The cycling season in Norway is always bittersweet. One moment you’re riding through endless daylight, gravel roads stretching into the horizon, the fjords glimmering below. The next, autumn creeps in, the days shorten, and bikes start to gather dust or dirt, depending on what you do, and soon winter will quietly claim the country. For Cycle Norway, this seasonal rhythm isn’t just the backdrop for rides, it’s the tempo of the work we do, the pulse that sets our projects, challenges, and ambitions into motion.

As we draw the curtain on another year, it feels like the right time to pause, look back, and share with you the story of 2025 from behind the scenes. Because Cycle Norway isn’t just a website or a brand; it’s a living project shaped by countless hours, stubborn determination, and the belief that cycling in Norway deserves to be celebrated, documented, and made accessible to everyone.

Building and Breaking Ground

The year began with an ambitious leap. We decided to launch a community platform, a space where riders from around the world, and locals here in Norway, could connect, ask questions, share routes, advice, and stories. On paper, it looked like the perfect complement to our website. In practice, it was a mountain climb of its own.

Building the platform demanded time, energy, and money, far more than we anticipated. We poured months of work into creating something we hoped would grow into a hub for cycle tourism. But growth is never instant. Like planting seeds in rocky soil, the community didn’t flourish as quickly as we had hoped. Issues loading pictures and some design features that confused have led to participation being slower and the engagement thinner than hoped.

Yet here’s the truth: meaningful communities don’t appear overnight. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a digital gathering place for cyclists who span continents and cultures. Our hope hasn’t dimmed. The foundation is there, the scaffolding in place. We believe, with time, patience, and continued effort, it can become the resource we dreamed it would be.

A Blow We Didn’t Expect

Early in the year, we were dealt a blow that threw us off balance. The small amount of state funding we’d relied on, crucial to covering the costs of developing the community platform, was suddenly cut. It wasn’t just a financial gap; it was a psychological one. We had built the platform with the understanding that public support would recognise the value of promoting sustainable tourism and cycling infrastructure in Norway.

Instead, we found ourselves scrambling. The rug had been pulled out from under us, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. Running Cycle Norway has never been easy, but this made 2025 especially tough.

The only option was the oldest and simplest one: roll up our sleeves and keep going. We adjusted, adapted, and carried on, knowing that resilience is as much a part of cycling as it is of running a small independent project. Anyone who has ground their way up a long climb in a headwind will understand: sometimes all you can do is put your head down and keep pedaling.

If you’d like to read the full story of how this unfolded, you’ll find it here.

Content, Routes, and Stories

Despite the setbacks, there has been real, tangible progress. The website has grown significantly this year. We added many new routes and updated countless others. Norway is vast, complex, and endlessly varied, and documenting it will take years — but every season, every update, brings us closer to the vision: a fully categorised, comprehensive guide to cycling this country from north to south, coast to mountains.

That growth has started to resonate. Between May and August, Cycle Norway saw record traffic, surpassing all our expectations and reaching number one on many Google searches. If momentum continues, we expect to double that growth again next year, a milestone that would position the site as a serious player in both the tourism and cycling world.

Still, it’s important to keep our feet firmly on the ground. Cycle Norway is built on quality and trust. Each route has to be tested, researched, written up, photographed, and mapped with care. Slowly, piece by piece, the full picture is taking shape. And when riders tell us they’ve used our guides to plan their journeys, whether it’s a weekend loop in southern Norway or a multi-week trek across the Arctic plateau, it reminds us why this work matters.

“I’ve just completed Fjord Norway and wanted to thank you for creating and sharing such an amazing route. I turned 60 this year and was looking for an adventure and was inspired by your YouTube channel. I expected there to be an element of hype in describing your Fjord Norway journey, but that wasn’t the case – it was utterly stunning. I’ve cycled across the Alps, Pyrenees and Dolomites but Norway has been the best with breathtaking views and high-quality roads. The ride across Gamle and the subsequent descent will live long in my memory.“

Equally important has been the voices of others. This year, we published several guest blogs, offering fresh perspectives and personal stories from riders who see Norway through their own lenses. Their contributions add richness and depth we could never create alone. They show us new angles, highlight different needs, and remind us that cycle tourism is not one-size-fits-all. A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who wrote for Cycle Norway this year.

Cameras, Not Just Chains

Running a website leaves little time for YouTube, and I’ll be honest: this year, our video channel has been quieter than I’d like. Juggling both a website and a YouTube presence is like trying to ride two bikes at once, technically possible, but awkward and unsustainable.

That said, we did manage to pump a few popular videos out and film several new videos over the summer. They’re sitting in the editing queue, waiting for their chance to see the light of day. If time allows, we’ll showcase them later this year. They capture more than riding in Norway, as I slowly transition and offer some documentary-style videos of life in this beautiful country. The Oslo Cycling Week video is one I will start to edit in late September, and I hope it will turn out as well as the week itself! I’ll keep you updated.

Photography also played a bigger role this year. I had the chance to do two photoshoots, capturing Norway’s landscapes and cycling culture through the lens. It broke the already limited budget, but these are long-term investments that are worth the costs when building a brand. Some of those images are already live, while others will slowly appear on the site this winter. (You can read about the first photoshoot back in June here) These photos are more than decoration; they’re part of how we tell the story of cycling in Norway visually, not just with words.

Looking Ahead: Work, Winter, and a Calendar

Winter is when the workload shifts. New routes get written up, videos get edited, front-end development takes place, and premium content developed. The to-do list is long, but that’s how it should be.

For our Premium Members, I hope to bring some significant upgrades for 2026. I won’t make promises here; promises are easy, delivery is hard, but the goal is clear: to make membership more valuable, more useful, and more rewarding.

And here’s something I’m genuinely excited about: Cycle Norway’s first calendar. I designed one in 2024, but ran into the stumbling block of distribution. Calendars aren’t like books — they need to be printed to order and shipped reliably, which is easier said than done when you want people in Auckland, San Francisco, or London to receive theirs without hassle at an acceptable price.

This year, I’ve been working to solve that. The new calendar will showcase Norway in all its cycling glory, from Oslo’s forests to the far north of Tromsø. Twelve months of photos that capture what makes this country so special to explore by bike. It’s a small project, but one that I think many of you will enjoy hanging on your wall. If you live in Oslo and want one before launch day, I have several already at home and can leave one at Fara Cycling in central Oslo for you to pick up. Get in touch: in**@*********ay.com

Gratitude, Uncertainty, and Hope

The truth is, these are unpredictable times. Running a small, independent project like Cycle Norway is always precarious. Funding is uncertain, sponsorships are never guaranteed, and the demands of time often outweigh what one person can realistically deliver.

And yet, here we are, still rolling forward. That’s thanks to you. To everyone who has visited the website, subscribed to our channels, shared our routes, written a guest blog, or simply sent a kind message of encouragement: thank you. To those who have paid for our services or donated, you are the reason Cycle Norway exists at all. Without that support, we couldn’t keep pushing for a more sustainable, cycling-friendly way to travel through Norway.

As for 2026, the road ahead is uncertain. But with hard work, a little luck, and the support of good sponsors, I believe next year can be even stronger. What keeps me going are the moments out on the road when riders tell me they’re here because of Cycle Norway. Knowing this project has helped put them on two wheels in this country makes every struggle worthwhile.

Until then, the season closes, winter work begins, and the story continues.