Hjerkinn - Bergen Part 4

July 16: Hålimo - Vasetdansen (approx 70 km)

We had a bit of a lazy morning - it was already pretty warm (and very sunny) by the time we woke up. The fishermen were not very pleased... After a hearty breakfast, we got on the road at around 9:30.

The morning started with a bit of a climb into the farmland on the right (west) side of the water. The climb gave way to rolling hills (on an impeccably paved road!) with a mixture of wheat, hay, and livestock (including a reindeer farm) on either side of the road. I was drenched in sweat well before we started the big climb up to Vaset.

 

We took the secondary road up the first part - this might have been a mistake since 1) there was still a bit of traffic 2) it was really steep and 3) much of it was gravel. I have a “granny gear” on my bike and it was the only gear I used all the way up the hill with the trailer. A few breaks were required, but we eventually joined Panoramavegen and were well on our way toward the ski area. I couldn’t resist a stop at the troll-themed store which offered fresh strawberries. We got some more water in our bottles and took our lunch break there as well.

Trolls, anyone?

From there, it was a bit flatter up to the grocery store at Vaset - which was close to where we initially planned to camp. Since it wasn’t yet 1pm, we decided to get a few groceries and continue on, trying to fit in a hike if possible. Dražen took the trailer for a bit more of a climb on the gravel road, and we started to get some nice views of the mountain lakes and the snowy peaks in the distance. It was still pretty slow going (at least up to the viewpoint) in the hot sun, but we really could see quite far with the good weather.

From the viewpoint, much better in person!

The area looks like it must be fantastic for skiing in the winter, and the landscape is quite green despite the elevation. We found a (fairly) short hike up to Nøseknippa with views of the mountains. It was nice to get a walk in, but we were quite exposed to the sun and a bit parched by the time we returned (with an empty water bottle) after about 1.5 hours.

From the top

We cycled a few km to a combination yoga retreat, hotel, and cafe. They could offer us juice and smoothies and sweets (and another refill of the water bottles!). We really hope the man whose chanting we could hear finds his retreat relaxing, but it was a bit strange to listen to without any context... The sweets weren’t really enough to fuel us very far, so we stopped again after a few km for a PBJ snack next to another lake.

We then continued on gravel roads for another 20km of flat and descending trails - back on the Milk Road! The gravel roads were very good on this stretch, and there was negligible traffic, making for very pleasant cycling. It was a pretty long day in the end, though. We are a bit ahead of our schedule, so we have a bit of buffer for tough days or for extra hiking before we meet up with Aaron on Thursday night. We found a nice camping area for the night right where we reached route 51, the tent is up, and dinner is almost ready, so that’s all for now!

July 17th: Vadset to Ål (ca 55 km)
It was a humid night - overcast, and cool enough that there was steam coming off the river when I made a trip to the bathroom at 3am. We had another lazy morning, and didn’t get on our way until about 9:30. The morning started out cloudy, it was a bit hard to tell what the weather might now. The first stretch of the trip was a long, relatively flat section along route 51, a bit busier than expected but not really heavy traffic. We were on the plateau in the forest for some time before we started the descent toward Gol. The last stretch to Gol is a pretty long, steep downhill with a few hairpin turns.

Just before the big descent

On the way down.

We got a few glimpses of the valley as we descended, but our main focus was definitely just getting down safely! Gol is a cute little town and we stopped for lunch, groceries and some sweet bakery items. I left Dražen with the bikes and bags while I went to the shores - and moved quickly to get everything under the shelter of a bus stop since the rainstorm hit us at that time. The rain came down pretty hard for a while, and there were some loud thunderclaps, so we spend some time just waiting on weather.

When the rain quieted down and the thunder seemed to have passed, we continued on our way, and - hurray! - there was a cycling path next to Rv7, which was a much busier road than we had anticipated. The path eventually ended and we followed the cycling route 4 signs across the river and onto a gravel road.

The forest roads have taken us up and down on at times very loose gravel, which made for a pretty tough ride to Ål. I eventually had to give the trailer over to Dražen when my legs couldn’t fight against the gravel anymore. We had a few difficulties following the sparsely signed cycling path, but eventually made it to Ål. The lady in the tourist office has at least pointed us in the right direction for tomorrow! We have been getting wet on and off all afternoon, so I went for the option of a cabin at Ål camping (especially since the other spot in town was out of tent spots (!) and there is nothing else for here to Geilo - 25 km that our legs didn’t have the energy to do today).

Along the forest path

Forest roads in the rain!

We saw a solitary cyclist at the campsite and have offered him one of the beds in our cabin, so we are even socializing a bit! This is also our most ambitious bike-trip cooking to date (risotto). (It does help to have access to a kitchen).