We awoke to the sound of rain around 5 am. Over the next few hours it stopped and as I peeked out our north facing window could not see movement of the vegetation. That was promising despite the wind being from the south.

Neither of us had slept well, due to an inferior mattress. I had also wacked my head, twice during the night, as the bed was jammed in under the window sill, with a sharp edge adjacent to my pillow. I had mentally rearranged the bedroom furniture during the night.

Tony was feeling heaps better, not 100% but felt he could ride. I had told him of the train options I had identified.

Staying at an Air B’no B ( no breakfast) we left before our hosts stirred at 8 am.

We made our way out of Sandefjord along a bike path, with very grey clouds.

We found a supermarket in the small village of Asane open and grabbed some food to eat.

We turned off the busier road at Hem and headed further inland through predominantly rural land holdings.

Turning back towards the coast, I think this is at Bjonnes.

The busy city of Larvik we passed through stopping to take a photo of these older masted boats in a small harbour.

The roads were wet, and we fortunately dodged rain bullets again today. For much of the ride, we wore our rain jackets, as the water from the road that flicks up is far easier to clean from your rain jacket than other clothing.

Water views dotted the landscape.

Nice local war memorial outside this colourful building.

Ubiquitous rural churches.

The irrigators are going despite the rainfall.

Very pleasant outlooks to view as you ride what was very much up and down all day.

The forests have changed significantly from Poland. We are now around 59 degrees North. Over 33% of Norway is forest.

This image made us stop. It is a safety sign for car drivers to give cyclists space.

Today we rode in a mix of bike paths and open road. The rural back roads are quieter with no verge. The busier roads tend to have some verge that we try to ride within, or on the white line.

With side wind gusts not being a factor today, we can ride far right without the same risks imposed.

Rocks still feature. Many people have massive boulders in their backyards.

We liked this little cabin.

More water views.

That’s a high bridge!

One high bridge is never enough. Let’s build a second one.

This house has an interesting position, with a nice little under cover boat house.

We climbed over 900 metres today. That’s a fair amount with luggage. None of the climbs involve any great altitude, so it means lots of ups and downs and no significant longer flat sections.

We had 8 rated climbs per our Hammerhead (bike computer) but bar one, some of the nastier ones were unrated with sections up to 15%.

The longest climb you can easily see. It was about 2.5 km long and quite doable with luggage on a quieter road. We could see a freeway at greater heights where most traffic zoomed along.

Here is part of the climb.

That is me. I did not stop where Tony was taking the photos from as I was concerned I would not be able to recleat my shoes back onto the pedals. I’m not as clever as Tony 😁.

Not far from the top there were red lights. Never a popular sight climbing, but fortunately the majority of the climb was behind us, and the steepness had abated.

On we rode with an eventual green light. Shortly after the top of the climb there was a road block. One of those non negotiable road blocks. We are not going to be able to sneak through this one!

Fearing we were about to ride onto a freeway, as we rode on we were fortunately able to use the access road established for the construction vehicles.

These tunnels are part of a 17 km bypass of the city of Porsgrunn between Oslo and Kristiansand. This section being constructed is 5.2 km long.

We avoided Porsgrunn, cutting south. We are not a fan of riding through larger cities without good reason.

Norway is investing massive amounts into tunnel infrastructure, also building the world’s longest and deepest underwater tunnel.

The tunnel will run under the fjords, and will be 26.7 km in length and 390m at the deepest point.

That tunnel, when completed in 2033, will reduce travelling time between two of Norways largest cities, Stavanger and Bergen by 40 minutes.

Closing in on our destination, water to our left, we head towards the large bridge connecting Brevik and Stathelle.

Looking further along to the right, another new bridge being constructed! Lots of Kroner!

Round about of the day. Lots of metal. You need to use your imagination on this one! I’m not sure what it depicts.

It was a cruisey 80 km ride today despite climbing over 900 metres. We arrived before check in time so went to the local supermarket to grab some lunch.

The hotel was then happy to check us in early and wonderfully announced, before I spoke up, that they had a secure place for our bikes. 😊

Tonight they are locked in a meeting room off their conference centre.

Our accomodation buildings are large with an array of indoor and outdoor pools.

After dinner we wandered around outside.

Getting closer, there is a sea pool and sauna on the deck edge. A guy walked out of the sauna in just his bathers and casually walked back to the resort. Meantime, I’m hugging my clothing tight as it’s about 6 degrees C and windy!

I like this photo. A small island with bell and mini lighthouse.

Today’s route map.

Tomorrow is a big day. We need some rest. However, the sun will not set until 10.23 pm tonight, and will rise 4.15 am.

I hope the curtains block out the light!!

Thanks for reading and joining us 😊❣️🚴💪