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    Why Oslo is becoming the Cycle Capital of Europe!



    Cycling is exploding in Norway. The capital Oslo has radically changed in just a few years. It feels more like Copenhagen or Amsterdam as each year passes. On Tuesday, I joined a social group called Oslo Dawn Patrol on an early morning ride before work. Over 120 riders turned up at 5:40am; we hit the road, annoyed some car owners, and made a statement to the city and the country. The FUTURE IS CYCLING, whether you like it or not!

    http://www.cyclenorway.com
    https://oslodawnpatrol.cc

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    48 Comments

    7. Lars Petersen on

      Copenhagen is the Cycle Capital of Europe, only 11% in Oslo is cycling, it is 19% Copenhagen, and in winter only 5% in Oslo is cycling. But noway is for sure a nice country😉

    16. norwegiangadgetman on

      What would be nice on some of these videos would be a graphic of the route elevation, and the speed the cyclists are travelling at.
      The Dawn patrol seems to be an elite group mostly, so it would be nice to show if those of us that are a bit more regular or below if we can actually keep up.
      (I KNOW I wouldn't be able to keep up…

      Tea is an issue. I never drink coffee, and even after 3 decades in my job, people never seem to remember that I drink tea so there's never any tea at the conference rooms.
      During meetings at hotels I've not only had to ask the staff for hot water and teabags, but I've several times had to send the water back because they've used a thermo mug that has held coffee before.
      Most cafes have a limited selection(Liptons Yellow label, some sort of Early Grey, some trash called Four Red Fruits, and possibly some Green tea. ) The hipster type places have pretentious teas, and Rooibos. Rooibos isn't a tea, it's a weed.
      Most gas stations range from limited to a somewhat decent supply.
      Tomorrow I'll be driving most of the day. I'll be bringing my 450ml thermo cup, probably with Yorkshire Gold, and a 1L thermos with Earl Grey. I also have my emergency stash of Lady Grey, English Breakfast, sugar packets, and even drinking buillon.(That's a real picker-upper. Also available in single cup servings)

      So… Are you going to do 'Styrkeprøven' (Trondheim – Oslo) this year?
      Or the Birkebeiner?

    23. Tathagat Chatterjee on

      Hi Matthew, fantastic video and the fact that you were able to keep up was even more commending. But that is where my criticism is as well. When we call a city as cycling capital, it is supposed to be inclusive for all – not just a small percentage of fast paced cyclists. That way, Denmark (not just Copenhagen has much to teach its Nordic neighbours). I live in Oslo, and one reason I've never joined ODP is that most ride at 25-29 kph on average on a route that includes climbs (and it'salways the same route?). Which made sense why anyone on mtb or City bike needs to be identified in the beginning. While such restrictions are there, we cannot exactly call it a cycling capital (sorry!).

      Note – it is not a criticism of Oslo Dawn Patrol, but of the caption. To elaborate further, we did have to build a club from grassroots in Kolkata (India) where people had the same thought that we ride too fast (at 24-25 kph), so we had to create programs to make it more inclusive. Now CNG has more than 500 members in a city with almost no cycling infra. I don't see any such effort in Oslo, though these cyclists are not left out in Denmark.

      The other concern is how little space some groups leave for the cars. The cars usually give respect (and ODP by definition happens in morning, so does not cause any problem), but there are many who are forever embittered towards cyclists not giving space. I have heard some say of the feeling to roll over (again, something heard from people living in Sweden & Norway). But it is also troublesome for some cyclists as well, especially if the group is not maintaining decent pace & still wants to ride 3 abreast – maybe switch to 2 or 1 in a row if it is a large group.

    26. Wayward Life Sailing on

      I'm an Englishman in Norway actually rolls off the tongue nicely haha. Such beautiful country. Thanks for sharing 🙂 Also were there only men on the ride or some women I just didn't see?

    31. ditis mijnnaam on

      is that the reason you Scandinavians want war with Russia or is this crap left over from world war 2 ? You $uck Scandinavians and $hut up you will never EVER get a bicycle capital … in your dreams !!!!!

    33. John Chr. Bugge on

      Its good to see that some people enjoy cycling, I`m all for it. But many people don`t enjoy it, and I wish the cyclist enthusiasts could accept that and stop saying that we all need to start cycling. Oslo is small and we can walk everywhere. And in the winter we need our cars.

    37. Stephen Saines on

      On the tea…it's wise to take your own brand of tea bag (assuming you're not using loose tea) no matter where you travel. They'll have hot water and milk as long as you have the tea. As a Brit/Cdn, even when I'm in the US, I take tea bags with me. You can get tea in the US, but not industrial strength tea like Brits and Cdns drink.

      I'm curious as to the use of English to address the group by the ride captains. Was that due to a preponderance of English speakers there for the event?

    41. Katrina Stewart on

      Yep, the tea problem😂 At best lukewarm water in a coffee cup and a teabag of ‘Four fruits’… Just keep trying and/or have a tea bag with you.
      My mum managed to influence her favourite local restaurant: they now have ‘Bestemor Stewart’s Yorkshire tea’ on the menu. Served in mugs. With boiling water! And regular milk on demand. Yay!

    44. Titus Denis on

      I’m surprised Norwegians are good at speaking English. I thought they would prefer their mother tongue to English in their normal discourse. Unless of course the cycling participants are from other nations.

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