Summer does not begin in western Norway until the middle of June. And Bergen is one of those cities, like Santiago de Compostela, where it always seems to rain. Or snow, in the case of Bergen. As I was about to leave Bergen it occurred to me that the small, slightly broken umbrella we had been using might come in handy on a bicycle tour. I took it with me, and I was glad I did. I don't know why I'd never thought of it before. It's not much help on those days of solid rain where you just have to get on with it, but in a sudden downpour it's possible to deploy the umbrella rapidly, wait a few minutes and then carry on, completely dry. Also very useful on campsites, and very occasionally as a sunshade. From Bergen the North Sea Cycle Route goes south on cycle tracks at first and then, just when you are thinking that Norway is going to have cycle tracks everywhere, it dumps you onto a road just in time to climb a steep hill. It doesn't matter much becau