Crasher goes North: Trolls don't like the rain

Map of Day 16

Thursday 30th July 2015

I had slept well. There was a small stream that trickled past the side of our hytte and out to the fjord at the end of the campsite. It was a very soothing sound, that soon had me drifting off to sleep. Unfortunately, it was now having a different effect as my bladder alarm clock now had an accompanying soundtrack.

I walked back from the shower and toilet block to find Stuart adjusting his chain with my shiny new breaker bar. Cheeky wotsit! We all got packed up, and hit the road. The old man who ran the Gammelsetra Camping site, waved us on our way.

Todays ride was not going to be that far in kilometres. But, the nature of the roads and fact that we would be making a few stops meant that it could be just as long as yesterday. We had two chices for the first part of the route. Either we could ride back to Molde and catch a ferry across the fjord, or we could ride all the way round. As the ferries only sailed once an hour, we all opted for the latter.

Leaving the campsite we headed into Eidsvag, and fueled up. The nice older lady behind the counter, was trying to serve us at the till, and cook a burger for a truck driver who had stopped for breakfast. I pointed out the smoke coming from the hotplate, and she rushed to save the flame grilled burger! She apologised for keeping me waiting.

"Det er ikke problem", I said. One of the few phrases in Norwegian I knew. I then thanked her as she gave me my change. I quick " Ha det bra", and I was done. As, I was walking out the door she smiled and thanked me for speaking a little Norwegian. In perfect English!

We left Eidsvag, and set off along the shore of Langfjord. It lived up to its name, as it certainly was 'Lang'. There was low lying cloud obscuring the true scale of the mountains either side. But, it was still a stunning ride.

Small red painted, wooden farm buildings littered the shore. It was a very calm, and peaceful start to the day. It was the sort of Norway I could imagine living in.

After circumnavigating the fjord, the road started to climb up and over the mountains into the next valley. We were now entering the cloud line. The road began to get wet and slippery, especially in the tight, polished hairpin corners. Stuart was beginning to struggle. His rear tyre was past its best having ridden from the north of England, all the way to Greece, and then around Norway. His traction control must of been working overtime.

Across the summit the visibility was down to 50 metres. But, as we descended into the next valley and down to the shore of the Romsdalsfjord the misty rain began to thin out.

Here we joined the 64 to Andalsnes. Up ahead a ferry was just docking. This is the one we would of caught, if we had decided to take that option this morning.

Unfortunately, the ferry had managed to unload its cargo of tourist coaches and motorhomes just in front of us. This meant we were forced to settle in and follow them along the meandering fjord roads for a while.

There were lots of touring cyclists along this stretch of road. It looked like hard going for some of them as the rain came down again.

A series of roadworks slowed our progress just before Isfjorden. Heavy rain had caused landslides and road-crews were busy clearing the road. But, this left the surface covered in a thick layer of slippery mud.

We pulled in to a service station in Andalsnes ( a Statoil with nothing of note in the lady department! ), for our morning coffee break. It was cold this morning, and we were all ready for a warming cup of enthusiasm.

We met a group of Romanian riders on big modern bikes. They too had also decided this would be a good spot to shelter for a while. They were taking a similar route to us, and we ended up meeting them at various points throughout the day. They were a nice bunch of guys. But, they were fed up with all the rain. They had ridden for five days from Romania, in constant rain. They made jokes about the "British Weather", before they headed off on their way. After warming up with a coffee and a hotdog, we set off after them.

 The 64 continued around the shoreline of Andalsnesfjord, twisting its way through little tunnels. There were groups of tourist traffic to contend with but we soon picked them off, and were set free on the flowing roads.

We then turned off the 64, on to the 63 tourist route. The rain was beginning to ease off just as we approached the bottom of the first mountain pass.

Once round a tight left hand hairpin, the road hugged the bank of a fast flowing river. I was beginning to recognise the scene opening out in front of me. It was one I had seen many times from the travel sites and internet searches during my research for this trip.

Here, enveloped in a blanket of mist was the Trollstigvegen. Ranked as the most popular piece of tourist road in Norway, it must be on every motorcyclists bucket list. The "Trolls Ladder" is also the subject of many local historical stories, and folktales.

Eleven tight, steeply banked hairpin bends, climbed up the mountain side in front of us. Halfway up stood the little narrow bridge perched on the rocks in front of the powerful Stigfossen waterfall.

After stopping to take some photos at the bottom, with much anticipation we set off to the top.

The first thing I noticed was how narrow the road was. Hundreds of tourist coaches drive up and down this road every day. I didn't really fancy meeting one on its way down, especially on a corner.

The hairpins were tight. I was down to first gear for most of them. The wet road surface wasn't helping matters either. A few bumbling motorhomes pulled over for us to pass where they could, which was nice of them. Just before the cloud line, I pulled over to take a picture of the road below. Somehow the mist added to the drama of the whole place. Was a troll waiting for us just out of sight? I didn't spot one under the bridge!

At the top of the Trollstigvegen a large tourist centre and café has been built. We pulled in to find our new Romanian friends parked up. There was a walkway out to a viewing point over the valley below. Lots of tourists were taking "ironic selfie" photos in front of the wall of mist, out on the viewing platform. The café was packed with people sheltering from the weather, as was the gift shop.

I bought a troll sticker for my bike. I also asked Stuart to take a photo of me with the troll outside the gift shop. It was the closest thing I could find to a real one! I overheard a young mum tell her little girl that she wouldn't see a troll today because they don't like the rain. I don't blame them!

We left the ever increasing crowd behind at the tourist centre, and headed for our next stop, Geirangerfjord. The road began to wind its way down the mountainside, but this time in a more gentle, winding manner.

Once below the mist, the view of the valley in front of us was beautiful. It was like riding through a tunnel, with a cloud roof. Tiny turf roofed cottages were dotted along the sides of the road. Some of them were holiday homes to lets. It would be a great place to stay.

At the end of the valley the road narrowed and began to follow a white water river. A carpark full of tourist coaches signaled our arrival at the Gudbrandsjuvet. This is another popular tourist attraction. I don't know where all the tourist were though, unless they were sheltering in the very modern looking, glass fronted café. There were also a small hotel here with rooms overlooking the falls.

The Gudbrandsjuvet is a 5 metre narrow and 20–25 metre high ravine through which the Valldøla River forces itself. The waters have formed a complex of deep potholes and intricate formations. The depth down from the surface of the water is about equal to the depth of ravine down to the river.

According to a story from the 1500’s, the ravine was named after a man called Gudbrand, who ran off with his new bride and saved himself from his angry pursuers by jumping over the ravine at its narrowest point. Gudbrand was declared an outlaw for his deeds, and lived the rest of his life in a stone hut in one of the side-valleys above Gudbrandsjuvet.

The roar from the water was phenomenal. As I pulled into the carpark, I could hear the sound of the water above my exhaust note. An impressive iron and stainless steel walkway led from the carpark, weaving its way over the falls and between the trees. There was some serious power in the icy water below our feet.

I didn't spot the owner, but there was a cool looking  Honda café racer in the carpark when we got back to our bikes. I noticed it had a GoPro camera mounted on the front to catch all the action. It looked like a lot of fun.

As we got to Valldal, every village had little roadside stalls selling strawberries. They were everywhere. It seemed to be the Nordic centre for strawberry production. The sheltered valley must provide the right conditions, despite the altitude.

The white water of the river was providing a bit of fun for an adventurous few, too. The water must of been freezing!

Every few kilometres we would end up looking at a view like this. There were lots of solid lines down the middle of the road, so we ended up sat behind them for long stretches of this road.

But, we were soon able to get going again, and enjoy the road and the scenic views.

At Eidsdal a short ferry crossing took us to the other side of the fjord. The ferry was just arriving as we pulled up. A few minutes later we were waved aboard by the crew.

The rain returned as we reached the other side and started climbing up the mountain roads of Ornevegen. Near the top we entered a tunnel which took us through to the next valley.

Here the rain had stopped. The weather was so localised, it must be a nightmare for the weather forecasters. Every valley had different weather.

Ten kilometres later we got our first sight of the Geirangerfjord. We pulled into the carpark of the viewing area. I had read in my guidebook that there was a better view from a clearing 150 metres along a footpath.

The guidebook was right. We found the clearing. And there in the  distance, just visible through mist was the fjord. A young Norwegian couple had followed us along to the clearing. They asked me to take some photos of them in front of the view, and insisted they took some of me.

Another kilometer from the carpark was another viewpoint. This was right at one of the tight hairpin bends, on the road down to the fjord. Everyone was just parking up at the side of the road, so we did the same.

From here you got a full impression of the immense scale of the fjord. Huge cruise ships and ferries looked like toys as they passed by metres below.

Several coaches had deposited their Northern English contents at this viewpoint. It was a selfie frenzy, before they were rounded up by the tour guides, crammed back on the coaches again, and driven off to their next location. I was thankful for our freedom to explore the sights as we wanted, rather than being told what to do. It is not my kind of holiday.

We bumped into some of the Romanian riders here. The rest of their group had carried on the Geiranger village, at the bottom of the valley. That was our next stop.

The road down to Geiranger was another steep, twisty hairpin infested delight. Some unlucky tourist got it wrong though. He had either pulled over to take photos, or to let a larger vehicle passed. His Vivaro van had two wheels on the road, and the other two stuck down a very deep ditch. The van was nearly at the point of rolling over. It was going to take a bit of effort to get it back on the road!

We pulled up in Geiranger, and parked near the ferry terminal. Mark and I went to explore the tourist shops to see what lovely things we could waste our money on. Stuart and Alison went for a wander on their own.

Geiranger has expanded for one reason. Tourist spending. There was so much crap on sale it was amazing. It seems that sticking a Norwegian flag or a troll emblem on any item, instantly transforms it into an object of desire!

I did spot something that caught my eye. A future Mrs. Crasher contestant selling tickets for a local open top, bus tour. I thought better than to ask if that referred to her or the bus! Judging be the seedy looking bunch of men boarding the bus, they were thinking the same thing. Mark then pointed out that I was just as seedy looking. Cheeky wotsit!

I settled for a coffee and a chocolate bar. One of the large cruise ships moored in the fjord sounded its fog horn. This appeared to be the " Get back on the ship, it's time to go" signal. With that, more groups of Northern English pensioners, stopped fondling the tourist tat in the shops, and waddled back to the ship.

I realised I had not used up my daily icecream allowance, yet. So, I found a icecream stand and bought a 99. I think my new friend had his eye on it though!

Suitably refreshed, we got back on our bikes for the last stretch of riding for today. We were heading roughly in the direction of Bergen, which is where we were hoping to stop tomorrow night. For now, our plan was to ride for another hour or so, and then find a campsite for the night.

We climbed out of Geirangerfjord, and headed for Dalsnibba. The road took us past all the expensive hotels on our way out of the village. The road was steep, with lots of hairpin bends. To add to the challenge, many of the corners were covered with diesel dropped by the tourist coaches. There were lots of guided cycle tours operating on this side of the fjord. It looked fun riding down. It probably wasn't so much fun riding up.

Soon we were climbing back up into the mist and cloud again. Visibility was far from ideal on the treacherous road ahead.

If the weather had been dry. I had originally wanted to ride along the 258,known as Gamle Stynefjellsvegen. This is a 27 kilometer long scenic gravel road. But, it was not to be. So, we took the main FV15 road instead. The FV15 started in a huge snowy valley before entering a series of long tunnels.

Occasionally there was huge walls of snow. We stopped in front of a couple. The first one was a bit lame. The next few were better.

Such is the altitude, and the all year round temperature, much of this snow is permanent. The roads were clear though, so we had no problem riding our bikes.

At one of the bigger walls of snow, I stopped to take a selfie. Mark thought he would try and "photobomb" the shot. I nearly dropped my phone as he tripped and nearly fell flat on his face!

The road continued and the next thirty kilometres were filled with huge frozen lakes. Even though it looked cold, the temperature was around 10 degrees celsius. We got to the small town of Stryn, and stopped at a supermarket for supplies. A quick look on my map showed that may be some campsites nearby on the FV60.

I led the way, and at a small town called Loen we stopped at Lo-Vik Camping. Here we found two hytte just across the road from a large fjord. The hytte were the usual fair. Clean, warm and cosy. The shower and toilet block was state of the art though, using keyfob readers to activate everything.

Tomorrow we head towards Bergen. Hopefully the rain will have stopped.

Here is part 14 of my vlog:

Crasher goes North: The Atlanterhavsvegen

Map of Day 15

Wednesday 29th July 2015

Any internet search, travel brochure, or motoring magazine that has an article about the Atlantic Road, recommends it as being an amazing driving or riding experience. Voted "Norwegian Construction of the Century" on September the 27th 2005, and ranked first on The Guardian's list of the world's best road trips, it is the second most popular scenic road in Norway.

Little did we know when we set of this morning, that today would be one of the most disappointing days riding of the whole trip.

It was the usual routine first thing. We rode back into Namsos to pick up the FV17 which would take us south towards Trondheim. As we passed the Co-Op, I gave the scene of yesterdays mishap a long hard stare. There was a fuel station just before the junction we needed, so we all pulled in to fuel up.

And, it was a Shell fuel station! Mark had been in to pay for his fuel, and gave me a knowing smile as I met him on my way into the shop.

There she was. With the opening chords of " I'm gonna love you, just a little bit more Baby" by Barry White playing in my head, I sauntered over to the counter. The stunning, tall, slim , brunette, future Mrs Crasher, smiled a smile that instantly removed my ability to both walk and speak! I turned and fumbled with the chocolate bar display to try and regain my composure. Descended back into a teenager by this raven haired goddess, I somehow summoned up enough control of my faculties to pay for my fuel and the random chocolate bar I was now holding.

She was lovely. Her name was Syra. She asked where I was from, and where we were all going. I somehow resisted saying " Anywhere she wanted to take me". She wished me well for the rest of my trip, and I floated back to my bike on a cloud of giddy happiness.

The ride from Namsos began by crossing and then following a large fjord and river inlet. The FV17 then turned inland across alpine-like valleys. The traffic was light and we were making good progress. Today was going to be quite a long day in the saddle, so we could do without any unnecessary hold ups.

We caught up with a group of Norwegian riders on Harleys, who were just cruising along behind a long line of traffic. We started picking our way past, waving at the bikers while doing so.  A little further up the queue, A Danish rider on an old BMW K1100, took offence at Mark, and Stuart overtaking. He was making hand gestures as if they were crazy for doing so. Stuart told me later that he thought the guy was cleaning his visor. I decide to give this guy a wide berth as I pass him, giving him a biker wave as I did so. He repeatedly flashes his headlight at me as I pull back in front of him. I didn't see what his problem was. We were not cutting anyone up, and doing anything dangerous. Anyway, we left him behind and carried on our way.

After about an hour the road turned into a super highway. Fresh tarmac and brand new tunnels carved their way across the valleys and around the fjords. It was like they knew we were coming.

But, it didn't last for long. Large sections of road-works signified the end of the new road, and we were soon back on the older stuff. The road was still nice and flowing. There was also minimal traffic to spoil our fun.

At Steinkjer, the FV17 rejoined the E6 to Trondheim. This was not a fun piece of road, and our journey became very tedious. This section of the E6 was a toll road, controlled by average speed cameras. It was free for motorcycles. I would not of wanted to pay to ride this tortuous piece of highway. 80kph for an hour, stuck behind the other traffic due to a large concrete central barrier preventing overtaking.

Once we got to Trondheim at least the occasional nice looking bridge distracted me from the monotony. Trondheim looked like a nice city to visit. Unfortunately, our schedule didn't allow it.

Heading out of the city, the concrete barrier turned into a steel one. It was more of the same. The stretches of barrier were shorter though, and a few corners were thrown in as the road neared the coast of the fjord. I spotted lots of Tesla electric cars. A sure sign we were near a large city.

The road continued as toll road for another 10kms. At least tractors were banned, so as not to hold up the traffic. It flowed pretty well though, with most drivers sticking bang on to the 80kph limit.

But, when the barrier disappeared, we all made the most of our opportunity to make progress.

It was just after 11am by the time we got free from the city. As we approached Hell ( a small village just south of Trondheim visited by tourist purely because of its name ), we pulled over at a shopping complex for a coffee stop. We were all glad to get off the bikes for a while, after the morning we had experienced.

We sat and relaxed with a coffee and the disgusting cake of our choice in the central concourse of the shopping mall, and watched the world go by.

I noticed that there was a Biltema store upstairs from where we were sat. I went for a quick look around. Biltema stores are amazing. I had heard about them from Greg. The sell pretty much everything from car and motorcycle spares, household and decorating supplies, BBQ's and garden furniture, to horse tack. If you can't buy it in a Biltema store, you probably don't need it.

What I was looking for were tools. I had enough tools with me to get me out of trouble and carry out any repairs I might have on this trip. I noticed yesterday that my chain was feeling a little loose. Not that surprising seeing amount of miles I had ridden. So, when we stopped at Namsos, I attempted to tighten my chain ready for todays ride.

I took out my brand new extending ratchet to slacken off the rear spindle nut.......And it broke! Balls! Hopefully, Biltema would have something a bit more manly to do the job. I found the tool section of the store. There was everything from huge 68mm ring spanners, to tiny jewelers screwdriver sets. I spied a 1/2" drive, 16" long breaker bar for 160NOK. Sold!








We exited Hell, through a tunnel. A bright white light from the far side drew us towards the E39 to Kristiansund.

The E39 was a refreshing change from the E6 we had ridden this morning. It climbed for 10kms as it twisted its way up the side of a tree lined valley. It was a bit slow to start off with due to the speed limits. But, once free from the inhabited areas, the road became a ribbon of fast, flowing, traffic free, brand new tarmac.

I was now leading our little trio and was loving every minute of it. I frequently lost the view of the others headlights from my mirrors and had to slow down a little. The views across the valley began to open up, and eventually the road ended at Halsafjord. It was a short ferry ride across the fjord and on to Kristiansund. The sky was beginning to cloud over, so I put on my waterproof jacket just in case. It would be just our luck to get to the Atlantic road, and not be able to see anything due to rain.

There was quite a bit of traffic to clear in the town centre. It didn't bother us for long and we soon the 64 to Molde. The Atlantic Road.

The road began with a six kilometer long tunnel under the sea to Bremsnos. And, shortly after we came to a toll booth. Usually road tolls are free to motorcycles, but not this one. 61NOK each plus 15NOK for Alison to ride the 8kms of scenic road, and the 20kms of tedium leading to it!

Tedium because it was a only a 50kph speed limit dropping to 40kph in the villages along the way. The road was inundated with campervans and motorhomes, all heading in the same direction as us. The light misty rain which had begun just before Kristiansund, was easing off. This was perfect timing, as we were just about to start the scenic part of the road.

I rode the whole length of the scenic section before turning around and riding back to take photos. I met the others on my way back. They had stopped just after the Storseisundbrua, to take a few selfies. The Storseisundbrua is the main bridge you will see in all the tourist photos. It is an engineering marvel. A humpback bridge with a twist in it. It is a great piece of modern architecture.

I parked up at the visitors centre next to the bridge. A metal walkway has been built from there around one of the rocky escarpments, so that tourists can get a full view of the main bridges. I took a walk round to take some photographs. But, apart from the main bridge, the rest was a little disappointing.

I caught up with the others at a coffee shop at the other end of the scenic road. I needed a hot cup of coffee to warm up. The temperature had dropped in the last half on hour or so. We discussed how disappointed we were with this road. None of us would recommend it, unless it was something you had to tick off your bucket list.

Suitably refreshed, we get back on our way. We ride the rest of the 64, before picking up the E39 and the 62 to Eidsvag. Here we are hoping to stay at one of Greg's suggested campsites. We cannot find the site we are after. We do find a site there, but it is now larger holiday cottages. There is no answer from the reception either. We ride on a little further, but there is nothing.

Stuart is feeling a little anxious as we are travelling too far in the wrong direction. I spotted a small campsite with hyttes on the way in to Eidsvag, so we decide to head there.

The site is run by an old man in his seventies. He doesn't speak much English, but we communicate well enough by pointing and nodding. It is cash only, and he has two small hyttes available for 250NOK each. We are not expecting much as they were half the price we had been paying elsewhere. But they were fine for one night. They were tiny wooden huts with pointy roofs, and décor from the late 1970's. The whole site was a bit run down, but in a great location by the side of a fjord. You could see that it must of been very popular at one time though.

Before settling in for the evening, I used my new breaker bar, and adjusted my chain. I checked my oiler for level too. But, that was fine even after 2500mls.

Tomorrow should be another epic day, as we ride to the Trollstigen and Geiranger Fjord.

Here is part 13 of my vlog: