23rd June 2023 (sunny and warm) 55km

Both of us had a great sleep and woke at 5am.  We thought about rolling over to get some more shuteye, but we would be sharing parts of the main road so wanted to get a jump on the traffic.

So straight over to the kitchen for breakfast and all packed up and on the road by 6.26am. Our pack up this morning went not only really quietly, due to close neighbours, but also efficiently.

Had to tackle a hill just to get us from the campsite onto the main road, but if we thought that was a hill, we were wrong.

We'd been looking at another road from camp, which we thought we were taking out of town, but alas no. It would have been so much easier if it had been.

Still, we had no option. It was climbing big time today from the start. We were only on the main road for a few kms before turning uphill, straight into switchbacks up the side of a mountain, in an effort to avoid the tunnel on the main road.

Julia had our route mapped to perfection and we just got into a steady rhythm and half an hour later we rejoined the main road as they emerged from their circular tunnel.

Another half hour and we've cruised past the Roldal ski resort.  Straight away the views were amazing and with more elevation, came better views.

Plodding along we soon reached the tunnel, which was 4680 meters long, so no go for bikes. This meant we had to climb up past the tunnel and the top ski tow for another half hour.

We were now feeling the cold and the wind chill had forced us to don even more gear.  There was snow everywhere, but the single lane road we were on was brilliant and no one but us.

Photos to be had at every turn and that's exactly what we were doing. We know we won't be back this way, not because it's not awe inspiring, but we have so many places that we want to see. So we were shooting everything.

Near the top, we were riding in the shadow of a range of mountains to the east and the temperature dipped dramatically.   We didn't want to stop and put on even more layers as we knew we'd be fine once we hit the sunshine, so we just pedalled,  400 metres to sunshine,  200 metres, 100 metres and finally....aahhhh! The warmth!

As we reached the summit of our ride, we stood in the sun, taking in the silence, looking at how high we'd climbed and the reward we were receiving, just made the slow steady plod worth it. It had taken us an hour and a half of sweat, but oh, the exhilaration.

Sat and enjoyed a coffee with cashews, chips, banana and chocolate, enjoying the views with no one else in sight.

For the descent, we were well wrapped up, but it was definitely staggered, as we were stopping every hundred meters to take more shots.  At least when we stopped,  as long as we stopped in the sunshine,  it wasn't cold.  This was a luxury compared to two days ago, so we took our time, making sure we got the photos we wanted.
It was a WOW day, today.

We got a few motorcyclists and a car go past on this part as it is a recognized tourist road, (too narrow for campervans though) called Roldalfjellet.  If you're ever in the neighbourhood, go over it!

 

The motorists bypassed this wonderland with only a short glimpse between two tunnels. 

By the time we rejoined the road, which had come through two tunnels, we were buzzing.

For a while we rode on the road, before finding another cyclist only trail.  Weren't sure if we had the right path, but asked a Norwegian guy sunbathing in his garden with his wife and he told us that it took us virtually all the way to Odda.

Well, what a ride this was.  Full of beautiful coloured water in the river, which was bouncing off the rocks and cascading downstream. A pathway completely to ourselves with just the sound of the river, the birds and our bikes. It was magical.

At the end of that ride, we came upon a store where we bought some lunch.  Buns, cheese, tomato and a treat.  The term treat, I believe, always used to mean something special which you only received, once in a while.  Our "treats" are a lot more regular and mean if you've worked for it, you can have it, simple as that !

Leaving our lunch place now on a busy stretch of road into Odda.
This is a hub for people doing a lot of the scenic trails and a lot of spectacular waterfalls are in this area. Just before the city we had to once again detour around a tunnel, but it's just one amazing scene after another, so no disappointments there.

The famed Latefossen - man there's some water flowing here.

Before this trip, I was dreading having to use the cyclist roads over the tunnels,  because I knew it would entail a lot more climbing and suspected the roads would be gravel and poorly maintained.   But I'm very happy to say, the roads have for the most part been in impeccable condition which makes for much more enjoyable riding.  And as for the extra climbing?....well it's been totally worth every pedal stroke to have these roads and views to ourselves.  Having to bypass tunnels has been my favourite part of the trip so far.

Since we left the recognized bike routes a few days ago, we haven't seen one other bikepacker.   We have seen many, many motorcyclists however and have received a lot of waves and thumbs up from them.

 

A lovely piece of a road and a rare sight with nobody on it.

When we got to Odda, we just grabbed an ice-cream each before stocking the panniers with dinner and breakfast supplies.  Fully loaded we headed out on the road on the quieter side of the fjord to Utne. Looking for a camp about 15kms out of Odda.
This road was surprisingly busy, with the odd idiot to be aware of, but the fjord was just on our right.

Odda was a strange place, odd you might say. As you enter from the southern end, you see a beautiful mountain town on the slopes of a stunning fjord.

However, the northern end has a smelter, which has forever been pumping pollution into not only the air, but also dumping heavy metals into the fjord.

Shame that we didn't know this before we went for a swim in, what we thought, was an idyllic spot.  I have just developed a horrific cough and Julia has sprouted another nose, but other than that, we're fine.

Whilst in the water, we struck up conversation with a German family. Wolfgang, Christina and Aitcha, from Bremmen. They were so nice and we walked up to their tent for schnapps as well as a couple of apples they had brought with them from Germany.

It was starting to go cold as the sun had dipped below the western mountain range and the midges were starting to make an appearance.  So we hastened back to our tent, out of our wet togs snd into full midge armoury...that is covering every inch of skin and spraying what isn't covered.

Ate a lovely dinner of chicken, spinach and rice, pastries to follow with coffee.

Forgot to mention that when we arrived at camp, Uli, from Roldal was there. He had been hiking in the area today and showed us a video he took of an eagle being attacked by some other birds protecting their patch of fjord, where the fish were. It was amazing to watch.  He was just leaving this camp as he had a hike to a glacier he planned to do in the morning.

It's currently 7.30pm. I'm finishing the blog, Julia is writing her piece and then the photos need to be submitted. We are supposed to be catching up with the German family, so it's going to be a busy night.

At 8 pm, we wandered across to our newly found German friends and interestingly the subject of the war did come up, but I didn't instigate it.

They were saying how there is a real problem in Germany with the far right National Front movement, or neo nazis and they have a legitimate fear as they are watching it grow.

Apart from that, it was a fun two hours and you wouldn't think we'd just met.  The conversation was easy as their English was great and they enjoyed a good story and a laugh. And that's what life should be about.

Shortly after 10pm we hit the sack as we knew we'd be off on another early start.

Tomorrow, we are once again up early to make it through a tunnel that we're not supposed to ride, but the alternative route around is high avalanche risk.