EuroVelo 12 - North Sea Cycle Route - part Norway: which way and when to ride
The best month for EuroVelo 12 - North Sea Cycle Route - part Norway is June: 70% of days were dry with highs of 10–30 °C. In June, riding Bergen → near Halden meant an average tailwind of 2.6 km/h (ERA5 2006–2025, daytime 9:00–18:00).
Weather by month
| Month | Good days | Rain days ≥ 1 mm | Rain, mm | Avg high | Days ≥ 30 °C | Days < 10 °C | Daylight, h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0% | 37% | 165 | 2 °C | 0% | 100% | 6.9 † |
| February | 1% | 35% | 130 | 3 °C | 0% | 99% | 9.2 † |
| March | 7% | 29% | 107 | 5 °C | 0% | 93% | 11.6 |
| April | 36% | 26% | 78 | 10 °C | 0% | 60% | 14.4 |
| May | 62% | 28% | 94 | 14 °C | 0% | 20% | 16.9 |
| June | 70% | 30% | 101 | 17 °C | 0% | 1% | 18.4 |
| July | 63% | 37% | 135 | 19 °C | 0% | 0% | 17.8 |
| August | 60% | 40% | 165 | 18 °C | 0% | 0% | 15.4 |
| September | 62% | 37% | 175 | 15 °C | 0% | 1% | 12.7 |
| October | 39% | 40% | 189 | 11 °C | 0% | 34% | 10.1 † |
| November | 8% | 38% | 178 | 7 °C | 0% | 83% | 7.6 † |
| December | 1% | 40% | 184 | 4 °C | 0% | 98% | 6.2 † |
Best months are all months within 3 percentage points of the best one. † less than 11 hours of daylight — long stages get tight.
Wind by month
| Month | Wind Bergen → near Halden, km/h | Headwind > 15 km/h, Bergen → near Halden | Headwind > 15 km/h, near Halden → Bergen | Better way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −0.9 | 16% | 14% | either |
| February | −1.2 | 16% | 12% | either |
| March | −0.2 | 14% | 13% | either |
| April | +0.6 | 11% | 12% | either |
| May | +1.4 | 10% | 14% | either |
| June | +2.6 | 7% | 15% | Bergen → near Halden |
| July | +2.3 | 7% | 14% | Bergen → near Halden |
| August | +1.2 | 9% | 13% | either |
| September | +0.4 | 13% | 14% | either |
| October | −0.4 | 16% | 14% | either |
| November | −1.1 | 17% | 13% | either |
| December | −0.5 | 15% | 14% | either |
Stages
The route is split into 11 stages of about 100–150 km between towns; each stage has its own page.
| Stage | km | Best month | Tailwind Bergen → near Halden in June, km/h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bergen → Leirvik | 110 | June | +2.8 |
| 2. Leirvik → near Haugesund | 116 | June | +2.0 |
| 3. near Haugesund → Jørpeland | 115 | June | +2.2 |
| 4. Jørpeland → Kleppe | 113 | June | −2.7 |
| 5. Kleppe → Flekkefjord | 128 | June | +6.2 |
| 6. Flekkefjord → Lyngdal | 114 | June | +1.8 |
| 7. Lyngdal → Kristiansand | 104 | June | +5.0 |
| 8. Kristiansand → Tvedestrand | 116 | May | +4.0 |
| 9. Tvedestrand → near Porsgrunn | 116 | June | +4.4 |
| 10. near Porsgrunn → Tønsberg | 110 | June | +2.3 |
| 11. Tønsberg → near Halden | 132 | September | +0.9 |
How to read the numbers
Wind is the 10 m wind of a 25-km grid cell, daytime hours 9:00–18:00 local solar time; at saddle height in a sheltered valley it is weaker, on a coast or ridge stronger. A positive value is a tailwind. ERA5 slightly over-counts days with ≥ 1 mm of rain (by about 5–7 percentage points) and underestimates daily highs by 1–2 °C. Good day = less than 1 mm of rain between 9:00 and 18:00 (riding hours, local solar time) and a high between 10 and 30 °C; rain at night or in the evening does not spoil it.