#6 Norway Sightseeing Express | A new morning and a new plan!

Here it was, the new morning and we had something to sort out, but of course not before we had a decent breakfast.
The owner of the campsite is a slightly older gentleman who had fresh rolls and very good coffee ready for us. We really felt like we were in good hands and well looked after. But now the time had come, we wanted to go, but where?

We didn't quite agree, but we are men and men make decisions! We agreed that everyone would go on their own trip and that we would meet again at Tromsö. If you look at the map now, you will see that the timing for a reunion is really a task. From now on we were only connected via WhatsApp to keep up to date with our respective locations.

For me that meant 300 kilometers back again, the first destination is the Geiranger Fjord , followed by the Trollstigen and the stage destination is the Atlantic Road , to get there it will be 600 kilometers, which cannot be done in under 12 hours. My current mileage on the Road Glide Ultra shows me 9245km, let's see what that ends up with. The plan was to take the E136 via Oppdal and continue towards Ottaldalen on the 15, then at some point turn onto the 63 to enjoy a wonderful route to the Geiranger Fjord. This would give me a nice view of the fjord and I could drive down from top to bottom and then continue straight through to the Trollstigen.

A change in the weather brings rain and cold

E136 sounds sporty, but there is nothing sporty here, the fun started when there was a change in the weather, it got extremely cold and it also started to rain heavily. And the weather app predicted it would stay that way. The first doubts came over me as to whether it was worth it, but yes, it was! Sometimes it's just a matter of mind and that had to happen now, the three places are all on my bucket list . So far we have driven 2300 kilometers on our Norway tour. After today's first 210 kilometers in the rain, first refuel and coffee. I had to refuel with 9.8 liters, the Road Glide's tank was still almost half full, so touring can be relaxed.

Filling up in Norway can be a challenge, there are areas where you don't see many gas stations, in other areas they come one after another. In Otta I turned right from the E6 onto the 15, I already knew the beautiful route, but suddenly I stopped driving.

We had to wait in traffic for two hours.

There was a complete closure in front of a tunnel where there was a traffic jam. At the tunnel exit, which I couldn't see yet, there was an accident with a group of bikers who obviously had problems braking in the rain, at least one of them was on his bike full pipe hit a car.

For me that meant standing in the rain in front of the fucking tunnel for 2 hours, that was really crap, what happened to the biker wasn't clear, I only saw his goat on the tow truck, I hope he got through it okay. My problem was that I had to leave Harley

The cold wasn't fun and that shouldn't change. Finally I moved on and I turned from the 15 onto the 63. I've now reached 5.5 degrees and it should continue to climb.

On the way to Geiranger Fjord in Norway, the display on the Road Glide Ultra showed 5.5 degrees.

The roads in Norway are good, the surface is a little rougher than here, but you have quite good grip on wet roads. The 63 is now the direct route to Geiranger Fjord. This is a really great route, along small lakes and the mountains to the left and right. There was just one catch, the route was quite long and I got higher and higher, but that only bothered me because it was getting colder and there was snow again on the slopes.

The muffs are annoying when you don't need them, but in really bad weather they help better than heated grips.

That was the moment when my Oxford muffs came into their own. I've probably had them for 30 years and have always taken them with me on my Norway tours . They also offer good protection from constant rain. You really can't use wet gloves and cold fingers. If you put gloves on and take them off again and again, moisture inevitably gets into the gloves. When it's cold, this becomes a knockout criterion. The less wet the gloves are, the better. Now it was already early evening, you don't really notice that here, it doesn't really get dark in early summer, that should be a big advantage for me.

The first stage destination is the Geiranger Fjord

The Geiranger Fjord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At 8:00 p.m. I finally arrived at my first destination, the Geiranger Fjord . There were a few buses standing around there, but otherwise I was pretty much alone on the street. It was the beginning of July. I would have expected more action now. But no matter, I can now make my first hook. Geiranger Fjord: Done!

The only hustle and bustle here is when the coaches arrive or the cruise ships dock in the fjord. Now there was only one ferry in the harbor, but I didn't want to take it because after the town of Geiranger there is a road that runs along the fjord and turns into the Ørnesvingen-eagle Road .

The Ørnesvingen-eagle Road takes me towards Trollstigen

It's another zigzag road that leads up, which was great, but also cold again, it doesn't matter, the next destination is waiting. It's about 70 kilometers from Geiranger to the Trollstigen, which is manageable. In Eisdal you can take the ferry to Linge, which runs every hour.

The ferry from Eisdal to Linge The crossing only takes about 15 minutes and there is often good coffee on the ferries. Here you can do self-service, just throw the money into a cup and you're good. What can I say, the route to the Trollstigen is really sharp, it's not called Adler Street for nothing. The excitement is rising. It took me a good hour and there I was, above the Trollstigen. But I only found out about this through a sign and my navigation, because suddenly I was completely in the fog. At times it was a bit of a stretch, but I was able to shake off the good view.

The landscape in Norway could be the model for model trains.

The second stage destination is the Trollstigen

Rain, fog, cold, that was quite a challenge. Above the Trollstigen you are around 850 meters high and if you want to look down into the valley, you should be free from giddiness. The Trollstigen have a history, trolls are said to have always walked along the original mule track, the name Trollstigen comes from the troll ladder.

The mountain road leads down to the valley via 11 hairpin bends with a gradient of 12%. The road was widened in 2005, and I was really happy about that. I can only recommend everyone not to show up here before 8 p.m. For me it was around 9 p.m. and I was pretty much alone on the mountain pass that is part of the Norwegian Scenic Route.

The Trollstigen is a pass road with 11 hairpin bends in Norway. Campers and buses drive up here during the day, which is no fun. And now it was all downhill, with the weather and road conditions it was exciting, it was exactly the adventure you are always looking for. Can't see anything and always drive down the needle curves. At some point I reached the bottom, now it was time to take a short break, enjoy the moment, at least I was able to make a second hook. Trollstigen: Done!

Ok, it's just after 9 p.m. and we continue. On the next stage it's only about 120 kilometers to the Atlantic Road, but I don't just drive straight down that road. I have to catch two ferries, it's an adventurous journey uphill and down again. But it's still nice, I'm still in a good mood, I only relax on the ferry, where there's coffee and the typical red sausage with ham, sometimes it's a bit dead on the grill, but that can't be that If you're hungry, that's fine.

The mountains are slowly disappearing and you can already smell the sea, I have no idea why, but these bridges in the Atlantic simply fascinate me, I've wanted to ride my bike here for over 25 years. You always put it off and that's the biggest mistake you can make.

The Atlantic Road is reached in the middle of the night, but it is still light

I continued on the 64 and at some point it stopped, it only went left or right.

In front of me was a road sign pointing to the right and written in Norwegian “Atlanterhavs-vegen”, which means Atlantic Road , I had arrived. It was midnight, the curved bridges finally appeared in front of me, it was a really beautiful moment that sent adrenaline rushing through my veins. And it was still light, which is really the hottest thing ever.

The Atlantic Road is the destination

I did the island hopping over the curved bridges three times. It was simply fantastic.

Atlantic Road: Done! And now? I've let off steam here for two hours, I need a plan of what to do next, I've ridden the bridges often enough! Now it's time to go back!

Catch up with Hermann and Ernst, they have just arrived in Lofoten and are spending the night there somewhere. The photos only showed rain, they were pretty annoyed by the weather, why should they fare better than me?

The Atlantic Road is a very unusual spot in Norway. Now I had to see how I could get back down from the islands and drive to Tromsö. My navigation system tells me 20 hours and 1400 kilometers. Still fit, we set off. The good thing was that the ferries here run at short intervals. I drove back from the islands on the E70 towards the north.

We continue north again

After 350 kilometers and another 5 hours, I got tired and wanted to check into a hotel in Steinkjer. Smart as you are, you first look at Booking com. I found a hotel straight away and instead of booking the cheap super special offer for a single room online, I simply went into the hotel and wanted to book the room at the reception , but unfortunately she apparently didn't have a single room available and wanted 60 euros more for a double room. A little irritated, I went out again and wanted to check Booking com again, during which time she deleted the room. Now I was really annoyed and booked the next offer in a different hotel online. This shouldn't happen to me again, I was tired and didn't feel like having big discussions anymore.

I enter the address of the booked hotel in my navigation and what I see as arrival information, your destination is 70 kilometers away. Now I was shocked to add another 70 kilometers when I felt like I was already lying in the hotel room bed. That doesn't actually happen to me, canceling everything again is also annoying, but I was a bit lucky, the 70 kilometers went north, I was once again ambitious not to miss my two friends in Tromso, the meters are still being done now .

Stopover in the small port town of Mo i Rana, just a few kilometers south of the Arctic Circle

The water ran down my neck, my shoes also failed and I still had to pack everything up, dry it and charge all the batteries alongside my own. Ok, let's move on, the next destination was a small port town called Mo i Rana, that was about 700 kilometers from the Atlantic Road, I arrived here at 9:30 a.m. The small port town lies just below the equator at the end of the Ranfjord. My odometer is now at 10558km, which is 1313km of sightseeing in 25 hours.

It started at 8:30 a.m. the morning before in Sor-Trondelag. I have to say that you can only do something like that on a Road Glide Ultra. My worst has not yet made itself felt, the basic feeling is still quite good , only my clothes are wet, the water ran down my neck and my supposedly waterproof boots failed.

The boots are a story in themselves because I shouldn't have been the only one with this problem. Now get all your things from the machine and go to the hotel. Hang everything up, recharge all batteries, take a quick shower and say goodbye for today.

Accommodation in Mo i Rana: Fjordgaarden Mo

Thank you for the kind support of our tour partners, Visit Norway , Color Line , The Rokker Company and Tallink Silja Line .