Our first Norway rider reviews

Just in – the very first Norway rider reviews…

This July saw our very first riders taking on the mighty fjords on our new mountain bike adventure in Norway. And, by the sound of things, they certainly didn’t disappoint!

The initial Norway rider reviews are in and offer a perfect insight into what this adventure is all about. Keeping these fine words and photos to ourselves seemed a bit mean so, in the interests of sharing, here you have it…

sara

No river too deep

“Oh I’ve been to Norway!”, say so many I meet. I have to resist saying – but you haven’t been on a H+I adventure to Norway, have you. You haven’t slept on a WW2 minesweeper converted to carry you, your bikes and a crew. You haven’t been swayed to sleep by the gentle waves of a low pressure swell and woken up to a new breath taking view each day.

You’ve not had a heroic local guide who grew up in the area who takes pride in your adventure and safety each day. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be floating in a Fjord on deck of a piece of history, whilst lying down on a soft, reindeer hide – beer in hand after a days riding on trails?

Trails which looked impassable by bike when you hiked up them three hours beforehand. Trails which surpassed your expectation set by any comparison you might have had thanks to articles and promotional videos, or other trips.

That’s the charm of this trip. No matter how prepared you are, no matter how much fitness training you did – you’ll not be prepared for this. The way you feel on this trip. Feel about yourself, feel about your cabin mates and crew, the love for your bike and how everyone pitches in. This isn’t a “Holiday to Norway” this is an adventure with food for the eyes, food for the soul (and the belly!)

We laughed until tears came out, carried bikes until our shoulders were bruised and hurtled off mountains with snowy peaks all around. The banter immeasurable, the welcome unfathomable, the food stunning but most of all – the achievement and memories infinite.

If I could change anything about this trip, it would be that more and more people would go on it so we would have more people to share our memories with! As far as I can tell, nobody has been on a trip this impactful in the space of a week away. The way everything is planned with constant adjustment and contingency to both satisfy the group and the elements! One day the temperature soared to the likes of the South of France and on others it was like a wet Welsh day. No bother – there’s a washing machine and opportunity to let the Fjord breezes dry off the kit ready for the next day.

Not a single penny of the trip was money not well spent. Thanks so much H+I team. Not sure mtb will ever feel the same.”

Sara, UK

andy

An extraordinary adventure

“H+I always set the bar very high by their own standards and well deserved excellent reputation – and with a trip description and stunning tour video that offered so much my expectations for this trip were sky high.

This expedition well and truly exceeded those expectations.

Norway’s stunning beauty and raw trails experienced via a boat full of personality, history and character create a thoroughly memorable and mind blowing adventure. A brilliant crew, mountain biking guide and miracle working chef tick all remaining boxes.

Regardless of your prowess on a bike and appetite for adventure you’ll approach or have your limits tested at some stage – but if the tour description has already got your attention you’ll never not have a big smile on your dial.

Every now and then something special comes along that really reinforces how great it is to be a mountain biker. The H+I adventure in The Fjords of Norway is one of those things.”

Andy, Australia

dan

Badass!

“Badass. Badass riding, boat + crew, food, guide… and definitely a badass part of Norway – the fjords provide a magical setting for ripping it up.

A couple confirmations of what H+I include in the trip details. Pushing your bike. This means you too! The inaugural group were all H+I regulars and included some stellar riders. Everyone carried their bike; definitely up and even down on occasion.

The other confirm is changing conditions and the rawness of riding in Norway. Hard to think of a spot with more variable weather. Or one so new to MTB. There is not a bevy of alternate loops to choose from when conditions go bad. Even with an amazing run of weather to finish off the week (three perfect sunny days – woohoo), rain to start our trip meant some shifting of routes and one short if good-quality day of riding.

If these two Norway-facts don’t give you pause, the itinerary H+I have crafted will return you a week of riding like no other. Badass! “

Dan, USA

Thanks to Sara, Andy and Dan for their candid thoughts on their Norway experience, and to Sara, Mike and Geoff for the cracking photos!

If these Norway rider reviews have inspired you, why not join us in 2018 to experience mountain biking in the fjords of Norway for yourself?! or read more about this adventure in our Into the Labyrinth photo story.