. I had to start re-overtaking it, at which point the car sped up and drove on. I gave them a wave of disapproval (no impolite gestures), and the driver responded with a crazy gesture. When these things happen, I wonder what it is the person thinks I should have done differently. It was not like I held them up for minutes, it was more like 20-30 seconds.
Incidentally, shortly after this another car honked as he passed me in the opposite direction. I was not blocking him or anybody else. I can only assume he wanted me to use the bicycle path that had just appeared to the left of the road, which is what I intended to do also, I just needed him to pass me first
Happily, I had no other incidents like that for the rest of the ride. In general, drivers behaved exceptionally well. I had one or two more honks, and a handful of drivers could have bothered to give me a bit more space when overtaking, but that's it.
Between the 110 and 150 kilometer marks I'm into the other serious uphill section, going from 250 m/820 ft before Tydal, where I stop for a hot dog to 900 m/2950 ft after Stugudalen, where I had a nice Belgian waffle with ice cream. My knees were continuing to bother me along this stretch, and eventually it occurred to me that the thicker Ventisit pad would have affected the crank distance, so I push the boom a little further out. Thinking about other causes, I remember moving my cleats all the way back earlier this season, based on a recommendation on this forum. So I move the cleats forward to where I've always had them. Finally, I pull on my wool trousers under the tights, and the extra insulation immediately feels relieving.
Near the top, I get a nice view of Stugu lake with the Sylan mountains in the background.
From here until Røros I'm basically in the wilderness.
I spot a few reindeer:
The bike is making a funny shadow:
In Røros, I find myself an American (!) diner and get some fuel.
As I walk back to the hotel, I feel shooting pain in my left knee, and I'm seriously worried that I would have to abandon here and jump on the train home. That would be bad, as I have prepaid the remaining hotels and the train from Oslo.
I decide to do all I can to take care of my knees, and after a quick brainstorm I come up with strapping tape, knee warmers and ibuprofen. I will do some shopping the next morning.
This leg is available on Strava.
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