27th June 2023 (drizzly morning, sun, cloud, warm arvo) 53km

We were in bed by 9pm last night, as the weather had really come in and despite not doing anything all day, we were knackered.  Dark black clouds covering the mountains on our side of the fjord and a misty rain covered fog where we are heading today.

As I woke this morning I was a little anxious as to what state Vango would be in.  Some of the downpours last night were torrential, mixed with constant rain all night.  The only saving grace, if there is one, is that there is a light breeze, but of course while the rain persists, it won't help dry her out.

So, no early start for us today, not even sure if we'll get away. Last thing we need is to get caught in rain and colder temperatures on this next mountain pass.  They are forecasting weather clearing to cloud this afternoon, with fine conditions tomorrow, but does that include the mountain passes?

By 7.30am I'd made a visit to the toilet block and thrown some water over my face to wake me up, but then crawled back into Vango to stay dry.  We'd put some tent sealer tape on her yesterday in areas that get a hammering, so we're  hopeful, but she's already served us well on our previous tour and the weather is definitely a worthy adversary.

It stopped raining mid morning so we optimistically packed up the tent and loaded the bikes.  Said goodbye to Clement and Lise and thanked the camp owner for her beautiful little camp which had everything we needed at the cheapest price we've had in Norway. 

No supermarket for the next 65km, so we visited the Co-op to stock up for the next 24 hours.  Rain looked imminent so we went back to our sheltered bench at the campground to eat some of our purchases and see what the weather was going to do.  Clement and Lise stopped by for a chat on their way to brunch at the hotel, and while we talked, you couldn't even see the other side of the fjord,  due to the mist.  But by the time we finished our lunch at 12pm, the mist had lifted and the clouds looked a bit brighter.   We decided to go for it.

  

Goodbye Vikoyri....a great little stopover.

Cycled around the inlet 10km to Vangsnes, where we caught the ferry. Usual story...ferry is always on time, if you are not, you miss it.  And what a nice ferry it was, very plush. Took about 45mins as we had to go to Hella first, then our port of call, Dragsvik.

Upon disembarking, we cycled around the fjord and began our ride into the mountains.  The gradient was good and the first 20km was very enjoyable.  We were hoping against hope that maybe we'd misread the info and maybe there was only a 75m climb, not a 750m one..  but no, the climbing started and the hard work had begun.  

View of Balestrand from the ferry

We could see this waterfall from the top of the hill into Vikoyri, over 20km away.

We could both easily have fallen asleep on these comfy couches.

 

Beautiful riding around the fjord. 

This was route 613, the gaularfjellet scenic route so it was still reasonably busy with cars, motorbikes and campervans on what was essentially a narrow road....still a great surface though.  We consoled ourselves with at least it was only 750m and not 1000 like the other day.

You never learn do you Pete.. so here's your lesson for today.
Pick the biggest hill, probably with snow on it. Add in ten switchbacks and then a freezing ride along another plateau and then you'll be correct.


Once again it was very hard work, but hey, we knew before we came, we were in for a few trials.

Julia keeps concentration, despite the campervan that was so shocked to see a pair of cyclists riding up this hill,they careened off the cliff just before this shot was taken, leaving only tyre tracks that they were ever there.

A lady at the top couldn't believe we'd just ridden up on normal bikes.
" I wouldn't even ride my electric bike up there."

Boy, that wind was strong!!

Bloody hell, what a slog.

The layers are coming on thick and fast.

The viewing platform at the top was quite space age and was called Utsikten......yeah, you sick ten switchbacks!  It offered great views of said switchbacks but was also incredibly windy and cold.  Fired off a few snaps, quickly used the space age loos but forgot to photograph the viewing platform which was a sight in itself.

Looking back you can just see the tip of the viewing platform. 

As soon as we got round the next bend, out of the wind briefly, we got all our pants and jackets on to cycle across the plateau up the top.  Stunning views and several campervans were parked up for the night along this stretch but it felt too exposed to put a tent up, so we pedalled on, looking for a more sheltered spot.

Crossed the plateau and down the other side. Overcast, as it had been all day, but that wind even after we descended, was still cool.

Eventually, we reached Flatheim, a supposed camp site, except no other campers were there.  The owner was busy trying to get us to spend 2000kr on a room for the night and when that failed, he tried to sell us on a three course dinner.  We told him we were doing it on a budget, had mackerel for dinner, so he leads us across these fields, which apparently we can't take the bikes on (as they will crush his precious grass!), to a site down by the water's edge.

There's a famous Norwegian waterfall about 100 meters away, which we only discovered in the morning. He didn't even warn us not to go swimming,  which Ju was tempted to do despite the cold, just to get the sweat off.  Luckily the midges put her off.

 

Midge spray was plentiful, a thousand times bitten, twice shy and doubly liberal with the insect repellent.  Sprayed faces and head and kept every other body part totally covered as we set the tent up.

After our previous campsite in Vik, this, although very scenic, provides no wifi, power, or showers.  However it does provide a toilet which is perched on the bank.  It is a hole in the ground and toilet paper is thrown down there too.  When the river floods, all that shit, urine and toilet paper would be swept over the falls and taken downstream.
Flatheim however is an ECO registered accommodation provider......Que?
That is one big flush toilet.

So to fill our water bottles,  we went upstream of the bog and hope none of the neighbours have a similar arrangement!

You can just see the viewing bridge at the top of the waterfall. 

A very cosy little shelter....but where's the wifi?

We have an audience waiting.

The tent with long drop in the distance. 

Norwegian barbeques

After coating ourselves in enough chemical spray to make IWD look like angels, we sat and ate dinner in a small shed, with sheepskin on the benches.

At 8pm, we decided to do some writing in the tent, so turned in for the night.
Have you ever slept less than 100 meters from a bloody great waterfall?
I don't bloody well believe it.........