Bicycle Pilgrims

The S:t Olavsleden (St. Olav Path) is best known as a hiking trail, but cyclists can also follow in the footsteps — or rather, the tire tracks — of Olav. With a new travel guide for cyclists coming just published, even more people will soon discover this unique journey. But how do you approach a pilgrimage route by bike? We asked Suze and Ton from the Netherlands, who cycled the route in June 2024.

How did you come up with the idea of doing the St. Olav Path by bike?

We first read about Francine Postma and the St. Olav Path in a magazine, and later read her book Onderweg. We found her description of the trail so beautiful and inspiring. We already love Sweden and Norway, and since we prefer cycling to walking, we decided to do the route by bike instead.

How did you prepare?

We prepared by buying the St. Olav Path hiking guide and reading it carefully, purchasing a cycling map of northern Sweden, and consulting with Nordic Pilgrim, who arranged our accommodations.

We wanted to bring our own bikes, since we’d had some disappointing experiences with rental bikes on previous trips in Spain and France. We also liked the idea of driving to Selånger ourselves with the bikes on the car. That went smoothly — we did the trip in two days.

How is the route, which is mainly known as a walking trail, for cyclists?

The route is very well signposted, also for cyclists, and there are good maps available. Since we have e-bikes, the steep forest sections were sometimes challenging — e-bikes are heavier than regular bikes, and we carried luggage for fourteen days. Occasionally we deviated from the main trail and found short detours using the map, but that didn’t happen very often.

We found cycling in Norway a bit more demanding because the hills and mountains are steeper. Sweden, by contrast, was quite easy to cycle through. We were almost always able to charge our batteries without any problem. Distances of 40–50 km per day were perfect. Suze never had to charge mid-day, and Ton only did twice — once at a supermarket in Kluk and once at the pilgrim hostel in Munkeby.

In total, we were away for exactly three weeks: fourteen cycling days, two rest days, one day for the train journey back from Trondheim to Sundsvall, and four days for the travel to and from the Netherlands. At every overnight stop, we could safely store our bikes either indoors or in a secure outdoor space.

Was the return journey with the bikes on the train easy to arrange?

Booking the train journey itself was easy, but taking the bikes turned out to be a bit uncertain. The Norrtåg website said there was space for only three bikes and that reservations weren’t possible. We were a bit anxious about that, but it all worked out fine in the end.

In Trondheim, it was a bit tricky to get the bikes on board because of the narrow entrance and three steps, but the conductor was incredibly kind and helped us. He was impressed that we had cycled the St. Olav Path with e-bikes — and we didn’t even have to pay for the bikes! The bikes were supposed to stand upright in special brackets, but that didn’t really work, and the conductor didn’t mind at all.

The transfer in Storlien also went smoothly. Fellow passengers helped us lift the bikes off the train, and the Swedish train had a much easier entrance and more space for bicycles. Technically, the bikes were supposed to hang on hooks there too, but again, we simply placed them in the designated bike area — next to two strollers that also fit just fine. Interestingly, the Norwegian conductor even came onto the Swedish train to make sure everything had worked out!

The return journey was also wonderful, as we passed many of the places we had cycled through before. When we arrived in Sundsvall, we cycled the last stretch back to Selånger, where our car was parked. For a small fee, we had been able to leave it at the Pilgrim Center for fourteen days.

Looking back

Thinking back, what comes to mind first is the beautiful, untouched nature. We found Sweden especially stunning — particularly the stretch between Medstugan and Sul. Even though we didn’t follow the exact walking path, this part of the route was breathtaking.

Another highlight was the special pilgrim service in the chapel next to the cathedral in Trondheim. We attended with two Belgian ladies we had met earlier in Skalstugan, and a staff member from the Pilgrim Center. The female pastor led the service entirely in English, so it was easy to follow.

We also have such warm memories of the incredibly friendly and helpful people — not only our hosts at the accommodations, but also the people we met along the way, and of course, the other pilgrims.

Suze & Ton, The Netherlands