Kyrksæterøra-Trondheim (101 km)

Today, I was prepared for a lot of rain on my way to Trondheim. It had been raining through the night, and the forecast was pretty bad. When I woke up, it was not raining though. So I started today’s ride in cloudy, but dry conditions.

I first followed Snillfjorden (literally the kind fjord) out of Kyrksæterøra. There was very little traffic on this road. After a while the road left the fjord and led me over a 400 metres’ pass towards Orkanger. 

The sky was, if not in fifty shades, then at least in the darkest shades of grey. The roads were constantly wet showing that it had been raining recently, and I could see rain on the horizon all the time. I managed, however, to come to Orkanger with only a few raindrops on my helmet. When I was just outside a shopping centre and ready for lunch break, a heavy rainstorm started. I enjoyed my lunch watching the rain outside. And when I had finished lunch, it had stopped raining again. 

I continued towards Trondheim along the wide Trondheimsfjorden. The zoological highlight of the day was when a fox trotted by, only a few metres ahead of me. When I got closer, he said “hatee-hatee-hatee-ho” and disappeared. 

The last kilometres into Trondheim were on nice cycling paths (way better than in Oslo). I reached my hotel, which is nice, central and affordable, at 4:30. Right when I parked my bike, it started raining. Somehow I had managed despite the very rainy weather to avoid all rain showers and get dry to Trondheim. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day. Next update probably on Saturday. 

Yesterday, I didn’t have time to write a blog post because I was busy finishing the second video. 

Here comes the summary of day 14 and 15:

Day 14: Finnøy-Kristiansund (117 km)

I had an early start on Finnøy because I had a long stage ahead of me to Kristiansund, including two ferries. So without any breakfast in the tent, I boarded the first boat from Finnøy to Småge on the island Gossa. Fortunately, they had coffee and sveler (Norwegian pancakes) on this boat, so I could enjoy my breakfast on board. 

From Småge, I hurried the 10 kilometres across this island to catch the next boat forty minutes later. I saw a small deer on my way and caught the next boat from Aukra to Hollingsholmen. 

Here I had two options: either go south and make a detour to Molde or head north and go directly to Kristiansund. I decided not to take the detour this time and go directly to Kristiansund. 

The route followed the coastline almost all day. First I cycled along Harøyfjorden and Frænfjorden. Then, from a small place called Bud, the road followed the open sea. This part of the route is called Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road). Especially, the last part from Vevang, crossing a number of bridges and small islands, is very scenic and has been voted Norway’s construction of the century by the Norwegian people and the world’s most beautiful road for cars by The Guardian. 

The last part of this stretch led me to the north of the island Averøy. From here, there is a long tunnel (Atlanterhavstunnelen) towards Kristiansund, which is forbidden for bikes. The local public transport has a taxi service, so I covered this last part by taxi and stayed in a hotel in Kristiansund. 

Here, I finished the video above and tried to upload it on YouTube, but it was blocked there because of background music which the rights owner has protected – thus the GoPro link above. I need to change the music on the original file and upload on YouTube later again. 

Day 15: Kristiansund-Kyrksæterøra (102 km)

Today was supposed to be overcast, but dry, according to the Yr weather forecast. But the day started with heavy rain. I started early at 8:20 from Kristiansund eastwards and took a ferry from Seivika to Tømmervåg after ten kilometres. 

After the ferry, it still rained heavily, so I changed quickly from my cycling jacket to my Gore Tex jacket with hood. At this point, I was doubting if I could go the planned 100 kilometres to Kyrksæterøra which is midway between Kristiansund and Trondheim. But the weather report for tomorrow was even worse, so I decided to continue. 

Fortunately, the rain became less after one hour, and eventually it stopped. The route went along a couple of fjords and sounds today and was very nice despite the grey weather. It was also rather hilly, so I was taking it rather slow today. 

Around lunch time, I reached the village Aure where I found a Thai food truck (they seem to exist everywhere!). I had a 45 minutes’ lunch break before I continued. 

About one hour before Kyrksæterøra, it started raining again. So instead of continuing a few kilometres along the next fjord to get out of this small place, I set up my tent rather close to the centre on a small piece of grass right next to the fjord. 

I had dinner in the tent, but enjoyed a warm chocolate and a glass of red wine in a café now. The weather report for tomorrow is still very bad, but a hotel room and a rest day are waiting for me in Trondheim. 

Day 10: Runde-Ulsteinvik (43 km)

After my amazing stay at Runde island, I continued Thursday morning towards Ulsteinvik. This was a short distance to cover – only a bit more than 40 kilometres, in other words: half a rest day. 

I arrived in Ulsteinvik around two o’clock and had a late lunch. Then I sat in the restaurant until Vegar came home from work. Vegar was our expedition leader on Greenland 2013. I was invited to his mother’s house where we enjoyed a nice grill dinner with the whole family. After dinner, Vegar took me on a sightseeing trip around Ulsteinvik, which is a really nice small town with an amazing location, and to Flø, a small village nearby which has become very hip among artists and other people in recent years. 

Day 11: Ulsteinvik-Ålesund (42 km)

The next day, I continued towards Ålesund. Before I came to the city centre, I stopped at the shopping centre at Moa and bought some supplies and equipment. Among other things I invested into a new rear light (since the other is broken), a LED rear light for the helmet, and a reflex vest with LED stripes. This will make me much more visible in the tunnels which I sometimes need to take. 

I was going to take a rest day in Ålesund and stay in one of the nicest hotels in town: Hotel Brosundet. I checked in at one o’clock, parked my bike and went for lunch first. Then I returned to the hotel to install the new light and fix some other small things on my bike. 

Later in the afternoon, Ioanna arrived who was visiting me here. We had a very nice dinner at XL Diner, a restaurant famous for their Bacalao. 

On Saturday, we went to Atlanterhavsparken, a big aquarium, and had an amazing four-course dinner in the evening at Maki, the restaurant belonging to Brosundet hotel. 

Day 13: Ålesund-Finnøya (12 km)

Today, we went on a boat trip into the Hjørundfjord – the neighbour fjord to Geiranger fjord, so to speak. Here we enjoyed lunch and Hotel Union Øye, a beautiful old hotel with lots of history, and returned to Ålesund right in time for Ioanna to catch the airport bus to return to Oslo. 

My plan was originally to take a boat to Hamnsund, cycle to Brattvåg, and take another boat to Harøya island. Due to heavy rain, however, I skipped the 20 kilometres’ detour from Hamnsund to Brattvåg, and stayed on the boat which continued directly to Harøya. 

From here it was a very short ride over a bridge to the next island, Finnøya, where I will stay for the night. I was lucky to find a Thai food truck next to the marina, so I can save my Real Turmat for the next days. Tomorrow, my plan is to continue towards Kristiansund. 

Day 9: Måløy-Runde (113 km)

Since I haven’t used any rest days yet, I have been lying one to two days ahead of my schedule. Thanks to this, I could plan a little detour today to the small island Runde which is located southwest of Ålesund at the Atlantic coast. Runde is a bird island as has the third biggest bird cliff in Norway and the southernmost in Norway. In addition, the Norwegian tourist association has a cabin here at the old lighthouse. So my plan for yesterday was to get here and hope for a free bed (since you cannot book in advance). 

I started cycling from my camp right outside Måløy at nine o’clock. It was half cloudy, half sunny today. And since it was rather chilly, but warm when the sun came out, I put my jacket on and off a dozen times today. 

The landscape was more hilly than I had expected given that I was so close to the coast. But the coast is quite steep here many places, so I had a lot of up and down cycling today anyway. 

After 60 kilometres, I took a ferry from Koparnes to Årvika. And after 80 kilometres, I swinged left to go to Runde,  where I would have gone right towards Ulsteinvik and Ålesund normally. Runde was thirty kilometres away from this junction.

The ride to Runde was a very scenic island hopping with bridges connecting the small islands. Runde is the last one of these islands. The road stops after four kilometres, so I parked my bike there and repacked my stuff so that I had everything I needed for one night in one of the panniers which I then used as a shoulder bag. 

There is a trail leading from the road into a nature reserve. We had a fantastic view today, so I took many pictures and videos on my way. After one hour, I reached one of the bird cliffs. I sat down at a spot from which I had a good view and watched the spectacle for quite a long time. There are 100000 pairs of sea birds nesting there. In the evening, they swarm out which apparently is a social ritual. There are mostly gannets (Basstölpel/havsula), kittiwakes (Dreizehenmöwe/krykkja) and puffins (Papageientaucher/lunde) breeding here, but also many other species. 

After an hour or so, I continued my walk towards the lighthouse. Luckily, there were some empty beds, so I could stay here for the night. There were two other German tourists in my room so far. I had dinner on the cliffs and enjoyed the sunset outside. It’s a great place to stay, especially when the weather is as great as it was today. Today, I am looking forward to a rather short day and to seeing Vegar who guided our ski trip across Greenland four years ago.

Day 8: Viksdalen-Måløy (116 km)

After some very nice days in the mountains, today I wanted to go back to the coast – specifically to Florø. From here I wanted to take a boat to Måløy. This boat only leaves once a day, at 16:05. According to Google Maps, it was 94 kilometres from my starting point, Viksdalen, to Florø by car. But the car route includes a tunnel which is prohibited, so I estimated around 100 kilometres including the detour around the tunnel. 

I normally set my alarm to seven o’clock, snooze it once, then eat breakfast in my tent, start packing, take down the tent and leave at nine. And I thought seven hours should be enough for 100 kilometres, including breaks, without stress. 

So I left Viksdalen and had first a very nice ride along or above lake Haukedalsvatnet up to a mountain pass. From there it was a long downhill ride to Førde. I had planned to take a longer break here after forty kilometres, but then I thought, I rather get closer to Florø first so that I’m really sure I won’t have to stress. 

So I continued along the Førdefjord which was a very nice ride. I saw a sea eagle from very close distance – it launched from a rock and crossed the road right in front of my nose. Unfortunately, I had just switched off my GoPro, so no good footage. 

After a bit more than fifty kilometres, I reached the no-go tunnel and turned right to go around. Not only was this detour much longer than I had expected, it also included a mountain pass with 500 metres altitude difference which I had not foreseen. So I lost a lot of time and had to start calculating if I would reach the boat. My conclusion was that it was going to be very tight, so I decided not to take any more breaks and just go. 

Getting closer to Florø, I counted down the kilometres, and it seemed like I would make it by just five minutes. Of course, we had west wind, so that was slowing me down a bit, and those five minutes started to melt away. Finally, I arrived at the pier at 16:03 – two minutes before the boat left – woohoo! I thought I could celebrate with a beer or at least a svele (western Norwegian kind of pancake), but they didn’t serve anything on board. So I had to eat some potato crisps from my supplies instead. 

When the boat arrived at Måløy, I decided to eat dinner at a restaurant instead of freeze-dried dinner in my tent. I found a nice Thai restaurant and had a good dinner and a beer there before I continued for another ten kilometres just so that the day will be a bit shorter tomorrow. My camp tonight is not the nicest – it’s on a resting place close to the main road, but I was too tired to go any further today. The place where I hope I can stay tomorrow on the other hand will be pretty amazing, I believe. Coming back to that tomorrow. 

Yesterday, I didn’t have time to write a blog entry because I used all afternoon to review my GoPro files and make the first video (see link below). Here comes the recap of both yesterday and today. 

Day 6: Kvanndal (Hardangerfjord)-Myrkdalen (70 km)

As expected, it was raining in the morning. It took me a bit longer to get out of my sleeping bag, but eventually, I got up because I wanted to get at least half way to the Sognefjord.

The first ten kilometres were actually dry, but then it started raining again. It wasn’t a lot first, but it was raining constantly. At Voss the rain became heavier, so I took a longer break at a petrol station. I ordered a waffle and got a waffle – with brown cheese (Norwegian type of goat cheese – for non-Norwegians). 

After the waffle and a hot chocolate, I continued towards Myrkdalen, but before, I had to take another hot chocolate break at Vinje. From here it was only uphill to Myrkdalen, which is a ski resort in winter and quite deserted in summer – except for the huge Chinese group who came right after I had arrived. 

I set up my tent right at the bottom of the ski slopes and got out of my wet clothes. Then I packed my GoPro and iPhone and went to a big hotel which was close by. Here I ordered apple pie and another hot chocolate with a massive amount of cream and started to look through my videos. I soon figured out that this would take a while, so I had two beers in the meantime, too. Since it was warm, dry and comfy there, I stayed for dinner as well. The result of my film editing you find here. 

(Day 7 recap below the pictures)

Day 7: Myrkdalen-Viksdalen via Sognefjord (105 km)
When I woke up, I thought there was a hint of sunshine on my tent. But that must have been wishful thinking, because when I got out of the tent, it was just as grey with very low-hanging clouds as the day before. When I started cycling, it actually started raining lightly again. 

The first part of today’s ride took me through a very nice green valley which reminded me a bit of Iceland, and then up a mountain pass. Here I soon reached areas with snow fields again, and I could enjoy a very nice view over the valley I had come through. 

From the pass the route stayed up between 900 and 1000 metres for a while before it went over into a very long descent towards Vik at the Sognefjord. Here I stopped for some grocery shopping and a coffee before I continued to the ferry harbour at Vingsnes. From here I took the ferry across the Sognefjord to Dragsvik. 

The rest of the day, I hadn’t quite planned. My aim was to cycle another 40-50 kilometres so that I would have a chance to reach the west coast tomorrow. After a flat start along the fjord towards Vetlefjorden, the road continued into the mountains again, and I believe this was the longest pass so far. 

On top of the pass, there is a viewing platform called “Utsikten”. A nice Norwegian couple was applauding for me from the car right before I got up there. I asked them to take some photos of me and had some chocolate here before I continued down again on the other side. Strangely, while it was half sunny, half cloudy on the side I came up, it started raining instantly on the other side. It rained quite heavily for the next five kilometres, but then the rain got lighter again. It was only downhill from here, so I continued for another 30 kilometres and stopped in a small village called Viksdalen. Here I found a Joker convenience store right before it closed. And I found a convenient spot for my tent right next to the store behind a football cage. 

I have got approximately 100 kilometres to go to the coast, so I think I will reach it at Florø tomorrow. The weather forecast is good. 

Haukeliseter-Kvanndal/Hardangerfjord (118 km)

First of all, the three course dinner yesterday evening at Haukeliseter, accompanied by a wine package, was really nice. And the visit incl. dinner and breakfast was rather affordable as well. So Haukeliseter can be recommended. 

The best thing was when I discovered that there was smoke coming out of a small hut by the lake – a sauna! I only found it at half past nine, and they were going to close at ten, but there was still time for two rounds in the sauna and two jumps into the lake. ​​​Click for YouTube video

In the morning, Haukeliseter showed itself from its best side once more. But I had to leave because I had a long ride ahead of me. 

There were a couple of tunnels on the way today which were prohibited for bicycles. And that means I had to cross a mountain pass instead. The first one was not too bad – it was 1100 metres high, but I started at over 900 already. 

Then I had a long descent down to Røldal at 400 metres. From here I had to go over the pass next to the Røldal ski centre at almost 1100 metres again, so that was a long and tough climb. 

From the top I had a great view over the Folgefonna glacier, the third biggest in Norway. It was a long ride down to Odda then which is located at a side arm of the Hardanger fjord. My goal was to take a ferry to the other side of the fjord, so I had 45 kilometres still to go. 

Half way to the ferry, I stopped at a supermarket to buy some food and drinks. And when I came back to my bike, I suddenly saw that the luggage rack on the back of my bike was loose. It was hanging down in a strange angle, so I had to fix it. This took me about thirty minutes. I originally had good time to catch the ferry which goes only once an hour, but suddenly, I was in a hurry. I raced the last 22 kilometres as fast as i could and reached the ferry one and a half minute before it left. 

Before we reached the other side, I already spotted a nice park where I decided to set up my tent for the night. Tomorrow the weather forecast predicts quite a lot of rain. My plan would normally be to continue to the Sognefjord. But that would be a 115 kilometres’ ride, and I’m not sure if I’m up for that in rainy weather. I am one day ahead of my original schedule, so I might take it easy tomorrow. 

Bykle-Haukeliseter (84 km)

The sun was shining on my tent when my alarm rang at seven o’clock this morning. Although it was becoming quite warm in the tent, I preferred to stay on my comfortable Exped mat which can be turned into a chair, and have breakfast inside. 

The bike ride started with a small uphill stretch and then a rather flat part. After 25 kilometres, I reached Hovden – a ski resort in the winter. Here I had a short coffee break and bought new freeze-dried dinners in a sports store. They didn’t have Real Turmat, so I have to try Summit To Eat instead. 

From Hovden there was a bit more uphill to go before I started a long descent down to Haukeli. Here I turned left on route E134 towards Haugesund, which had a bit more traffic than the E9 I was on before (but not too bad).

From Haukeli it was a steady ascent up towards Haukeliseter fjellstue, the mountain lodge where I am staying tonight. 10 kilometres before my goal, the main road went into a tunnel. So I had to take the pass over the mountain instead. I was rewarded by a beautiful landscape with the Kjelavatn lake to my feet and mountains with single snowfields all around. I took quite many stops to take pictures today. 

Back on the main road I cycled the last few kilometres to Haukeliseter, which is located at Ståvatn – another beautiful lake. I will sleep in a regular bed tonight and it seems like I have the room for myself as well. Since it is Friday, I already enjoyed a Radler/Alster (beer with sprite) in the sun. And I am very much looking forward to a three course dinner with pheasant as main course tonight (guess a red wine goes well with the bird).

Day 3: Byglandsfjorden-Bykle (107 km)

The night was a bit rainy after all, but luckily in the morning it was dry and only overcast. I continued my journey on the west side of the Byglandsfjord. It was a very nice, woody road with literally no traffic at all (I met one car on the first 20 kilometres). I saw a very pretty woodpecker from close distance, but couldn’t get my GoPro camera running so quickly. 

After 40 kilometres along the fjord, I reached a village called Osa. I went to the local grocery store (Coop marked) and enjoyed a free coffee and a little chat with two gentlemen. The lady who worked there told me that there are five (!) people who live in Osa. But they have a grocery store!

The whole trip today took me through the beautiful Setesdal valley – always next to the fjord or following the Otra river. My lunch break was in Rysfjord where they have a petrol station. Circle K has “always a wiener for 10 kroner”, so easy choice for main course 1 and 2, accompanied by some fruit and kefir drink. 

My goal today was to reach Bykle, so that I have a manageable distance for tomorrow’s mountain stage to Haukeliseter. The last kilometres to Bykle at almost 600 metres above sea level were quite a climb, too. So I was content when I reached my goal at half past four. 

I set up my tent on a lawn next to the church. It started raining again just before I arrived, but it’s supposed to be nice weather tomorrow. 

Svenevig-Byglandsfjorden (113 km)

I started the day with breakfast in bed because I was too lazy to get out of the tent for it. It was a sunny morning, and I started cycling from Svenevig around 9 o’clock. I first had to pass through Vigeland once more, my starting point from yesterday, and then further north on road 460. 

After a bit more than 3 kilometres, however, I noticed that I wasn’t wearing my gloves. So I figured that I must have either forgotten them at my tent spot or put somewhere on the bike when I left and lost them on the way. I returned to my camp, but they were not there. Nor did I find them lying on the road somewhere, so it seems like I have to buy a pair of new ones eventually. Fortunately, it wasn’t a more vital thing I lost, so I continued cycling without. 

I cycled through a sunny and wide U-shaped valley after I passed Vigeland towards Sveindal. (Quiz question for geology nerds: If a valley is U-shaped, is it formed by a glacier or a river?) The last bit up to Sveindal was quite steep, so the name (valley) was misleading really. From here I continued on road 42 which started with an even longer and higher slope. Although I have most of the climb up to Haukeliseter (at 1000 metres) still ahead of me, I got a little taste today of the terrain to come. 

At Evje I had a little pit stop. One of the parts which link my panniers to the front wheel had broken. The second one actually. In order to fix it I had to borrow a pair of pliers. (Udo told me I should have them in my luggage, so now I agree.) Luckily, Evje also had a building supplies store, so now I’ve got my own pliers and some extra screwdrivers (of which I only need one really, but they are super-light).

Finally, I arrived at Byglandsfjorden and found another nice spot for my tent here. When I opened my bags to prepare dinner, I found out that I had had a small “eggcident.” I bought this plastic container for six eggs because I thought it would be very nice to have eggs and bacon for breakfast from time to time. Well, two of them were broken and the container was not quite egg-yolk-proof. Fortunately, almost everything else was packed in small plastic bags. So after a small cleaning job, everything is fine again. 

It is half past eight and I will go back to my tent soon. There are some few raindrops falling, so I set up my tent rainproof tonight. The forecast for tomorrow is still OK though, so I hope there will be no more rain. I have around 190 kilometres to go to Haukeliseter where I am going to enjoy a nice three-course dinner in two days (which is after all even better than the Real Turmat chicken with lime I had tonight). My plan is to cycle a bit more than 100 kilometres tomorrow, so that I will have a slightly shorter day on Friday.