Earlier this summer, we had the pleasure of welcoming a group of international journalists and tour operators to the Mjølkevegen for a dedicated gravel press and FAM trip.
The trip was organised in cooperation with Visit Valdres and Mountains of Norway, with support from Innlandet County Council. Our ambition was quite simple: to show why we believe the Mjølkevegen is Norway’s finest gravel cycling route – and why it deserves a place among the great gravel destinations internationally.
We invited four journalists from the UK and German-speaking markets, who will be producing articles for major newspapers and cycling and travel magazines. We were also joined by five specialised tour operators from the German-speaking, English-speaking and Dutch markets. They all work with active travel and cycling, offering individual trips, group tours or both.
For us, this was much more than an ordinary promotional trip.
Inviting people into our home
I had the pleasure of guiding the trip together with Silje Wilson from Mountains of Norway. We were also joined by Markus Stitz, a German-born, Scotland-based adventure cyclist, author, filmmaker and photographer – and founder of Bikepacking Scotland – who came along to capture the journey through photography and film.
For me personally, it was a special experience. I live along the Mjølkevegen and know these mountains, roads and valleys extremely well. Guiding a group here therefore feels a little different from guiding somewhere else. In many ways, it feels like inviting people into my home. These are the roads I ride myself. These are the mountains I see in everyday life, the places where I know the people running the lodges and where I have seen how tourism contributes to keeping small communities active. That also makes you a little nervous. When you show people something that means a lot to you personally, you naturally hope they will see what you see. Fortunately, they did.
The combination of wide mountain landscapes, excellent gravel roads with very little traffic, long days on the bike and small, personal accommodations made a strong impression on the group. Again and again, the participants commented on the quality of the roads, the scenery, the food and, perhaps most importantly, the warm hospitality they experienced along the route.
Gravel is also about the people
One thing that became particularly clear during the trip was how social gravel cycling can be. Of course, people come for the riding. They want beautiful roads, long climbs, fast descents and new landscapes. But the moments between the kilometres are often just as important.
Our group included journalists, tour operators, guides and people from different countries and backgrounds, but everyone shared a genuine passion for cycling and outdoor experiences. That immediately created a strong sense of community.
Mechanical problems became something the group solved together. People waited for each other, helped with repairs, shared knowledge and encouraged one another through the longer days. There was a feeling of being part of a small travelling community rather than simply a group of individuals riding the same route.
For me, that was one of the most rewarding parts of the trip. I have worked with many different outdoor activities over the years, but the social side of gravel stood out. There seems to be a very natural culture of helping each other and sharing the experience. And after a long day on the bike, sitting around the dinner table together, eating good local food and talking about the day is very much part of the gravel experience too.
Sharing the Mjølkevegen feels like inviting people into our home
Creating more than great cycling holidays
Trips like this are important because our goal is not simply to bring more cyclists to the region. We want to develop tourism in a way that creates value locally.
Guests travelling on our Mjølkevegen packages stay in locally run accommodations, eat meals prepared by local hosts, use transport services and visit small communities along the route. The money spent on a cycling holiday therefore reaches many different businesses. That creates economic value, but there is also a social side to sustainability.
Tourism helps create jobs, supports local businesses and gives people more reasons to continue living, working and investing in rural communities. By developing cycling products that encourage guests to stay several nights and travel through the region, we can help distribute tourism income across a much wider area.
This is one of the reasons we believe packaged cycling trips are important. They do not just send cyclists along a road. They connect the journey with accommodation, food, luggage transport, local hosts and other services that create value throughout the route. For us, responsible destination development means making sure that tourism contributes to the places our guests travel through.
What comes next
The response from the participants during the trip was incredibly encouraging. The journalists returned home with plenty of stories, photographs and experiences, and we are looking forward to seeing the resulting articles in newspapers and magazines in the UK and German-speaking markets.
The participating tour operators are now looking at how the Mjølkevegen and our cycling packages can become part of their programmes for individual travellers and groups. Hopefully, this means that many of their guests will discover the same roads, landscapes, food and hospitality that our group experienced this summer.
For us, that is how we want to continue developing the Mjølkevegen: together with our local partners, with the people who live here, and with cyclists who appreciate the character of the region. We believe the Mjølkevegen has everything needed to become Norway’s leading gravel destination.
After spending several days riding it together with a group of passionate cycling and travel professionals, I believe that even more strongly than before. And personally, I am already looking forward to inviting the next group into our mountains – and into our home.
(If you would like to use the images for external purposes, such as on social media or in articles, please contact us first)
