CVE 2402- The Viking Experience goes on again!!
The first riding day of this beautiful tour is here. And of course it wouldn't be Norway if we didn't get a bit fresh rain in the morning but after an our temperatures were going up and we had a very pleasant riding day!. Leaving Alesund in eastern direction brought us to the road down to the first ferry ride of this tour and on the other side we had a relaxed lunch. Then it was time to ride to Hellsylt where the famous Geirangerfjord cruise was waiting for us. And after embarked we quickly rushed to the sundeck where we had a great view at this gorgeous fjord. Then disembarking again and the group rode as one snake up the Eagles road (Ornesvegen) to get an excellent view on the deep fjord down. Then a short climb up and we arrived at our gorgeous hotel. A very nice dinner concluded this excellent first riding day in the land of the trolls
Second day on the bikes turns out to be a wonderful riding day again!. Starting from Geiranger, climbing up to the highest reachable viewing point by motorised traffic, we were astonished by the fantastic 360 degrees view from the Dalsnibba, as the mountain is called. Then followed our way down towards the next fjord area and we were stopping for a coffee and a relaxed half an hour sitting in the sun. Over the little town of Stryn we headed towards the Invikken fjord with amazing views like Jurassic park (without the dino's) There at the waterfront our chef Eugne prepared us a bbq picnic. Very well done! After this nice intermezzo we followed our way down to Sogndal with (again!) a nice little wooden hotel at the waterfront. Great riding day !
Today is going to be great. Today we are riding on the moon. Thats what I call this mountainpass, others call it Aurlandsvegen. The road is fantastic, barely any traffic. The views are stunning. The road leads us to the Stegastein viewpoint with its magnificent view over the Aurlandsfjord. We continue our ride to the first coffestop in Flàm. A cruiseship parks next to us. Weather is beautiful. Unfortunately this changes after the stop. Still we continue over a narrow Road next to a stunning blue lake. We grab some food at the lake Vangsvatnet and head directly to Bergen following a river, which carved it's way through the rock, as it's pouring liquid sunshine. Still, the day was great.
It is going to rain the whole day. Still we choose the long route. The route for today leads us all the way up the Hardangerfjord through the tunnels with the roundabouts over the famous Hardangerbridge. It starts in a tunnel and ends in a tunnel. We follow the fjord down south and pass the amazing Latefossen. On one side we are stunned by the waterfalls on the left followed directly by the spray of the waterfall on the right. Just a couple of minutes later we pass the Langfossen. It is getting late afternoon and we are still on our way to catch the ferry to cross over the E39 to Stavanger. In the evening we finally make it to Sola Strand Hotel. Long, freezing and wet day. It was worth every minute.
We split the group in two. Those who want to hike the Preikestolen, and those who want to ride. The first group heads directly to Preikstolen. A 2 hour hike (oneway) is waiting for them. The second group has planned to see the Preikestolen from the ferry below. On a beautiful small little road we are rushing to get to the ferry. It is already full. We cannot take it. Lucky us. We can ride the same road again, but this time we are not in a hurry, so we can enjoy every corner of it. On our way back we explore another little road going up the hill. We are rewarded with a great view over the thousands of islands. What a nice hidden gem! As the day is still young, we stop in Stavanger for a nice shrimp sandwich.
Our highlight of today is Lysebotn. So this is where we are heading first. Some of us stay in the cafè up on the cliff, others take the 27 hairpins down to the fjord. It it beautiful from all of its angles.We continue on a small narrow road to Vradal. It is packed with cars, trucks and goats. They must be used to all kinds of vehicles, because the simply don't care about anyone or anything aproaching them. We are about cruising along a beatiful landscape, only to the discover the Edelweiss luggage van on a beautiful parking spot. Tourguide Tom prepared some burgers and sandwiches! Todays ride is ending by following a curvy road alongside a long lake until we finally arrive in Vradal.