Kolbotn is a quiet suburb in the woods south of Oslo, built around a lake, Kolbotnvannet, and close to the much larger Gjersjøen, with forest all around and the inner Oslofjord glinting just to the west. It is a place of family homes, sports fields and ski trails, and it is hard to believe that it gave the world one of the most influential black metal bands, Darkthrone, which formed here in the late 1980s and recorded albums that shaped a whole genre.
After the Trollstigen and Geiranger, though, it is the peace that counts. The Trollstigen is the famous mountain road above Åndalsnes, with eleven hairpins climbing a sheer valley wall beside a thundering waterfall, and the road on to Geiranger takes you over high plateaus and down to one of the most famous fjords in the world. After days of that, Kolbotn offers a gentle, unspectacular landing in the woods. Note that the Trollstigen is usually closed from autumn until late spring because of snow and avalanche risk, so this trip is a summer one.
The approach from the west is usually on the E18 and then the E6 or smaller roads through the forests south of the city. Traffic around Oslo is heavy at rush hour, and the motorways have strict speed limits and plenty of cameras. On the back roads through the woods, watch for cyclists, joggers and the odd moose crossing at dusk.
Kolbotn has another treasure close by. Ingierstrand Bad, on the fjord a few kilometres west, is a bathing beach from the 1930s, with white functionalist buildings, diving towers and a café, and on a warm summer day it is full of swimmers and sunbathers. The fjord water is cold but clean, and in July it can be very pleasant. Further south, the Svartskog peninsula has quiet roads along the water, with forests, farms and views across to Nesodden, where ferries cross to the city.
For practical things, Kolbotn has a shopping centre, cafés and fuel nearby, and Ski and Nesoddtangen are the nearest larger places. Trains run into Oslo regularly, so it is easy to drop the bike off. Sit by the lake for a while, listen to the quiet and remember the waterfalls and hairpins of the west.