Day 14 the last push. Bamble to Helgeroa.
However upon starting up the slope I very quickly realised that despite my very low first gear and improved physical condition there was no way I was going to be able to cycle up that slope. It was so steep that I only just made it up pushing the bike. When Damae finally joined me at the top we agreed that this section had to win the prize for the 'most uncycleable section of the Norwegian NSCR'. In fact I suggest that there should be a yearly contest where people try to cycle up and down this section with different types of bikes. One class of fully laden touring bikes, one for recumbents and one for folding bikes etc etc you get the idea.
What struck me at the top was that if we had been cycling the route the 'official' way round then we would have gone down this steep slope. Also we tried to imagine either going up or down this slope before it had been tarmaced and decided it would have been well nigh impossible to do this at all let alone safely.
We had to push on, limiting ourselves to taking 15 minutes to recover, and ate some yummy chocolate with orange crispy bits in it and drank some water realising that we were both running low. The rest of the off road section proved to be less challenging, if I remember correctly we cycled a short section shaded by trees on the downhill and were glad when Lagesund 'hove into view'.
Langesund seemed quite a cool little place even at the end of the season. Had we not needed to get to Helgeroa it would have been a nice place to stay and listen to the Blues Festival. The ferry terminal took a little finding, we hit the Tourist office to find out where, and eventually found the jetty. Rather interestingly the sign with information for the ferry was only visible from the jetty itself and not if you were looking for the jetty.
We had plenty of time to catch the 1600 ferry and bought some pop to rehydrate and take on sugar. The ferry was once again wonderful here are lots of pictures just to give you an idea. We really enjoyed sitting and watching the scenery go by, as the ferry wound its way through islands and narrow channels. Even better we knew we would not have to go far to find a campsite on the other side.
We hit the campsite closest to the ferry. We spent an inordinate amount of time looking for a place and got lucky. Right next to the beach was a vacant plot, so we happily set the tent up there. Here is the view from the tent marvellous! The usual evening things happened in the usual order in the warm evening sun. It was just great to have got this far.
To be honest had it not been for the fact that the 13th was the last of the frequent ferry services between Risør and Helgeroa the we would have taken this section much more slowly. However we had not left ourselves that choice, and had we been a day later then we would probably have lost at least a day's cycling. So the rest day that followed in Helgeroa was a necessary and very enjoyable price to pay for our lack of planning.