Cycle Tourism - Article from the local newspaper, showcasing the wonderful region on two wheels

As promised - here is the text from Stangeavisa, kindly translated from Norwegian to English by my good friend. (Norwegian version here.)

By Gjermund Trøan, Stangeavisa. Translated by Klaaspeter Kuperus

ROMEDAL: British Justin Futers, living in Romedal, is these days starting his own business. His focus is on something he knows very well after thirty years of experience of cycling. Arranging cycle tourism.

Justin Futers is a cycling passionate with a garage filled with bicycles. After thirty years of cycling he intends to create good cycling experiences for tourists in Hedmark County. His says the local countryside is very pretty and should be taken in from the saddle.

Pyrenees to Hedmark
Justin focuses on visitors to the area, so cycling routes are being designed to give the best possible experiences. “I do have relevant experience in this type of business”, Justin says. “While being an active cyclist during the 1990’s I trained a lot and cycled a lot in the Pyrenees. 18 years later I moved down there to offer cycling experiences. This of course being a lot more demanding terrain than Hedmark, but the business idea is much the same”, says Mr. Futers. The experience in the Pyrenees was much about guided tours on bicycles to places of interest. His experience doing this is solid.
In 2012 I arranged a cycling tour from England to Italy as part of a birthday celebration, he says. Apart from this he has been competing at club level all over Europe and arranged cycle routes for a number of cycling clubs.

Routes in Stange 

The cycling business in the Pyrenees was passed on to some friends of Mr. Futers when he decided to move, and according to him this business is still going strong. Now the time is right to turn to Hedmark, and Mr. Futers promises a number of exiting routes in Stange.
“My target is to create experiences for visitors to this fantastic landscape and supporting local businesses, there are numerous sleeping facilities in the area – a number of farms in Vestbygda amongst them”, says the Englishman in Romedal. He hopes for cooperation with local forces who can tell their history to visitors. The cycling routes will be carefully planned; everything revolves around the beauty of the landscape. Every place we cycle will be inspirational, says Justin Futers.

Team-building
Far too many just pass through the area on the E6, says the Englishman in Romedal. He claims cycle tourism has a great potential in Hedmark. Local business may just as well use the routes I created to work with their team building says Mr. Futers. He has been developing this idea since December and is now on the verge to start his company called “Norge Wheels”. Office location is still not decided on, but he preferres an office in one of the central places in the region, Stange village as one of the alternatives.