Fjord Norway: A Ride 2.5 Million Years In The Making
i'm uh basically the only one on the ferry so that's a private boat for me to take me over to my destination over there what a day why aren't more people going this way on a bike checking out these roads why am i only doing it who knows fjord norway let's put it this way it's pretty [ __ ] spectacular but of course if you want to cycle from bergen to oleson then there's going to be a lot of fjords mountains and a few glaciers in your way this is what norway looked like around 12 000 years ago not exactly ideal for cycling but as the glaciers melted they left behind something pretty special now a fjord is formed when a glacier retreats after carving its typical u-shaped valley and the sea fills in the resulting valley floor but it's a misconception to believe that norway's fjords were formed just in the last ice age alone much of what norway has to offer has been in the making for millions of years this is nature's masterpiece nature's mona lisa carved out through countless ice ages over millions of years of course nature's masterpieces are always going to be popular and that means camper vans cars buses are going to flood the roads around these fjords but as fjord norway likes to remind me go find your fjord and that got me thinking how can i plan a route that keeps me away from the cars and allows me to cycle around the beautiful fjords all by myself this was going to be no easy task but i got to work and spent hours and hours researching every little road and after a few days of hard work i felt i'd nailed it day one we leave bergen behind and we head towards sognifjorden the world's longest accessible fjord on day two we cross over the fjord and we continue on the main cycling route all the way up to a town called furda from further we leave the main cycling route and we start heading towards the mountains passing some of the most beautiful and remote fjords in this area on day four we head towards the largest glacier in mainland europe and we camp there for the night and then on the final day once again we head through the valleys and the mountains on quiet little roads and finally cycle along one of noah's most beautiful and least visited fjords this my friends is a ride two and a half million years in the making so after the first ferry crossing we enter a more remote and stunning coastal region so just before sognofiodon there's a steep climb but it's well worth it when you reach the top you get a view of all views with a straight road no cars all the way down to the world's longest accessible fjord beautiful campsite i mean i'm the only person here basically no one else is here except for all to myself sun is setting behind sognaffiorden behind me right now which is so beautiful and yeah what a day great day good morning it's six in the morning and this is the view this morning from the tent not too bad long story short time is eight o'clock ferry leaves at 8 30 and 14 kilometers away that's 28 kilometers an hour with a 28 kilo bike with no warm up that's it that's it if i miss this ferry four hour wait for the next one power on that's it cycling and then look at that little beauty just been admiring that waterfall for the last five minutes very very nice down here so we're just entering the first e-road of journey e39 by the afternoon my legs are tired after that early morning unexpected time trial so i decided to come off the cycling route early not pleasant cycling on these roads although unpleasant it was 30 kilometers quicker to further we can 90 meter tunnel busy road oh my god look at this these are the things that nightmares are drowning right now another beautiful day but unfortunately we have no option but to take the main road five out of further sometimes to reach the promised land you have to pass the swamps oh my that was a tough climb nearly 500 meters above sea level fantastic view and we're going through this tunnel oh god back on the quiet back on the quiet roads boom boom boom because this horse came running after me he wanted to say hello i'll follow and say hello to this guy hello oh don't run away turn me back and he gets closer all right i'm going check out this view guys check this view out here we come five four three two one whoa oh yeah baby oh yeah here we go here we go you're only counting time to the continents collide without your window going somewhere near i see it through and the faith that i drew see it through well things just got out of hand now i mean just look at this will open for you and the stars let the moon or a place to have a piss eh what a place to have a piss this tunnel is one and a half kilometers long and it's uphill all the way it's the sun here comes the sun and i say cool i know the skies sun is shining onto the fjord oh my right i wanna cycle around norway experience moments like this and when hello no way see it through good morning should we check out the view let's do it together day 12. let's hit the road thinking about cycling in norway then you should do it you're going to have wet days but you're going to have days like this and when you have days like this you can't think of any place in the world that is better to be honest with you we don't go direct to oldeston because this area of the country is not to be rushed oh my god it is so cold in here 550 meters above sea level right now was it worth it i i think so should we bring out the drone i think so let's see what it can do lost my drone devastated it's uh landed somewhere down here but it's way too dangerous it's literally a vertical cliff all the way down to the fjord so i can hear it beeping i can't hold on i can get it i can almost reach it dead indiana indiana let it go i need to get back up well i'm still here but i did lose some priceless drone footage i haven't downloaded any of the footage um since i began it's all on the memory card which is in the in the drone better than nothing i guess it's never closing time you cannot bypass this area of norway it is the power of this world beautiful i dreamt of blue sky going down this road oh god look at this morning it's so clear crystal clear hey guys here comes the lake first glimpses of the lake oh my god i um let's just check this out all right i i just want to enjoy the ride sorry i gotta go all right we're going in we're going in it's cold you want to go in first it's absolutely spectacular but it is a glacier lake and oh my god it's freezing so it's going to be literally in and out as quick as possible unfortunately but it looks so beautiful the water is so calm and i'm camping at this kind of remote spot near the end of the lake and there's literally it's just full of girls with their bums out it's crazy that's one reason why i'm staying here it's 250 crores to stay here so i guess you're paying a premium for the view and for the bombs wow in the uh glacier valley here you've got this amazing glaze your tongue running down the mountain these mountains are just epic i mean they just go straight up it's just sheer rock they're incredible just carved out by glaciers it really is a magnificent place to be so majestic so all inspiring and you just feel so insignificant compared to these huge mountains ah what a day it's been all right just gonna carry on a little bit more to the end of this road and then we're gonna go back again back to the camp site some good morning it's day 13 and it's another glorious day not much else to say i mean just look at this i'm just going to enjoy riding through the mountains today lots more spectacular places to see i've managed to uh order a drone there's one one available in the whole of all the sun that i found and i've reserved it and i'm gonna try to pick it up tonight or tomorrow morning because unfortunately there'll be no drone footage of this gorgeous area sadly all right guys another spectacular day it's only one thing to do cycle let's go i'm not going through that that is e6 will go around it thank you very much so this is quite the detour another gate is that barbed wire come on come on the road again coming fast too much fun for one day way too much fun after that little adventure we finally reached road 655 a road steeped in history beauty and wonder it once attracted emperors kings and queens from all over europe in the 19th century europe's aristocracy would flock here in the summer months it was the ultimate place to boast that you'd been this was the instagram of its time today it's been forgotten by history you'll find you'll have this epic road more or less all to yourself although legend has it a young lady tragically died in these mountains and when her lover found out he killed himself not wanting to go on without her if you feel an eerie presence cycling this road don't be alarmed they're watching out for you god this rock face doesn't even look real it's like something like it's been man-made fake it's not ridiculous it just doesn't leave this could actually be reduced by nature carved out by glaciers incredible i would consider driving this road a crime and one i myself have committed in the past as you cycle down this road you become engulfed in the nature around you you hear every little noise the endless streams and waterfalls trickling down the vertical mountains the cracking of the rocks as they tumble to the valley the smell of the flora blossoming in the summer sun it's both enchanting and daunting to ride this road and when you reach the grasslands towards the fjord you'll want to cycle it all over again done about 93 kilometers today and we've just taken the first ferry across the fjord and now i need to take another ferry that's going to go over to the other side of the fjord again but further up and then zigzag back towards where i am now on this side but further north and then there's basically a small little road i don't know if it's paved it might be gravel road only it's like a small little community lives there and that leads me all the way up to the main ferry point crossing over to come into all the sun so it's a secret little road the problem is is that because this is a tiny little remote place two ferries a day and that's pretty lucky there's two there's one at around 11 and there's one at 17 45 and it takes around 45 minutes of zigzagging across the field to get to the point where i want to be so the time is now 16 30 so it's 4 30 so i've got an hour and 15 minutes to wait which is not bad considering there's only two ferries a day and i've timed that pretty well so i'm just gonna sit back now and just admire the to spend more view with you it may sound a little bit funny there's no one else like you say that you do i'm the only one do you remember what fjord norway said find your fjord well cycling down my favorite fjord alone on a beautiful summer's evening was the creme de la creme of the whole journey you cannot but be humbled by the presence of such awe-inspiring nature in such surroundings the feeling of insignificance is not one of despair but of reflection if the world was a book our lives would not even be a tiny shaving of a single letter on the final page but this fjord and the many that have cycled around have a number of pages in that book and like the emperors kings and queens before us when our bones turn to dust these great mountains and fjords will still be standing tall and proud and will continue to create awe to those that spend time around them say love is blind but these two eyes were never stray from you for all our lives to the end of time say that you do the world my friends is spinning faster than ever before but i know with a simple bicycle a tent and perhaps a little sensor adventure you can slow this world right down cycling fjord norway allows you to feel the presence of this ancient natural world to be humbled by it to admire it to respect it but more importantly to respect yourself it gives you time for reflection to ponder to wonder and to ask what else is out there follow your bliss my friends follow your bliss say that you don't bye
2021-01-30 22:05
