Story Behind the Shot: Going Slowly on Norway’s Trollstigen Road

Steep mountainsides, blue-green fiords and a 101-kilometer snaking roadway have made the Trollstigen Road a national icon in Norway. It’s one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, drawing half a million drivers to its serpentine curves each summer.

These motorists were in for a surprise on a cool July day when they passed a small group of cyclists speeding downhill, pulling their boats behind them on trailers.

“We were sick of traveling by plane and car,” explains professional photographer Jens Klatt, who captured this shot near the end of a 700-kilometer bike and paddle mission through the iconic landscape.

This two-and-a-half-week trip was a test mission for a larger, month-long tour for the group, which included Klatt, renowned filmmaker Olaf Obsommer, and writer and kayaker Philip Baues. The plan to cycle to rivers instead of drive came about through a concern about climate change and a desire to just slow down.

“Being on the bike with a trailer is so different than a normal kayaking trip, you’re already exhausted when you come to a river,” says Klatt of touring with the 40-kilogram load. Traveling by bike forced a slower pace and mindset.

“We wanted to do this because life is so hectic. We’re always rushing from one place to the other, from one river to another. On a bike, all that is forgotten. The only concern is whether we will find a supermarket on the way. Life is more simple.”

To take this shot, Klatt was perched at Trollstigen Road’s main viewing balcony at 700 meters, surrounded by a horde of tourist buses and RVs. He made this shot using his Canon EOS-1D and a 17mm lens. The brightly colored kayakers-turned-cyclists are just visible amongst the sea of mini- buses on the hairpin turns below.

“I remember how people looked at them there,” says Klatt. “They were asking themselves, ‘who are these guys and what are they doing?’ Norway has notoriously bad weather. They could just get in and heat up the car, but as a cyclist you are alone, with only bike, boat and tent.”

This article first appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of Rapid Magazine.