Sognal to Geiranger

Sognal To Geiranger
Leaving our wonderful hotel which was on Norway's largest fjord the breakfast was very good, again Vic tasted all the fish delights he could find... Pickled herrings, tomato herrings and blue vein cheese  a real combination, heaps of Omega 3.

It was raining when we left at 9am and our guide promised that it would fine up after the first tunnel..OK it did but the tunnel was 7.5 kms then we went into another long tunnel and came out the other side into blinding sunlight.. a beautiful day. 

What a fantastic riding day it turned out to be, after leaving Sogndal the first 35 kms was along the side of the fjord until we caught a ferry across to Hella and then the fun began, sweeping roads which ran alongside the fjord then we started to climb up and over several passes and had a picnic lunch at the top of one organised by the guides. Then off again to ride a narrow twisting road over a plateau still covered in snow drifts, surprisingly it was still quite mild. After climbing again to the top of another pass we descended into Geirangervegen on a masterpiece of a road that won a prize for road construction back in 1924 at the World Expo in Paris. It is one of the classic bike rides over here, photos don't do it justice.

The area around Geirangervegen where we are staying is on the World Heritage List and the view from our window is just staggeringly beautiful. Perhaps you might like to check out the Hotel Union Geiranger website to see what harsh conditions we have to endure.

Tomorrow is the last riding day and we are riding the Trollstigen (Troll's Staircase) which is Norway's most famous mountain road and will see the Trollveggen (Troll's Wall) a 6000ft vertical cliff.