In late August 2024, I flew to Bergen, Norway and did a two-week loop that was approximately the one shown in the map below.
I’ll be honest and admit that it wasn’t the easiest of trips. The weather for the first week and a bit was foul, I went down with an infection that I now suspect was COVID, and my bike chain broke…
But it had its moments of absolute beauty. I’m happy to share my riding files on Ride With GPS if you want to see the exact routes that I took.
24th – 28th August: Bergen to Førde
Riding out of Bergen wasn’t pretty, with lots of main roads to ride along and besides, but it wasn’t awful either.
My stop for the night was a cabin near the hamlet of Sletta – the only option. It was a night of tuna and noodles, but a nice spot.
The next day, I rode 64km to Eivindvik, taking the ferry from Leirvåg to Sløvåg. Initially and during the ferry ride, I had good weather, but on the final overland stretch, I got caught in a fierce rain shower. A shame because when the skies cleared, it was stunning.
However, as I cycled the final stretch, my energy just went from me for no apparent reason. When I got to my Airbnb, I sat down and quickly felt very ill and feverish. I had an awful night. Waking up the next morning, there was no way that I could ride so I Googled ferry options, and ended up finding a catamaran that took me direct to my destination, Askvoll, but much earlier than expected. Luckily the kind people at the hotel let me check in and I spent the rest of the day in bed. A shame because it was such a pretty spot.
I felt well enough to have dinner in the hotel restaurant and the next day a little better still – and the fever had gone – but still not ready for a tough day’s riding, so I asked the bus driver of the route to my destination, Førde, if I could load my bike and he happily agreed. Again, luckily I could check in early.
Førde might not be the prettiest of towns but the view from my Airbnb was spectacular and it was a wonderful spot to rest up for two nights. It hardly stopped raining though…
29 August – 2 September: Førde to Voss
After 3 days of lying in bed, I felt just about good enough to go again, though the weather was still poor. The Airbnb owner kindly let me leave a bit later when most of the rain had cleared. So off I went, gently at first.
My route was steadily uphill for most of the day, curving an inverted S round the lakes. For the early part, as I snaked around the Movatnet and Holsavatnet, it was spectacular.
Sadly the clearance in the rain didn’t last and as I made the long ascent from Vallestad, I got thoroughly soaked. So I just plugged away, certain of a roof over my head and a warm shower.
My lodging for the night was a wood cabin close to the Likholefossen waterfall. A series of wood cabins, set on a wooded hill, out in the middle of absolute nowhere. I went out for a brief walk to the waterfall, majestic and austere and even on that dank and chilly night, rather wonderful.
The next day, my shoes were still soggy, so I wore them a bit indoors while my feet warmed up. I set out for the ride I had really been looking forward to, the final ascent up to the Gaularfjellet.
I had the road pretty much to myself apart from a lone guy in a campervan with a motorbike. Magnificent. And then the Gaularfjellet itself, a view down sweeping turns to the valley below and a reward for all that slow climbing. I was praying for clear weather and I got it… mostly… and briefly before it all covered over again.
Matthew Norway has a much nicer view of it all and had better weather….
Then the descent from that stunning but oh so cold hilltop into lakes and lush farmland. Sun at last!
And finally a warm bed and a lovely meal on the lake in Balestrand.
After a long gentle ride along the Sognefjord, and then a gentle uphill, I spent the night in a nice hotel in Hafslo before taking a brief detour to the pretty village of Solvorn and then a rather boring stretch along the main road all the way to Kaupanger.
Even if the road had been nice, I could not have dithered: I had to make the last ferry of the season to Gudvangen, fully booked. The ferry cruised through the Sognefjord and the sunset was quite magnificent. It took over two hours and was a highlight.
On arriving in Gudvangen, I had rather more time, to ride up the valley to the foot of Stalheim. Luckily I had done my research and discovered that I had a choice between a horrific hill with gradients consistently around 20% and even above up to my hotel, or taking a bus through the tunnel underneath it – closed to cyclists – and riding up the much gentler south side. So I booked ahead and had a lengthy wait for a bus that was late, packed, picked me up with some annoyance and then dropped me about four minutes later. At around 30 Euros for the bike fare, per minute spent, this was undoubtedly the most expensive bus ride of my life!
I stayed at the Stalheim Hotel and was rewarded with stunning views down the valley, all the better when I went for a walk the following morning.
I had a gentle ride to Voss, where I stayed for three nights. The weather closed in again so I had a very waterlogged hike up into the hills. Then off again, in much better weather, stopping at the marvellous Skjervsfossen before catching another ferry from Kvanndal to Utne.
All had been going well until on a hill not far from my destination, I misjudged a gear change, my chain jumped and broke… So I had a three kilometre walk along the road to the cabin where I was staying for the night near Vines and had to work out how to fix it… Happily, I had brought my multitool and realised that part of it is for exactly this problem. And mercifully, there was a very helpful YouTube video showing how to fix it on the road. It was still a learning lesson and I needed the help of two German women staying in the next cabin, but I finally fixed it and could take some time to admire the stunning scenery while having a dinner of omelette made from eggs from the farm, before lying down outside and admiring the most beautiful night sky I had ever seen.
The next day, I pedalled nervously to the next ferry from Jondal to Tørvikbygd before asking a bus driver if I could load my bike on his bus for the journey to the nearest big town of Norheimsund where I had spotted a sports shop that did bike repairs. The kind soul happily agreed and refused payment. And in Norheimsund on a Friday afternoon, the mechanic had gone but the owner of the shop kindly took a look and congratulated me on my repair, saying that I would be fine all the way to Bergen.
I had a long slow ride up to my lodging at Kvamseter, including tunnels and a stretch of 7% and was rewarded with another splendid sunset.
Then the final ride into Bergen and much more enjoyable than I had expected, including some splendid valley stretches. All in all, a rather bumpy and wet two weeks, but some wonderful moments, and I now know how to fix a bike chain…
I hope that you liked this. Any comments or questions? I am happy to answer. If you are interested in Norway, please see my page about my 2023 ride from Oslo to Stavanger.
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