On Thursday I had a long steep climb to get to the top of Sognefjellsvegen – I’m really glad I got a head start on the climb the previous day. But wow was it a pretty ride! In Norway, you can only be a few thousand feet up to reach the Alpine environment – at 4500 feet everything looks like what you would see at 10000 or 11000 feet in California. And there were glaciers!
It got really cold at the top – maybe low to mid 40s? I’m really glad I carried all this cold weather gear for 2000 miles
After reaching the top, I had a fast ride down into a valley, which I then followed down along a crystal blue river for about 20 miles to the village of Lom.
Had some tasty pizza, then headed east UP a valley along a different crystal blue river, until I found a nice place to set up camp on the shore
On Friday morning I made a tasty breakfast of pancakes with brown cheese and cottage cheese (you can buy premade pancakes at the grocery store)
The rest of the day was just a beautiful ride slowly climbing up the valley past lakes and waterfalls
I ended the day a bit early because I didn’t want to go down the other side of the mountain too late. Instead, I set up camp at around 3200 feet, which was practically a tundra. I had to use the extra guy lines on my tent because the wind was gusting so hard. I then went on a short hike up along a cascade near my campsite
Another damp, chilly night, but I was cozy bundled up in my tent
This morning, after packing up, I discovered I had a flat….boooo! I’m pretty sure it was from a defect in the tire rubbing against the tube. I put in a folded up dollar bill to hopefully prevent it from happening again.
I had a little bit more climbing, and then another glorious switchback descent down into Geiranger, a small village on a deep blue fjord.
The town itself was a bit of a letdown – it’s another giant cruise ship stop, so it’s a bit overrun with tourists
In Norway, what goes down must go up, and so I climbed back UP a series of switchbacks to around 2100 feet. The climbs really aren’t so bad when you have such excellent scenery though
I did have a crazy incident where, as I was huffing up the hill, an RV stopped in the middle of the road. I continued on past it on the right, when suddenly the door flew open and almost knocked into me as a guy jumped out, presumably to take pictures. I never expected I would almost get doored on a switchback mountain road!
Another fun descent led me to another ferry crossing. Then a fun ride along a fjord before turning up another valley to head to another climb! I’m pretty much just winging my route at this point, but I’m driven to buy all of the scenic roads I can. Tomorrow I’ll be tackling the Trollstigen, probably my last big climb, then I head back out to the coast.
Yesterday morning was very wet – I’m glad I made the decision to stay at an official campground.
The previous day I was having some trouble shifting, but it was pouring and I was almost at the end of my day, so I let it go. When I started inspecting yesterday morning, I noticed that my chainring bolts had become loose. Easy fix! Except one of them must have been cracked because when I went to tighten it, it snapped right off! I’m always finding new ways to break my bike! According to Google, I was days away from the nearest bike shop to get a replacement bolt, with several big climbs between. After kicking myself for forgetting to bring zip ties, I realized I had a shallow-head bolt and nut, and was able to get some washers from the camp host, and was able to jerry-rig a fix to add enough tension that I wouldn’t make things worse, as long as I rode easy on the middle ring, and mostly relied on the granny ring.
I also somehow managed to crack one of my tent poles but it was a pretty easy fix with some electrical tape and a pole splint
I had a long slow climb up to about 2,500 ft., and, despite the cold rain, it was really beautiful. More waterfalls and clear lakes.
Just after the summit there was this cool overlook that looked out onto the valley below and the super windy road I was about to descend. Also there were sheep with bells on them
The descent down the switchbacks of the Gaularfjellsvegan was pretty awesome, but I was definitely soaking wet and cold by the time I got to the bottom. Here’s a video I made of the descent
I had a short ride along the fjord and then spent some time warming up and drying off in the waiting area for the ferry that would take me across the fjord. I also managed to book a cheap room while researching camping options. On the ferry I had a tasty pancake with brunøst, a yummy brown, sweet cheese!
Once I got to the other side of the fjord, things improved: the rain lessened just a slight drizzle and also I had an amazing tailwind rushing me into the next town, as I raced along the fjord
But I got to the town, Sogndal, I found out that by what Google said there was a bike shop and I had gotten there in time to go get the part I needed, and it was still even early enough that I could still buy beer! (In Norway you can’t buy alcohol after 8:00 p.m. The other Scandinavian countries had similar rules)
I got into my room, laid out my clothes to dry out, fixed my bike (the chainring bolt install went without a hitch), ate some dinner and had a great night’s sleep. I also did some route research based on some suggestions I had gotten and decided to change my route to add more mountains and fjords, with a ferry bailout option if I get behind
This morning the weather was much better – warmer, and partly cloudy with only the occasional drizzle
I started the day off with some more riding along the fjord – the color is unreal! I had a small climb along another gushing river, then a fun descent into a village where I caught another ferry
On the other side I visited an old stave church from the 1100s – very cool stuff
After that, more fun riding along the coast, with more stunning waterfalls than I could count, the occasional tunnel, and almost no traffic at all. Oh – and I saw a seal sunning itself on a rock!
I ended the day by climbing up the steep switchbacks of the Sognefjellsvegen, the highest paved road in northern Europe, topping out at 4705 feet. I got up to about 2500 before finding a spot to camp (I started pretty much at sea level). It’s a bit drizzly, and probably in the upper 40s, but I’m feeling pretty cozy in my tent. I also can’t believe I get a strong cell signal here!
Had another late start because a) I overslept, b) the curse of the leaking sleeping pad struck again and I had to find the leak by dunking it in the lake, and c) I had to change my tube which was also on a 2 day slow leak cycle
shortly after getting on the road I may a cyclist from Estonia who was on an epic 12,000 mile trip around Europe. He had a very specific distance to hit as he was trying to get to 100,000 kilometers of lifetime touring! He has also ridden from the northern tip of Norway to the bottom of South Africa, and the same from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego! We rode together a bit, but our routes soon split.
I had a couple of big climbs today but nothing too steep. The terrain has been gorgeous as I hop from valley to valley. I ended the day by following this raging river upstream as it was interrupted by serene clear lakes and gushing waterfalls
unfortunately, the rain that had been threatening all day finally caught up with me at the end. I had been planning to wild camp, but decided to take the opportunity when a campsite appeared. I think they have me a discount since I looked like a wet cat
The weather is not looking great for the rest of my trip – rain is forecast for every day – but we’ll see how it goes! Regardless, I’m still having a great time!
Eesh…. I’m not sure how I’m going to summarize the last three weeks, but for now I’m just going to start from the last few days. Suffice it to say that it has been an amazing ride, and more details/pictures will come soon.
Zach, Alice, and I arrived in Bergen, Norway two days ago (on Friday).
On the way into town we rode through “the world’s longest bike tunnel” – an over 2 miles long former train tunnel that they’ve dressed up with colored lights and artwork – it was a pretty rad experience
We had a pretty good time exploring the city, even though it was thick with tourists (many from cruise ships)
We did some pub hopping, met some locals, and ended the evening with some karaoke at a pretty empty bar (I continued to stay in my safe zone with some Neil Diamond, but Zach and Alice were more adventurous)
We had a nice sleep-in the next morning, and then took the funicular up to the top of the mountain overlooking Bergen. It was a perfectly sunny day, and the view was stunning. We hung out at the top exploring the forest, people-watching, and meeting some very cute and friendly goats
After returning to the surface, the sad inevitable moment came – Zach and Alice were flying out of Bergen the next day, so I had to leave then behind as I headed north out of the city. We said our tearful goodbyes, and I rolled on
It was a very hilly ride out of Bergen, much of it along hard to follow bicycle paths. The weather was amazing, and the scenery was great – a combination of striking seaside bluffs and rolling sheep pasture
This morning was significantly wetter. I slept in too much and got a late start. I also managed to loose a sandal off my bike and had to backtrack a few miles to find it
Despite the rainy weather, it was still a nice ride today – more beautiful coastal scenes alternating with lush ]forest climbs. I had two ferry rides and several tunnels to keep things interesting, and the roads have all had very little traffic
I saw plenty of other bike tourists today, including a guy who rode here from Toulouse, France who I chatted with on the ferry
I wrapped up the day at a cute little campground on a lake, and had some nice chats with friendly Dutch and German campers in the kitchen.
