The day started really nicely, warm and a little sunny - one of those good to be alive days, especially if your out riding. As if to emphasise the point the roads were lined with wild lupins - not seen these in such quantity since travelling across New Zealand several years ago.
The road for the first couple of hours was pretty flat with nice sweeping bends.
I hit the main roads to get around Trondheim, before heading for the hills to the south. As the day wore on the cloud built and I could see trouble ahead.
Sure enough the wind and rain joined me so I gritted my teeth and headed onto my chosen night stop - a camp site with rooms and a cafe that brewed its own beer and offered musk ox trekking! Sounded too good to be true - to be fair its off season, so no ox trekking & the cafe was empty apart from me. I did get to try one of their own brewed beers, It tasted wonderful, but then it was the first beer I had had since Estonia and cost around £9 for a small bottle - so definitely a one-off!
The following morning I set off across the bleak 1000m plateau in sunshine - a good start to a promising day.
As the road dropped down a little from the plateau the greenery came back and the road began to twist and turn following the contours of the valleys. Lovely riding.
There was an awful lot of water about from snow melt and of course the recent rain, all the streams and rivers were nicely swollen.
Where the rock forced the water through a gorge it became a raging torrent - quite daunting when you stand close.
This one even had a double rainbow!
Further on down on the valley floor, my anticipation was growing as the turning towards Trollstigen was just a few kilometres ahead and the rising rock walls looked tantalising.
I turned left and rapidly caught up with a number of camper vans and tour busses - I was not going to be alone then. I stopped for a while at the base of the climb in the hope that the road ahead would clear a little.
It doesnt look much from the bottom, but basically the road you can see in the foreground goes up to the top of that waterfall via a series of 11 hairpin bends and adjoining straights. Time to go....
I had a reasonable run up, not much ahead of me going my way but I met quite a bit coming down towards me, including a few busses. If you meet one of those on a hairpin you have to stop or get knocked off the edge as they take up the whole road getting around.
At the top by the start of the waterfall there is a car park, visitor centre, cafe and tourist paraphernalia stalls.
They have also provided a set of walkways so you can look over over the pass.
There is quite a good view from the first staging post but to get the ultimate shot you need to walk all the way down to that iron overhanging platform - not for those who don't like heights!
From there if you look over the edge - you can see the climb in all its glory.
Back at the car park, you can see this is definitely on the main tourist drag bearing in mind this is an off season week day. I didn't stop any longer and went in search of a quieter spot.
You don't have to go far to escape the crowds - a couple of kilometres after the tourist station there are several places you can pull off the road.
So I did - and went for a little stroll.
It was cold but beautifully sunny, peaceful and quiet with as much fresh air as you can gulp down.
On the way back down the other side of the pass the waterfalls are very much in evidence.
Later I approached Geiranger Fjord itself - spot the cruise ship!
This is reputedly one of the most beautiful of all the fjords - it certainly looks the part in the sunshine.
The road down to Geiranger is arguably as good or even better than the Trollstigen - not so ‘raw’ but with better views as you ride and better road conditions.
Down at sea level there are multiple cruise ships heading to the town of Geiranger. When I got there it was heaving with the occupants of a couple of ships that had already docked.
I stopped to fill up with petrol, had a brief look at the campsite that is in the town - far too busy for my liking and headed swiftly out.
The road at the apex of the Fjord climbs steeply away and after just a few kilometres I saw a sign to another campsite that looked to be nice and quiet. I chatted to the friendly owner who showed me the ferry schedule that all the business owners have so that they know when the hoards will descend - its relentless, there are several big ships every day and many smaller ones. They now even have a fleet of little electric buggies so the poor dears don't have to walk up those nasty hills to see a waterfall or two.
She also told me it was going to rain tonight and tomorrow, I remarked how I hate packing up a tent and all its contents in the rain and she offered to let me use one of the teepees they had just erected.
These would normally be furnished for a but of ‘glamping’ but as it was just a raw tent at the moment I was welcome to sleep inside it to save putting up my own tent.
Sorted!
There are a couple of what would normally be small streams flowing down this part of the valley into the fjord and she told me that there was a nice hike up behind the campsite to some waterfalls that were quite full at present.
So on with the hiking shoes and off I went!
The closer of the two was only a kilometre or so behind the campsite and was actually 3 streams converging via 3 waterfalls into one - a very pretty spot.
The other one, in the opposite direction was quite a bit further and more of a ‘hike’ but worth going to as this was a more serious volume of water.
I do love a good waterfall!
