Oslo to Stavanger

beatts

I am visiting my mate in Stavanger next May and thought it would be an ideal opportunity for a bit of an adventure.

I would love to be able to fly into Oslo and then cycle across over four days or so, after which I would fly back home from Stavanger.

Has anyone done a similar trip i.e. start and end points are different. How did you get the bike there / back on the plane?


any advice greatly appreciated.

thanks

MichaelW

2 options, carry your packing material with you or grab a bike box for the return journey.
Ive done both.
Carry your own is easier if you want to cycle to the airport and use the last day for tourism. I use plumbing foam cut to size and a thick plastic bag. It all rolls up to the size of a large tent but weighs nothing. Carry enough duck-tape to seal the bag.

Packing a box will free you from carrying materials on your tour but the logistics of getting bike+luggage+box to some point that is within carrying distance of public transport, sheltered and enough space to pack can be a problem. Para-chord or tough string may be needed to make a shoulder strap to transport the box. Norwegian airport busses can take bikes. I spent a long time cutting (with a sharp knife) and shaping a box at Haugesund bus station and nobody batted an eyelid.

You pick up a box from any bikeshop BUT they generally throw them out after delivery so try and reserve one in advance.
Check the permitted dimensions for the airport, you may need to cut the box down to fit.
You also need to bundle up your panniers into one package to save on costs.

Dont check in your luggage (containing knife and packing materials) until you have check in your bike. You may need to repack it.

beatts

thanks for the info, it certainly sounds like you had a major Blue Peter session over there :shock:

I was thinking along the lines of those bike bags/boxes you can buy. If I could fly to Oslo with the bike stripped in one of these boxes and then, have the box somehow transported to Stavanger?

like this one perhaps

http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/products/X ... added.aspx

cycladelic

It depends on which airpline you fly with, but even when I flew back from Oslo with RyanAir, the clerk didn't ask for my bike to be boxed. The baggage conveyor was narrow, so I took off my front wheel and strapped it to the frame. However, when I told her this she said if she'd known she'd have wheeled it through for me: It's DIY system at the small airport RyanAir use (around 80km south of the city BTW).

I think you'll find Norwegian staff more bike-friendly than those at UK airports.

sheffsimon

cycladelic wrote:

It depends on which airpline you fly with, but even when I flew back from Oslo with RyanAir, the clerk didn't ask for my bike to be boxed. The baggage conveyor was narrow, so I took off my front wheel and strapped it to the frame. However, when I told her this she said if she'd known she'd have wheeled it through for me: It's DIY system at the small airport RyanAir use (around 80km south of the city BTW).

I think you'll find Norwegian staff more bike-friendly than those at UK airports.

Ryanair use Sandefjord Airport - reasonable hotel at airport if you need.

campbellrae1

Only done this sort of thing once, flew out using a cardboard box from an LBS, packed the same way they get the bikes form their suppliers and then popped into another shop at the other end and did the same thing. I guess it depends where you are going, I was lucky that there was an LBS within a few minutes of the train to the airport!

Never done it carrying my packing, sounds like too much hard work considering all the weight already on the bike, but needs must!

Campbell.

nicktheluddite

Off topic and I'm sure you know this but Norway is madly expensive - even more so than the rest of Scandinavia....just a thought.

pneumatic

In other countries, we have posted the bike bags on to the Post Office at our destination. Worked fine.

However, in Norway, you could well find that the cost of doing that plus a taxi from the post office to the airport would be half your budget.

On the other hand, you could post the bag to your mate's house in Stavanger and get a lift?