Travelling in public transport with a bicycle can be a hassle. Not in Germany and Denmark. I have to change trains all the time and sometimes there are delays but at the end of the day I have covered all the way from Holland to Northern Denmark. I have decided not to cycle all the way from my home in Holland to the the Nordkapp but to begin the journey in Southern Norway. So I am able to be in my beloved mountain landscapes as much as possible before heading northward to the Nordkapp.

It is one o'clock in the middle of the night as I reach Hjørring. Trains are not going further northward to Hirtshals where the ferry to Norway is leaving. I get out of the train to look for a place to sleep.

Hjørring by night is quite a miserable place. There are only men on the streets, all drunk. I decide not to search for a hotel but to cycle in the direction of Hirtshals. Maybe I find a good place to camp in the wild. I find a place to sleep on top of a hill. After a short sleep I wake up and in the early morning light I cycle the last kilometers to Hirtshals. I am much too early so I have to wait a few hours in the cold, windy harbour before I can leave. I am freezing there for hours so I decide to take the first ferry which goes to Stavanger rather than to wait an additional four hours for the ferry to Kristiansand.

So eight hours later I am in the center of Stavanger, the city of timbered houses. I have read that Stavanger has the most wooden houses of any European town. This is a good place to start the journey.

Day 1: Stavanger - Tau - Jørpeland - Preikestolen - Preikestolhytta 26 km

After the cycling journey in the Indian Himalayas with my friends Willem Hoffmans and Jeroen van Meijgaarden last year, this time I will cycle mostly alone. In Trondheim I will meet my friends Menno Faber and Klaartje Arntzen to cycle a few days together but the rest of the trip will be a solo experience. This will be my first solo trip since my adventures in South America in 2003.

The journey begins with... another ferry! Great blue skies cover the blue sea. An old man tells me that two farmers make their living on the tiny island to the right. A ferry goes to the little island twice a day. An interesting landscape with islands, fjords and vast hill ranges unfolds. Along lots of tiny islands the ferry finds its way to the village of Tau. To the east the hills will become higher and higher. Deep fjords cut through the mountains and hills and high plains. Today I want to cycle from Tau to the Preikestolhytta, from where it is possible to walk to the famous Preikestolen, a gigantic rock cliff above the Lysefjord.

After leaving the ferry in Tau, I cycle along the coast to Jørpeland and further to Jossang through green hill landscapes. From Jossang a steep road leads in five kilometers to the Preikestolhytta, the base for the walk to the Preikestolen. I leave my bicycle at the hut, have my first time ever Rømmegrøt dish and start the walk up the 706 meter high Preikestolen.

The weather is exceptionally good. It is nearly thirty degrees and there is no cloud to be seen. It is sunday and lots of Norwegians are also on the way to the Preikestolen. It is a nice hike upward through forested hills. After a few kilometer there is a pass. A first look in the depths below to the Lysefjord is obtained. After crossing the pass the path goes up and down, sometimes there are great views seven hundred meter down in the Lysefjord. Reaching the Preikestolen is a great moment. Hundred men and women are closely packed on a small rock plateau, a dazzling seven hundred meters sheer vertical above the turquoise waters of the lovely Lysefjord. From the Preikestolen there is a view all over the fjord untill the end, fifty kilometer eastward. The sight is a first Norwegian highlight, coming back to the Preikestolhytta, having my second Rømmegrøt dish and camping along the lake are a second and third highlight.

Day 2: Preikesolhytta - Kvalåg - Forsand - Lysebotn - Sirdal 68 km

The view from the Preikestolen was a great taster. Today I will see much more of the Lysefjord. I want to travel to the east in the direction of Setesdal. Another ferry trip will bring me from Forsand to Lysebotn, the end of the Lysefjord. But first I have to cycle down to the Forsand.

A grey layer of clouds is hanging above the mountains and the sea. The road to the Lysefjord passes tiny fishing villages. The main road is quite unpleasant but the backroad along Kvalåg is very scenic. Although I cycle along the sea, the road is winding up and down all the time across small, steep hill ranges. I pass dark forests, open grasslands, small bays along the sea and sometimes I have a glimpse of the higher inland mountains in the east. I meet very nice Swiss cyclists who are heading southward. Together we cycle to the huge bridge over the Lysejord. Here we split again. They are going southward, I am heading eastward. In Forsand I wait for the ferry to Lysebotn.

The ferry to Lysebotn goes through a dazzling vertical world. I see the Preikestolen again, this time from below. Near Lysebotn basejumpers jump nearly thousand vertical meters from a steep cliff down to a small meadow. Lyse is the Norwegian word for light. Today there is a shimmering ethereal light which turns the water into an eerie grey, very unlike the brigh blue turquoise waters of yesterday.

After a few hours the ferry reaches Lysebotn, the end of the fjord. Now the real work begins. In 26 hairpins the road winds up to a view point at 800 meter altitude. There is also a tunnel of a kilometer on the way. All the time the road is ten percent steep. In eight kilometer I climb to the viewpoint. After the viewpoint the road is even steeper. After ten kilometer I am at 1.000 meter high and far above the treeline. The road goes up even further but now less steep. Then I reach the huge Highlands of the Lyseheiene, a great granitic plateau. The landscape is a wild patchwork of bare rocks and grasses and lakes, steep hills and depressions. The High plains are certainly not flat.

The cloud cover is opening now and then. The clouds are hanging only a few meters above the plains. Because of the wind the hazy clouds are chasing over rapidly. As I am cycling eastward the clouds disappear but not the wind. I have to work hard and it is getting late. It is late in the evening as I decend into the Sirdal valley, where I find a nice camping.

Day 3: Sirdal-Valle-Bykle-Hovden-Haukeli 144 km

A breakfast in Norway is a delight. As soon as the shop opens, I buy fresh bread which is full of taste. The salads are good value in Norway too and so are the marmalades. Norwegian cheese tend to be rather dull.

I start the day with an ascent back to the highlands. I have to cross the highlands of the Sirdalsheiene to reach the Setesdal Valley. After 45 minutes I reach the Sirdalsheiene. These are true highlands: flat, wide, endless. Again there is lots of water. Small lakes, big lakes. There is not a place where there is no water to be seen. I am still happy to enjoy the great weather. Again the sky is cloudless. After cycling across the plains, the road goes down to the Setesdal Valley. After a long descent I reach the valley at one o'clock in the afternoon.

The Setesdal Valley runs from the Highlands in a straight line southward to Kristiansand. I follow the valley nortward which means that over a long time I will be climbing a bit. The Setesdal valley is a kilometer wide and is flanked by steep cliffs. The valley is the terrain of pine forests. Once in a while there is a village with surroundings of grasslands and once in a while I pass a lake. Because the valley is low, the temperatures are much higher than on the high plains. It is thirty degrees now, exceptional great weather for Norwegian standards. There are quite strong headwinds which means that my energies are seeping faster than usual. The villages are lovely and there are lots of rest places along the way so I am taking quite some time to rest now and a while. The church of Bykle is a great place to rest. Another time I rest along the river. I enjoy the long day so I do not stop cycling. It is already eveningtime as I reach the highlands between Hovden and Haukeli. The narrow valley makes place for a wide open landscape. There are great views over lonely mountain ranges in the north and the east. That will be my playground for the coming days. First I have to go down steeply to Haukeli. Late in the evening I reach the place where I stay in the camping.

Day 4: Haukeli - Rauland - Rjukan - Austbygdi 123 km

The road starts climbing as soon as I leave Haukeli. I stop at the pass where I am having breakfast. Far below is the Lake of Tatok between steep forested mountains. It is still fresh in the early morning but the sun is warming the air rapidly. As I am finished with my breakfast, it is already warm.

After a few minutes I have descended to the romantic Tatok Lake. There are some small farmer communities along the lake. With the green mountains on the left side and the lake on the right side I proceed in a complete silence. Even the wind is absent. The water of the lake is still. In Rauland I make a stop at a cafe. The waiter hears about my intention to cycle to the Nordkapp and a few minutes later the man who runs the cafe sits at my table. He is very interested in the journey. He is thinking about how to gain clients on this beautiful spot. Strange enough there are surprisingly few tourists passing by on the road and so there is low potential for clients.

After Rauland I climb to a plateau with great views to the higher elevated Hardangervidda highlands. Along the huge Møsvatnet Lake I remain high but then the road goes down steeply into a deep green valley. The road goes down spectacularly to Rjukan on foot of the 1.883 meter towering Gaustatoppen. After Rjukan the road goes down even further to the Tinnsjå Lake. which lies at an elevation of only 200 meter. It is at least thirty degrees as I reach the camping in Austbygdi. The weather is simply too good for Norwegian standards. An hour later a cracking thunderstorm breaks loose on the other side of the lake. We are lucky to have the great views and to miss the shower.

Day 5: Austbygdi - Tessungdalen - Uvdal - Geilo 94 km

The day opens with grey skies but as I have packed my bicycle, the sun has already removed the fog. It is again sunny weather. I am climbing steeply up through the narrow Tessungdalen valley. A nice backroad without traffic is leading through the woods. After an hour I reach a lonely valley with grasslands and a few farms. The valley is at once very wide. I am not too far under the treeline now. There are splendid views to the higher elevated Hardangervidda in the distance. After ten kilometer the road leaves the valley and goes steeply up. Soon I am above the treeline. I reach a flat plateau of bare grasslands. I can see more than hundred kilometers forward now. For the first time I see really high snowcapped mountains, although still far away. This will be the playground for the coming days. First I have to descend a few hundred meters, climb again a few hundred meters and have some minors climbs before I reach Geilo. These last fifty kilometers are not too interesting but are very useful in bringing me closer to the famous Rallarvegen, an unpaved road which crosses the northern Hardangervidda highlands, passes an icecap and goes down towards the Aurlandsfjord.

Day 6: Geilo - Haugastøl - Finse - Flåm 111 km

At the bakery of Geilo I meet two Swiss cyclists. They have finished the Rallarvegen yesterday. We discuss different routes in Norway and South America. After an hour we leave the bakery, they proceed further eastward, I go the opposite direction. In ten kilometer I climb to the highlands and an additional twelve flat kilometers along the Ustevatnet Lake bring me to the start of the Rallarvegen at Haugastêl. The lake is just above the treeline and all the time there are great views over the 1.933 meter high Hallingskarvet Mountain Range.

The Rallarvegen is probably the most famous cycling path of Norway. A ninety kilometer unpaved road crosses the northern Hardangervidda plateau, right along the Hardangerjøkulen Icecap before the road goes down to the Aurlandsfjord. The Rallarvegen was originally used as a construction road for the transport of materials and personal to build the Flømsbanen Railway. Today the road is used by maybe a hundred cyclists on a summer day like this.

The weather will not remain this good however. The forecast says that late in the afternoon or evening bad weather will arrive in Southern Norway. But now is now and now the weather is fine. You cannot depend your trip on forecasts so I leave the asphalt for a fair and smooth sand trail. The unpaved road is of surprisingly high quality; riding on the road more or less feels like riding asphalt. Lots of people are on the way, even families with kids. Slowly the road climbs higher and higher. The landscape is changing all the time. No dramatic changes but on details so that ever new valleys, grasslands, lakes and mountains pass the eye. Then I reach a wider valley where I can see the Hardangerjøkulen Icecap for the first time. In fact a mountain range is to be seen with ice hanging over the cols between the individual mountain tops. The vast body of ice that lays behind the gacier tongues, cannot be seen. In the meantime the road still climbs over the bare and deserted valley untill I reach the Finsevatnet Lake. Along the lake lies a village of hotels, mountain huts and country houses. Finse has a train station. Cyclists can decide to avoid the steep descent to the fjord and go back by train.

I take a break at the Finsehut. I originally planned to stop here to relax in the afternoon but I decide that I rather like to go on. The weather is still fine, tomorrow will probably be far worse.

The road still goes up for a few kilometer. The road is much emptier now. Most of the cyclists stop at Finsehytta to return with the train or go further tomorrow. The grasslands are gone now. It is too high for grasses. There are only stones, rocks and snowfields. It is late in the afternoon as I reach the highest point of the Rallarvegen.

It is a long way down. I descend slowly because the narrow road is composed of big stones. The further I descend, the worse the road seems to be. Kilometer after kilometer the road goes down and still I have not reached the treeline. The road is very narrow as I cycle on a steep flank above a lake. At the end of the lake the flank is even steeper. After the lake the river forms a waterfall which plunges into the depth below. The road is winding down above the ravine and is very narrow and very steep. A small mistake can be fatal here and correcting a mistake is impossible with a fully loaded bicycle so I decide to walk the passage.

The landscape is only composed of vertical elements here. Big cliffs are here, there ans everywhere. Rivers are running through narrow gorges and all plunge down with huge waterfalls in the depths. Hundreds of meters below a wide valley is gathering all the water coming from the hanging valleys above. That is where I have to go. I see parts of the road steeply winding and twisting down beneath the waterfalls with lots of bends and hairpins. After this first passage I am able to cycle again. Soon I reach the treeline. There will be an additional thousand meter to descend still. Some passages are composed of huge stones and cannot be cycled, sometimes the road goes up for a long time, then there is a very long section where the road is some 20 % steep on an exposed hillslope, sometimes right above a gigantic waterfall. I am able to cycle still. For the first time in hours I see people again. Two cyclists are walking down with the bicycles in their hands. A kilometer further I overtake more cyclists. I am not the only one here any more. Then I reach the valley bottom. I have not reached a village yet but there are no difficulties any more now. Wow. After the descent of the Pico Veleta in the Sierra Nevada into the Alpujerras this must be the most scenically spectacular road that I have cycled in Europe. And I must admit that the road is more challenging than I expected.

I hurry down over nice asphalt. It is nine o'clock as I reach the picturesque village of Flåm. Fifteen minutes later I arrive at the pleasant camping close to the fjord.

Day 7: Flåm - Laerdal - Borgund - Tyin - Ârdal 178 km

Again the weather forecasts prophesize disaster but the meteorologists were wrong the whole week. As I wake up, the weather still looks good. After the long, tiring day trip yesterday I want to take things slowly today. I am thinking about taking the ferry across the Aurlandsfjord ans Sognefjord and going up a little towards the Jotunheimen mountains. The female camping owner tells me that the ferry trip is great but that cycling the high road between Aurland and Laerdal is exceptional.

So after a tiring day I am cycling up the 10 % steep road. After Aurland the road goes with hairpins right up over a flank of the fjord. After a few kilometers I am eight hundred vertical meters above the fjord. Again I am lucky to have those magnificent views in bright blue weather. After enjoying the scenery I climb further. The road follows the course of a valley now. The Aurlandfjord is out of sight here. I am climbing above the treeline again. Through a lonely valley filled with grasslands I pass big mountains before the road makes its final curves towards the pass. I see that I am at more than 1.300 meter elevation again. On the other side of the pass the road goes down a few kilometer and climbs back again to a second high pass. An impressive rocky mountain looms up to the left, complete with white glaciers and dark rock cliffs. After the second pass a steep descent brings me within half an hour back to the sea. A few minutes later I reach Laerdal where I have a lunch.

So now I am on the busy road to Oslo. The road will climb again up to high plains before I can leave the road to Ârdal. Because it is still very early in the afternoon, I want to climb the first few hundred meters today. Maybe I am able to fulfill the second part of the ascent tomorrow as well as the ascent from Ârdal to The Sognefjellet in Jotunheimen.

Slowly the weather is deteriorating. There is quite a strong headwind and the sun is hiding more and more frequently behind the clouds. After the magnificent sceneries of the Rallarvegen yesterday and the Aurland-Laerdal traverse this morning, the broad Laerdalen valley does not set the senses ablaze. Despite this, there are three major tourist traps in the valley. After the museumlike wooden village of Laerdal there is an old viking trail along the river. The last and most important is the very famous stave church of Borgund. I am enjoying the sight for a few minutes as three huge buses arrive and unload a lot of tourists. I decide to leave. There is a big, very touristic restaurant that looks unpleasant so I decide not to eat. I will look for a camping and a supermarket now. On my map there are lots of camping shown.

There is only one tent at the camping of Borgund and there is not a supermarket. I have to go some further. Ten kilometer further there is another camping vut again the camping is empty and I have not seen a shop where I can buy some food. Hopefully I am more lucky in the next village. My stomach is demanding food.

The next camping is again empty and there is no food available. How is this possible? Again I have to go on and quite far, as the next camping is twenty kilometers further. The last kilometers are climbing substantially. I feel that my powers diminish rapidly. I really need to eat now. I have cycled more than 120 kilometer and after breakfast I have not eaten that much any more. In a regional products shop I am able to buy some impressively expansive goat cheese. I am eating some bare cheese and go further. When I reach the camping of Maristova, I see that the camping has a restaurant. As I call the reception an old woman comes. She tells that the restaurant is closed. I have not enough cheese to stay here, which means that I have to go on all the way across the pass and down to Ârdal, unless I find a supermarket and a hotel room on the highlands around Tyin.

Things are looking sombre now. I eat a little goat cheese. I have only very little left. I am above the treeline now and the wind is blowing ever harder across the plains. My powers diminish and I start to feel shaky. I eat a bit of goat cheese and I can go again. With my last powers I reach a place where cabins can be rent, there is also a restaurant. The cabin is not cheap, more than a hundred euros. People in the restaurant offer some help.
'I see that you are having doubts whether to take the cabin because it is so expansive.'
'You are right. But I have no choice. I do not have something to eat There are no supermarkets on the way.'
'From what direction do you come from?'
'From Laerdal - Borgund.'
'There are no supermarkets indeed. But you are lucky. You are just in time to reach one. Only one kilometer further in the direction of Oslo is a supermarket which is opened untill 7 o'clock. Then you have thirty minutes right now.'
I decide to go there and to camp on the plains. As I arrive at the supermarket, I see that the supermarket has closed at six o'clock. That is forty minutes ago. This means that I have to go on to Tyin. Again I have to climb five kilometers. As I reach the pass, I am shaking again. I eat the last goat cheese. I have to cycle ten kilometer along the lake against the wind and then I only have to go down. The landscape is magnificent now. Despite the air is grey and there are some rain showers here and there, I can still see the peaks of the Jotunheimen mountains in the distance, the highest mountains of Norway. I do not have much time to enjoy. I am very hungry and it is late. A long descent brings me to Ârdal where I arrive at nine o'clock. I am able to buy some food at a petrol station. My powers return and I decide to climb three kilometer to the nice and friendly Utla Valley.

Day 8: Ârdal - Turtagrø - Jotunheimen (Sognefjellet) 56 km

After two extremely tiring days, I want a relaxed day now. Ârdal is not a nice place to stay however and the only reasonable option from Ârdal is the long ascent to another 1.300 meter high pass, to descend a little to Turtagrø and up again to the 1.400 meter high Sognefjellet, the highest paved road of Norway. Despite a lot of climbing, the distance is not too far. The road goes up steeply. Because of the grey weather, there is not too much to be seen. Even when I reach the pass, there is not much to be seen. The Jotunheimen mountains are covered under a blanket of clouds. I descend to the Turtagrø mountain hut where I take a long break. A few kilometers after Turtagrø a thunderstorm comes up from the Sognefjord and is heading towards the Jotunheimen mountains, that means: they are heading towards me. I cycle with all my powers, the road is not too steep any more. Thick, ice cold raindrops start to fall. As I look behind, I see that a tremendous rain shower is overtaking me. Both the icy rains and the thunder makes me hurry and just as hell breaks loose, I arrive at the mountain hut of the sognefjellet. Here I will spend the rest of the afternoon and the night.

Day 9: Sognefjellet-Lom-Bismo-Grottli 114 km

It has rained the whole night but since I have finished breakfast, it is dry. So I am on my way again, down from the glacier world of Jotunheimen to the lower mountains and hills around Lom. The weather is still grey but I am happy enough that it does not rain. In two hours I have descended to Lom, which has a fine stave church. From Lom I go back westward. Through a wide valley the road goes up slowly. After sixty kilometer I reach a high plateau above the treeline. At that moment bad weather is rolling in again. I am lucky that I am just passing a big hotel in the middle of nothing but unlucky that the hotel is quite expansive. I decide to take a room in the prestigious Grottli hotel. Maybe tomorrow is a better day to cross the highlands.

Day 10: Grottli - Dalsnibba (1.500 m) - Geiranger - Hellesylt - Sunnmøre Alps - Ålesund 122 km

The whole night there is heavy rainfall. While I am having breakfast, it is still raining. I prepare for a wet day but as soon as I am ready to go, the rain has suddenly stopped. As I proceed, small gaps appear in the cloud cover. Many mountain tops are visible again and I see that the landscape is gorgeous.

I am in a wide valley with bare grasslands and a big lake that is surrounded by lonely mountain ranges. At the end of the valley a sheer vertical rock face is looming above the horizon. The road goes in a straight line to the mountain range. The road winds just before these mountains to the right into a much narrower valley. I am surrounded by steep mountains, some have big white glaciers on their slopes.

I am on the road to Geiranger now with its famous Geirangerfjord, the most famous of all fjords. Before I descend to Geiranger, I will make the five kilometer ascent to the Dalsnibba mountain at an elevation of nearly 1.500 meter altitude. An unpaved road goes to the top with an average of 10 % steepness. The road is of good quality so after 40 minutes I am at the top. While I was climbing, Dutch tourists in a camper have made a nice cup of coffee for me and together we enjoy the views. Deep down below the Geirangerfjord is visible.

A long descent with breathtaking views bring me to the most tourististic place of Norway: Geiranger. The whole day huge boats come and go, taking thousands of tourists per day. I must admit that the landscape is really gorgeous with the bluegreen waters and the steep mountains enclosing the fjord.

I have just missed the ferry. No problem. The sun has warmed the air to a comfortable 25 degrees. I have an hour to relax and I am just lazing in the sun.

After an hour the ferry leaves. The ferry trip is really nice as it passes high cliffs and tremendous waterfalls. Because of the warm summer most of the snow on the higher parts of the mountains has melted, otherwise the view could have been even better. The ferry trip takes an hour. Then I reach the village of Hellesylt from where I will cycle further in the direction of Ålesund.

In Hellesylt I leave the tourist area and I am back in the obscurity of the Norwegian landscape. Going from Geiranger to Ålesund, I expected that the mountains would gradually turn into hills but still snowcapped mountains are towering above my head. I am climbing twenty minutes as the road flattens and for the first time I have an overview of the landscape. And that is every bit as spectacular as the Geirangerfjord or Jotunheimen. I am in a narrow valley with small grasslands, little lakes, surrounded by perfect rock needles, towering 1.400 to 1.700 meter high. Every hundred meter I have to stop to make yet another picture. I reach a small pass and descend to the Norangsfjord where more perfect rock needles rise up right on all sides of the fjord. I cycle to Lekneset where I have to wait another hour for a ferry.

The ferry brings me to Sæbø, where I have to wait another hour for a ferry to Store Standal. I decide to cycle on in this great landscape under those perfect weather conditions. Maybe tomorrow the weather will be bad. It is very late already but tomorrow I can take a rest day in Ålesund. It is uncertain however if I will reach Ålesund today. It is eight o'clock now and I need yet another ferry to reach the Ålesund peninsula.

The sun is going down across the Storfjord but the sights do not diminish. The rocks on the other side of the fjord are turning orange while I am riding on the shadow side of the fjord. I reach Festøya from where the last ferry goes. It is a quarter past nine as the ferry has crossed the fjord. Now I have to ride an additional twenty kilometer to reach the camping of Ålesund. That means that I have to hurry because the sun has just gone down. Just as I have completely lost the way, I meet two cyclists who just come back from a day trip. The three of us ride over small backroads into the city. It is ten o'clock in the evening as I reach the camping. I have to buy food still but again I am lucky as two American travellers invite me for dinner. They have eaten a delicious fish dish but they have made too much for themselves. There is also beer and wine so the rest of the evening and night we are wining and dining.

Day 11: Ålesund (rest day) 0 km

Day 12: Ålesund - Valldal - Trollstigen - Åndalsnes 57 km

After zigzagging for nearly two weeks through Southern Norway I will now turn eastward in the direction of Trondheim. I am crossing the Storfjord again by ferry. In Stranda I will switch ferries, in this way I am able to reach Valldal on foot of the Trollstigen pass. It is early in the morning and the Sunnmøre Alps are partly hiding behind veils of mist which make the views all the more spectacular.

In Stranda I switch ferries. I have a private ferry now. The ferryman tells me that there is a Dutch family living in Valldal who run a cafe in front of the church. I decide to take a look. I am welcomed heartily and I order a juice and a coffee. The family has moved a year ago. The woman tells that they feel welcome in the community. The cafe has developed to a meeting place for the villagers.

The weather is brilliant again. Even the fog has disappeared now. The climb to the Trollstigen Pass is beautiful. First through strawberries fields, then through dense forests, then through alpine meadows the road goes up through the Valldalen valley. Lots of tourists are on the way in campers and there are also a few cyclists (all on a racing bike) on the way. So I am cycling with a Norwegian cyclist for half an hour and chatting with a Norwegian couple for another half hour.

I reach the Trollstigen Pass sooner than expected. However beautiful the ascent, the descent is the most spectacular part of the trip. The road finds its way down over the steep slope between the cascading waterfalls by means of a series of hairpin bends. The valley is backed by a sheer vertical line of rockwalls. All the ingredients together make the Trollstigen descent the most famous road of Norway.

As I descend, I meet the Norwegian cyclist again and as I reach the camping of åndalsnes, down in the valley, I meet the Norwegian couple again. They give me a reflecting shirt to be safer in tunnels. They thought it would be unsafe without and took action. I feel a bit ashamed that I have not thought of that myself but at the same time I feel good for the generosity of the Norwegians.

The waitress of the camping bar tells me, she cycles a lot with her friend on the islands to the north. I decide to take a look in the area. There is the famous Atlantikhavsvegen, which crosses a series of small islands in a spectacular way. There are nice fishing villages on the way. So I will leave the mountains for a while for truly coastal sceneries the coming days.

Day 13: Åndalsnes - Isfjorden - Nesjestranda - Nes - Malme - Elnesvågen - Bud 133 km

I will meet my friends Menno Faber and Klaartje Arntzen about three days in Trondheim. They are cycling in the Rondane and Dovrefjell area now. I will cycle the Atlantikhavsvegen from Bud to Kristiansund and hope to arrive in Trondheim about three days.

I am having breakfast with the Norwegian couple I met yesterday. We say farewell and I am on my way again. Another sunshine day welcomes me. The whole day I am cycling along fjords. I have to cycle more than forty kilometers to cycle around the Fannfjord. Gradually I leave the mountains further and further behind but once in a while there are great views to the snowcapped mountains in the distance. The last twenty kilometers I ride into the seamist and views are reduced the lowest hundred meters of the hills. The top of the hills are dissolved in the fog. I have to wait all day for the highlight of the day. The village of Bud lies at the northwestern corner of Southern Norway on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Bud is a very scenic fishing village with red wooden houses. Everywhere fishes are being dried and there are hundreds of seagulls on the rocky slopes. There is also a nice panorama hill that is on three sides enclosed by the sea.

Day 14: Bud - Atlantikhavsvegen - Kristiansund - Årvågen - Svanem - Kyrkseterøra 160 km

There is still seamist hanging over the land and over the ocean. I am having breakfast on the panorama hill, a great beginning of the day.

Thirty minutes later I am on my way. The road follows the coast. There are lots of small islands rising no more than a meter above the sea level. There is no traffic on the road nor are there villages with more than a few houses. I do not see any people for two hours. The silence is overwhelming. There are some steep rocky hill ranges scattered in the landscape but the upper part of the hills are veiled in the mists. There is no wind, nor are there any waves in the sea. Just complete silence. I progress slowly. It seems that the humid air is so thick that it effectively lowers my velocity. It is nearly twelve o'clock as I reach Vevang where the Atlantikhavsvegen crosses a series of small islands with huge bridges. A great sight, probably much greater under stormy conditions as the sea splashes right over the road. But those are not the conditions of today. The sea is as calm as can be.

I reach the city of Kristiansund. The city is much bigger than expected and suddenly I am amidst busy traffic. After crossing the island and taking the ferry to the next island, I am back in obscurity. The trip becomes a bit dull in these misty conditions. Maybe the sights are magnificent in sunny conditions, but now there is nothing to be seen. I have to carry on though, because I have seriously underestimated the distance to Trondheim. I have to cover distance to be able to reach Trondheim tomorrow. I cross island after island. Sometimes there is a bridge in between, sometimes I have to wait for a ferry. I meet a Dutch couple who cycled a lot in their younger days. Together we eat some cookies.

I want to reach the camping of Kyrkseterøra today. That is still fifty kilometer. It is six o'clock now. I doubt if I should push on. There are no campings in between. I decide that I have the energy to do so. I am cycling much faster now and eventually I reach the camping easily on time.

Day 15: Kyrkseterøra - Orkanger - Trondheim 109 km

I get up early in the morning. I have all day to cycle the last kilometers to Trondheim. I pass the rolling hills of Trøndelag, sometimes along a fjord, sometimes through small valleys. The Trøndelag area is filled with pastures and is very unlike the landcapes that I have crossed until now. The sun is shining again, the conditions are perfect. There is no wind and the temperature is around twenty degrees.

Sooner than I expected, I reach Trondheim. In an internet cafe I read that Menno & Klaartje are waiting for me in the youth hostal. Fifteen minutes later we meet. We have the whole afternoon to have a beer and to stroll around in the city. Trondheim is a patchwork of traditional wooden houses and modern architecture. The Nidaros Cathedral is the biggest church of Norway.

Read further about my cycling journey to the Nordkapp on the next page.