The Skogbygda expedition 2000.

Expedition members: Marianne and putt. (on bicycles)

Date for the expedition: August the 9th 2000.

Departure: At noon.

Arrival: 5:00 PM

Distance: 22 miles/35 kilometers.

1. Preparations and equipment.
2. Possible accidents and challenges.
3. The expedition.
4. Conclusion.

• Preparations and equipment.

Skogbygda is the ultimate challenge for explorers like the members of this expedition. We knew that we would need the best equipment there is, and to cycle a distance this far, can't be done without good planning and a lot of courage. We already had each our bicycle. We also wanted to leave without telling anybody where we were heading. We had to chose what to bring and what we could live without. So Marianne had prepared a bottle of ice water the day before. We sure would need coffee and biscuits. Extra clothes in case of bad weather, a digital camera and cigarettes. We also knew that we would have to improvise if things should go wrong.

We needed to be in good shape. Cycling is really hard, and we trained a lot the day before. We cycled, did some push-ups, sit-downs, stand-ups and other hard physical exercises. There wouldn't be a way back if anything went wrong. (We did bring a cell phone, but only for INCOMING conversations.) We listened carefully to the weather forecast, they said sunny and warm weather, but we knew that anything could happen as far as the weather was concerned.)

• Possible accidents and challenges.

Wild animals, insects, possible hostile natives, bad weather, headaches, sweating, steep roads, thirst and hunger, nose bleeding and lack of toilets.

• The expedition.

We started from Skjærbekk (our summer house) at noon. We said goodbye to our cat, knowing that this could be the very last time we saw her. After 10 kilometers we bought a Pepsi at a kiosk, still not knowing what was ahead. We shared the bottle of Pepsi before the real challenges started. After only another 5 kilometers we could see some animals on the road. We then knew that we had reached the wilderness. From a distance they really looked dangerous and wild. It was at this point we almost gave up, but we talked each other into going on. We came a bit closer to these animals and we saw that they were coming against us. RUNNING against us! Well, they were at least running... Marianne, who happens to know a lot about wild animals, soon found out that these were called sheep. We could see the evilness in their eyes. I guess what saved us was that we pretended  we didn't see them, we just cycled towards them without showing our fright. That made them a bit confused, I guess, so they ran even faster off the road and into the deep forests. We never saw them again.

The road was very steep, and we soon needed some ice water. Running out of water could be fatal, so we had to be careful not drinking too much. We could hear the wasps and hornets, but we were lucky; none of us were stung. We were aware of the fact that we easily could meet some of the natives. We didn't know much about them. Would they be friendly? We hoped that this area wasn't populated, but we were prepared for the worst. We made our first real stop, and drank coffee and ate some of the biscuits in the middle of nowhere. We sat there listening to the silence. But we were  looking for wild animals/natives all the time.

We jumped on our bikes again feeling good after the rest. It was then it all happened. We suddenly saw a creature that we considered to be a native. We could easily see that it was a female. It had red hair, a bra and shorts. Had it already noticed us? Marianne suddenly made a sound with the bell on her bicycle, and putt's hair ... eehh   putt got really scared! What would happen? The creature turned around and stared at us. It looked wild. And it made some sounds, to us it sounded liked a "hi", so Marianne stopped. And believe it or not: She (cause it was a female) even spoke our language. After a short conversation, Marianne found out that she had met her before. (She actually used to be one of Marianne's best friends back in her childhood.) We were relieved. She actually offered us a cup of coffee.

We then continued. Our butts were sore, and at this point we almost gave up again. But all the physical training wasn't in vain. But we now knew that we needed to take it a lot easier, and that time was becoming our worst enemy. Did we have enough coffee left? What about ice water? The biscuits were already gone. The heat was getting really bad although we rested a lot. Would we make it? Would we ever see our cat again? We stared at each other while drinking what was left of the coffee. Then we KNEW that the only persons we could rely on, were OURSELVES! We got on our bikes again, more standing than sitting now. Every time we tried to sit on the seats, we realized that we also should have done some "butt-ups" the day before. What saved us was the fact that most of the road left was down hill. At 4:00 pm we realized that we actually would make it. At 4:45 pm we saw our first car again, and we both smiled in triumph: WE MADE IT!!  A quarter later we were safe back home. It was so good to see the cat again, and we both had tears in our eyes when the cat started purring.

• Conclusion.

After an expedition like this, we don't take our days for granted. We appreciate life, and the cat has never had better days. On some roads far away we know there are tracks of  two bicycles, tracks that will vanish as the years go. However; knowing that these tracks were made by the two of us, make us extremely proud. This proves that you can manage anything as long as you have some coffee and biscuits and a lot of courage.

Marianne and putt

Pictures from the expedition.

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