On Friday I organised yet another Midsummer Patrol. This is the third year in a row I do this. One of the reasons I love the summer in Scandinavia is the incredible amount of daylight you have during the summer months. So roll-out was at 17.00 and then we headed out on a beautiful 153 km route around Follo south-east of Oslo.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions I had to be sure that I had full control over who attended and also limit the number of people That’s why I arranged three groups of 15 each. Everyone signed up via a booking page and there was even a waitinglist. Unfortunately, I had to turn down those on the waiting list that didn’t get a last minute spot after a few cancellations on the day.
DARE Bikes Norge was there to support us with a service car. That feels good when you’re our on 6 hour ride with 45 cyclists.
We all did the same route, but one group rode at a bit lower speed than the other two. This way I managed to make the ride attractive to most cyclists – though a certain level of experience will always be a requirement when doing a 150 km ride. A learning for next year is to be more clear on the level in each group so people don’t sign up for a group that’s too fast. But interestingly, it is those who suffered the most during the ride that has come back with most enthusiastic feed back. And they’ve done so without even being asked to give feedback.
After the ride a lot of us (at least 25) met at The Hub bar at Clarion Hotel The Hub in central Oslo. They had an out door seating area where we could be and have a good eye on our bikes. Out door was good for Covid-19 reasons, but also since we were pretty sweaty after 6 hours of cycling in 25-30 degrees 🙂
All in all this was absolutely fantastic. For sure a tradition that will be back next year!