Caused by an injury, i could not join the multiple day cycle trip. Therefore, I will reflect on the one day cycle trip.

We were a group of four girls. Having 2 experienced cyclist in our group, we planned a route based on their experience. We used the komoot-website and app to plan our route, which also shows route suggestions. Using one of those preplanned routes,we spent an hour adapting it to our wishes (less asphalt and more foresttracks) and pace (16 km/h). Using komoot, we knew the exact details of our route: We would be heading from Kristiansand along the coast towards Braneset strandforsvar and return by taking the E39 back to Kaserneveien. Checking the weather 2 days in advance, we knew there was no rain to come and barely wind, so we did not have to change our trip dependent on the weather at all.

The final plan included a total elevation of 450 meters and a distance of 46.6 km, which would take around  3 hrs with a pace of 16 km/h. Orur route would mainly be covered by a cyclepath (asphalt) but also some foresttracks. Since we were the second group, leaving one day after the other group did, we could use their experience to adjust our route. In the end, we did not adjust it but had a plan B in mind, in case our plan A was too ambitious.

The morning of the daytrip, we gathered all together in front of the garage to pick up bikes and helmets. Again it came in handy for us to be the second group, since the bikes got tested properly (through riding them all day) from the first group the day before. After a quick check of the airpressure in the tires and a testride (checking the gears and breaks) we were good to go. We did not use bikebags but light backpacks that day, which was no problem at all cause we just carried food, water and a spare jacket.

Even though I checked the bike beforehand and tried the gears and breaks, I had some troubles with the gears within the first few minutes. The chain kept jumping out at the two highest gears and did not swap smoothly between the other ones. It took me a while to realize, that it was just something wrong with the gears and even though I tried not to use those two highest ones, the chain kept jumping out a lot and we had to stop a few times to get it back in. Especially on hills, I got annoyed by it but my group was helping me out and I got faster in putting the chain back in and after a while, I accepted the difficulties I had with the gears and got used to it. It helped as well, that my group was supportive, waiting for me and keeping an eye on me.

Since we used Komoot, one of us (who had the komoot app) took the lead first, guiding us into the right direction, but quickly we discovered, that none of us was really into checking the route on the phone to make sure we were on the right track. We decided to mainly follow the sings instead of using the app, agreeing on maybe having to cover a few more kilometers that way. While it worked out fine the first half an hour, we got misled pretty fast, ending up close to Flekkeroya. We changed the route and tried to get back on our originally planned route without going all the way back, which worked out fine. Back on track, we followed a road without bikepath for a few kilometers. The road offered beautiful views, but the cars were loud, which took away some of the idyllic cycling. Spontaneously, we changed our route again and took a dirttrack, leading through the forest.

The track became hilly and covered by roots, which made it difficult to ride some parts, so we travelled slower now, swapping between pushing and riding the bike for a few kilometers. It was fun trying out mountainbiking and little jumps over roots. We were surrounded by nature and barely heard other sounds than birds and water. If was peaceful after biking next to loud cars and even though it took us more time than expected, I enjoyed it a lot. We followed dirtroads to get back on track and made it to our destination after 4 hours of exploring, biking and pushing.

Arriving at our tour „destination“ Braneset strandforsvar, we enjoyed our lunch and a beautiful view, deciding not to take to many detours on the way back but to follow the roads. The tour back was mainly on asphalt and took us all together an hour and a half. We barely took breaks (what we agreed on before) and the first time in the day, I could feel my body.

Regarding the team, I got the impression we all enjoyed being together. We functioned very well and did not mind saying out loud what we got on our mind, which made it easy to adjust to every person and their needs. If something went wrong, we waited for each other and communicated openly (f.e. wanting to get some kilometers covered and therefore not taking many breaks anymore). On top, I spoke to all teammembers that day privatly (and had some really good conversations), we talked as a group, laughed and shared food and thoughts.In the end, all of it gave me even more the feeling of us being a well funtioning group.

As a summary, I enjoyed the daytrip and learned how important it is, to check the equipment (in my case gears) beforehand properly! If I had to bike with that bike for more than a day, I definitly would have gotten a lot more annoyed. On top of it, it sometimes slowed me down and took energy, which was fine that day, but I am not sure how good I would be able to cope with that on a multiple day trip.

As a conclusion, I made a good cycle trip experience. I am aware that a dayftrip has some major differences compared to a multipleday cycle trip: At first, we did not have luggage to carry but small backpacks. I managed to go on an overnight biketrip afterwards and realized, how different the feeling of riding a bike is with and without bikebags. Further, it is not just the balance that is changed a little by the bikebags, but also more struggels caused by using bikebags (f.e. position too close to the pedals, broken hooks that are used to hang it on the bike). At second, we took dirtroads instead of bikepaths to escape the noise of the cars, which was one of my highlights of that daytrip- a move you would not do if you have luggage and some more kilometers to cover. I am not sure how well I would cope with having a permanent noise of cars around me. Therefore, I would pay more attention which roads to take when being on a multiple cycle trip. And at last, my body was fine going on a day trip cycling, though I could feel my butt hurt a little bit. I can imagine, covering more kilometers over a couple of days increases the pain and therefore, good equipment (as bikepands) and a certain level of fitness come in very handy at a multiple cycle trip.

In the end, we did 54 km, 659 highmeters, had a average pace of 14 km/hr and it took us 3:46 hrs, which is a reasonable difference, caused by the sidetracks we followed and the spontaneous change of plan.

As a summary, I learned the meaning of weather (sun vs rain, wind vs. no wind) and gear, of luggage (light daypack vs. bigebags) and paths (different surfaces and sourroundings) as well as personal fitness.