If your travel plans have been disrupted by the Icelandic volcano spewing ash across much of Europe, spare a thought for poor Kurt-Asle Arvesen who was trapped on a North Sea oil rig from Wednesday morning until late on Sunday night.

The 35-year-old had been invited out to Statoil's Statfojd C platform - which lies 200km north east of Bergen - to deliver a lecture on cycling and sports science and also to give a one-hour spinning class, but was told his helicopter back to the mainland on Thursday would be unable to take off due to the massive dust cloud hanging overhead.

Ever the professional, Arvesen made the most of his predicament though and kept himself in peak condition by running up and down the rig's many stairs, as well as putting in lengthy sessions on the exercise bikes which were fortunately in attendance.

When we caught up with him, safely back on dry land, he still had a lengthy coach ride ahead of him back to his family home, but was able to see the funny side of his predicament and fill us in on life on the opening seas.

He said: "I first realised I was stranded on Thursday morning as we were told no helicopters were flying. They couldn't use boats to get people on and off because the sea level was 40 metres below the platform and it was too dangerous to dock.

"I wasn't the only one stranded either. There were a lot of people that had been there for many weeks and all they could do was wait like me because they were not allowed to work for any longer than three-week periods.

"Thankfully they have a lot of equipment out there so it wasn't a problem to fill my time. I kept busy by doing lots more spinning and weight training. I also got to look around the rig in a lot more detail and learn about the processes they use.

"I went right down to the bottom of the rig, which is about 155m below sea level, and that meant I used thousands of stairs. I did that trip about 10 times so that will definitely have kept me fit.

"I had my own room but it was really tiny, there wasn't much space other than for a bed. There was a TV in it though so I was able to watch the Amstel Gold Race. They also had computer rooms so I could get on the internet, but I couldn't use my mobile phone."

Arvesen only found out he would be able to get off the rig on Sunday evening, but his travel disruptions are still far from over.

He added: "It was one hour by helicopter to get back into Bergen and from there I would normally catch another one-hour flight back to my home. Instead I have to take the bus."

Learning experience

Arvesen is currently on a break from action after a hectic start to the season. After spending time with his family he will then travel back down to his base in the Italian Lakes to step up his preparations ahead of the Tour de Picardie, which commences on May 14.

Despite everything that has happened, Arvesen maintains the trip was a success and revealed it had been a huge learning experience:

"I was able to train almost as well as I would have done at home so it could have been worse. It was an enjoyable few days. It was the first time I've ever been on an oil rig so it was interesting to see how everything works out there."