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!
www.cyclenorway.com
oslodawnpatrol.cc
FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM for the latest updates: / cyclenorway
#Oslocycling #matthewnorway #cyclenorway #Ridenorway #Oslodawnpatrol

[@zjork]

if only you knew how hated cycelists are in this country, narrow roads and you guys congest them and create more polution because everyone have to slow down an harshly accellerate to get past, grinding traffic to a halt in the morning when everyone has to get to work in the morning/day and the same when people are going home. lorries have to stop and overtake aswell. despite how fast it feels on the bice, you rarely cycle faster than 12-20km/h on roads intended for 80km/h, if there was room for everyone there wouldn't be a problem. but by law we have to treat you guys like you are cars, and we have to give way, even the buss had to be slowed down because of you guys, slowing down public transport wich is already slow. just hope you understand how much of a burden your hobby is on everyone else in society. i understand you office workers need exercise, but please go to the gym instead, or swap to a manual job. everything here is so far away that almost everyone have to drive long distances to get to work. and having your daily commute made longer by about 5-15mins every day because some inconsiderate cycleist is slowing everyone down by congesting all the roads realy generates allot of hate. i just wish you guys could understand it. or that you would even read this.

[@posebukse]

Who hurt you?

[@zjork]

@@posebukse well cycelists have come close to many times. just saying have some sense of selfawareness, please. try seeing yourself from a drivers perspective. but from what i can see you guys enjoy pissing off other people. case and point, your toxic comment.

[@RStotty]

Ah bless! Sorry you don’t have much joy in your life

[@zjork]

@@RStotty bold of you to asume i must just be some grumpy old person with no joy in his life for not wanting to be put in dangerous situations because of some office worker with a midlife crisis is on the road with his over prices bicycle and spandex being and entitled shit pushing his hobby on everyone else in society.

[@thor5686]

Agree cyclists can be annoying and selfish sometimes , but saying cyclists should not ride on the road, ta dæ ænn Esso burger

[@eiriknordli]

Amazing film - catching the atmosphere!

[@matthewnorway]

Thanks!

[@biankakoettlitz6979]

I'm impressed how many other things Norway has to offer besides skiing😃cycling in Oslo, Chess in Stavanger...

[@globebusmotorhomeadventure8112]

That,s just awesome well organized in a beautiful city great Vlog simon would love to go on this next time i visit 🇧🇻🚴👍

[@timyaiser]

Awesome video. Beautiful scenery. Loved it!

[@hansflj]

Amazing video! Thanks for sharing this great story about Oslo Dawn Patrol!

[@matthewnorway]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jimmccorison]

Great video. Thank you for covering the ride. We'll be in Oslo the end of this month and I'm thinking about joining the ride that day. What a memory of Norway to take home.

[@EdsonOchoa]

Great video!

[@paalharald]

Thanks for the ride, Matthew!

[@matthewnorway]

Likewise 🙌

[@woolfel]

that looks like a lovely route to ride!

[@Sykkelmafiaen]

It's beautiful to see so many bicyclists in our city!

[@MrZeroNegative]

Thanks for being part of ODP, Matthew 👍😊🙌

[@matthewnorway]

Any time!

[@Biden504]

Im from middle America! I have to confess, your country is Beautiful 😍

[@safe-keeper1042]

Thank you for this, Will be interesting to see your take on this city.

[@christopherhood9241]

cant think of a better way to start the day. super video btw. surprised you don't drink coffee.

[@peterbouchard103]

Great video👍👌... Great contrey

[@kikomonztah]

Nice to meet you in Person Matthew 👍☝️🤙👌✌️🙌

[@matthewnorway]

🙌

[@safe-keeper1042]

Loved Not Just Bikes' take on Oslo recently, too. But didn't know the city had such huge dedicated groups of exercise cyclists!

[@stephensaines7100]

Yeah! I was immediately reminded of that. Not Just Bikes is one of a number of Cdn channels on KZbin, almost all in awe of the Nederlands and Danish experience, as am I. Oslo is also getting up there fast too. What immediately strikes me is how clean and relaxed it seens.

[@katrinastewart5456]

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!

[@percival3830]

I never travel without Earl Grey teabags.

[@stephensaines7100]

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?

[@posebukse]

Love it! How on earth did you manage to both get drone shots and keep up? Impressive!

[@tomalbert3299]

I was just about to ask the very same question

[@svenjuchem]

How ?

[@matthewnorway]

The drone shots were filmed two days later on the Thursday ride.

[@posebukse]

@@matthewnorway Clever! Thanks for answering. I thought it might be possible with a small drone ready in a bag in the frame, but I guess it’s better to do it in two rounds. Awesome video, gonna join one day!

[@stephensaines7100]

@@matthewnorway Ahhhh!

[@skrapikoko1234]

Hi. I have a question, are similar bicycle trips organized in the afternoon?

[@buildingreno]

All coffee! No tea. Norway just keeps getting better! This Canadian needs to get there!

[@safe-keeper1042]

We've got a lot of towns that need more people and houses that need occupants, the Dutch who need a place to live could come too!

[@buildingreno]

Send me the details. I'll bring the coffee!!

[@WaywardLifeSailing]

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?

[@matthewnorway]

about 10% that join are women and growing.

[@WaywardLifeSailing]

@@matthewnorway glad to hear it! :)

[@eirikkristine]

Hope to see you 5.40 tomorrow :)

[@matthewnorway]

Thursday 🙂

[@bikeep.official]

Great to see! #bikeep

[@addvurtbikes]

Looks amazing 😻

[@grobbosixtyone]

Enjoyed a ride, upset some car owners. Win win

[@zjork]

epic toxic behaviour. that attitude is why everyone hates cycleists. kids geting from A to B or families out for a trip never pisses anyone off. but dudes in spandex having a midlife crisis thinking they cycle super fast because they feel wind in their hair for the first time in year during summer since the rest of the time they are at their office job, slowing down everyone else in the country because of their hobby is a different matter. can't even count how many near death accidents you guys have directly caused on just my daily commute.

[@jimmccorison]

@@zjork Are you here just to ragged on everybody? Don't you have hobbies? Or is this your hobby?

[@zjork]

@@jimmccorison did i hit a nerve?

[@jimmccorison]

@@zjorkNope. Just curious about people who seem to be furious at everything around them.

[@zjork]

@@jimmccorison if you can't see how cycelist piss people off, you either haven't met one, you don't drive or have a long commute or you are one.

[@davidness5491]

Did you say this was all year round, is it not dangerous in the winter, with the ice?

[@stalerhmen5867]

All year around. And sometimes on the frozen fjord - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZqmemdviLOXjcU

[@matthewnorway]

Studded tires in winter

[@m.a.2282]

Is it truly that bright in Norway at 4:43AM or is this a edited alarm sequence?

[@matthewnorway]

YES, it doesn't go completely dark at night now in June!

[@m.a.2282]

@@matthewnorway Oh that’s more cycling time!!!

[@tednruth453]

Let us out of the fridge ....please 😂 Take your own t-bags😊

[@martijn260571]

Love Oslo ❤ but……🙂 ever been to the Netherlands ? 😉 that’s still in Europe 😅

[@grobbosixtyone]

Does cyclists have to pay for road registration in Norway?

[@Tathagatchat]

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.

[@event4216]

Chap I know in Kolkata says there's no cycling there, glad he's wrong! Should tell him next time we have a chat)

[@Tathagatchat]

@event4216 your friend probably doesn't get up early enough (most Bengalis are late risers).. most of the riding for exercise happens between 5 to 8 since it is usually quite hot after that. But you can squeeze anywhere between 50-80km of riding in that time :)

[@event4216]

@@Tathagatchat Less traffic too in early hours....maybe, I doubt it, though. Indians move all the time, at least, that's how I remember India.

[@Tathagatchat]

@@event4216 I guess you're confusing Mumbai with Kolkata. But even Mumbai traffic is relaxed between 2-6 am.

[@ray076NL]

groningen, utrecht, amsterdam, nijmegen, even ugly eindhoven... i know a few cities wich have a bigger cycling population.

[@norwegiangadgetman]

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?

[@19quiz76]

Pace in group 2 is ~25 km/h. No athlete form required, very relaxed tempo and we all wait for each other at certain points along the route. Elevation profile is fairly flat, with the exception of Kongsveien and the hills up to Svartskog. Any road cyclist with a minimum of experience can do this group ride, which explains the great turnout.

[@norwegiangadgetman]

@@19quiz76 My pace, with an PEDELEC standard e-bike is about 20Km/h, and slower on the uphills. Without e-bike my average is more like 14Km/h... And not for all that many Km, either... I really, really need to get rid of 20 or 30Kg... (Planning to do some bikepacking and lots more hiking this summer. Getting 2 x 36V/10Ah battery packs for my bike, and have a charger that can run off of solar.)

[@edwardaustin6410]

What day of the week was this ride? You’ve been in Norway a long time - you need to improve your pronunciation. 😊

[@pantx0]

with summers being "not so long" I wonder if many of these cyclists are xc skiers in the winter?

[@Tarmaccyclocross]

I agree with the Norwegians tea is horrendous

[@janjanssen9629]

Didn’t see a single reason why Oslo would become the bike capital of Europe….

[@Uncle_pepsi]

Because it won’t

[@nickisauer9626]

Ha Ha your so funny. Just drink the bloody coffee and get over with it. Assimilate! ;-)

[@notquiteoverthehill9576]

Why do most wear black the colour of death😮

[@jimmccorison]

I usually wear bright colors on my top to help being seen. But black absorbs the sun's infrared, warming you more, which makes a big difference in colder weather.

[@JohnChrBugge]

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.

[@larspetersen2688]

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😉

[@EdsonOchoa]

"Becoming", not "is" ;) We also love Denmark, cheers from Oslo.

[@Drake64958]

Those are rookie numbers. Regards from the Netherlands 😁

[@boc-tonysyklist2145]

Only 19% in Copenhagen?!

[@RDJ2]

Yeah let's pretend the Netherlands don't exist.

[@Tathagatchat]

Yeah, and sorry, but after visiting Denmark I feel Oslo's cycling infrastructure is still in its infancy.

[@henkoosterink8744]

Cycle capital....hahaha. Infrastructure is horrible, come on.

[@matthewnorway]

Mmm - have you been to Oslo recently?

[@henkoosterink8744]

@@matthewnorway Yes. For English/American it is maby great, but to be honest, it sucks.

[@NallePu83]

@@matthewnorway totally agree with henkoosterink8744 You can`t put Norway above Netherland or Denmark

[@zjork]

@@matthewnorway can't even count how many near death accidents cycelists cause every summer. personally i experience atleast 2 every summer just getting to and from work. our shitty narrow roads do not allow for cycleists and cars to drive together. and our stupid traffic laws give way to cyclists and force everyone else to treat you like pedestrians but you still have car privilages. grinding traffic to a halt causing more polution and potential accidents when people try to get past you, since hell, never met a single cycelist ever letting anyone past. this hobby is causing everyone else in society a great deal of grief, bu i guess that is half the fun.

[@truthseeker8483]

They speak in English??? Why??

[@matthewnorway]

Because they knew they were going to be on KZbin.

[@astrogeo1]

​@@matthewnorwaySo only English on that/those occasions ? Oh, I breathe a sigh of relief ! We can still speak Norwegian in Norway. EU/US has not still taken all over !

[@jimmccorison]

@@astrogeo1 What do you call somebody who speaks only one language? American. (Yes, I'm from the US and speak only one language fluently, but I try to learn the polite words in countries I visit.)

[@emp-ty-g]

lol cycle capital of europe.

[@zjork]

it's really not

[@MrTitusDenis]

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.

[@matthewnorway]

It's a mixture of Norwegians and internationals (expats working in oil, gas, shipping, etc)

[@perskjelbred7099]

It is not safe to use bicycle in Oslo. The city has to many hills and the statement that Oslo is a cycle city is wrong!!

[@terjesorhaug143]

This is a lie. Yes it has been used a lot of taxpayers money, but bike use has not gone down or up.

[@juwi1283]

Where are all the female cyclists? Would love to see them and hear their voices.

[@zjork]

they don't exsist since all of them are office workers with a midlife crisis.