Well, I can scratch that one off my list of things to do before I die. And I didn’t even know it was on my list. I have to admit, I have United States geography down pat, having traveled extensively throughout the US for business and pleasure over the past two decades, but I wasn’t even sure where Norway was until I looked at a map. Perhaps that’s why I chose this particular tour from the vast Edelweiss catalog. What better way to see Norway than on a real, professionally run world-class motorcycle excursion? The thought of seeing something new, exciting, and unknown was the deciding factor. While some folks like to have everything planned out to within a millimeter, I enjoy the unknown. I let it come to me. No preconceived notions. So if you’re like me, please don’t let that stop you from reading the rest of this tale. Instead let me share with you my discoveries in the land of trolls.

The normal Edelweiss mode of operation is to welcome you at a starting point and guide you from stop to stop through a new and exciting land. Sounds dreamy, right? Then the worrier in all of us starts to contemplate the logistics of it all. What about my luggage? How will I carry everything? Do the bikes come with trailers? Should I just carry a change of underwear? Don’t fret, this isn’t the first rodeo for the big E. Normally it has a chase truck carrying everyone’s belongings following the tour pack, and you stay in prearranged hotels each night. Well, the Edelweiss Norway tour works a little differently and, quite frankly, much more to my taste.

You arrive in Ålesund, Norway, on the first day and check into your hotel, in my case the waterfront Scandic Hotel Ålesund, unpack your belongings and stow the suitcase in the closet — you’re not going to need it for the next five days. This is known as a Touring Center trip. Each day’s ride takes you out of Ålesund in a different direction to a new part of the country, and after completing a day-ride loop, you return to the comfort of home base. Yes, I know I said I like the excitement of the unknown; however, packing and unpacking a suitcase every night gets old fast.

The Edelweiss Norway Touring Center trip is an easy-to-digest, seven-day trip, two days travel in and out and five days of riding. The cool thing about these tours is the laid-back nature of the planning and the participants; if you want to wander off on your own for a day of riding without the group, that can be accommodated (although it is suggested that riders stay in groups of two). I did this for one of the five days and had a great time. I covered as many miles as the pack did that day and got to see the same sights, but at my own pace. It gave me a chance to get that feeling of the unexpected and stop to take pictures at my leisure. The only touchy situation I ran into when solo was figuring out which ferry to board between some islands. But careful studying of the map and helpful locals made it relatively worry free. The ferry rides are a great way to take a break, and communicating with Norwegians isn’t too tough, as many speak English.

On the first day, the plan was to do a short ride, giving the group a chance to get to know each other and get a feeling for riding with one another, and to see the bird island of Runde. It’s said that more than half a million birds nest here, and more than 200,000 are Atlantic puffins. Runde is accessible after an easy ride along the coast and a short ferry ride. After the morning briefing, the group departed Ålesund and took the short ride to Sulesund, then hopped a ferry to Hareid. The road to Runde takes you over several small islands connected by bridges up to almost 1km long. It’s kind of like the Florida Keys, but colder, and with mountains. The mountainsides are lush and green, with twisty roads hugging the sides. Overall, I was impressed with the quality of the roadways; only a few times on this trip did I encounter rough terrain or debris. Riding in Norway is on the “normal” (right) side of the road, and you should be prepared for some traffic circles near the big cities, although a minority of the time was spent in urban areas or on highways. Where we went consisted of two-lane country roads passing small fishing villages.

The second day had the group headed north of Ålesund toward the Atlantic Road. There are more bridges connecting islands on Norway’s rugged coast. However, high winds prevailed that day, cutting the trip short. Normally this loop would have taken us to more wind-torn islands and on to Kristiansund, but safety comes first. There weren’t many changes in altitude, but the ride led us along the Norwegian coastline almost the whole day and offered a beautiful view of the fjords. In case you didn’t know, a fjord isn’t just a river; the mountains on the sides of the waterway plunge into the sea, sometimes thousands of feet. A fjord’s ominous to look at or ride a ferry on — you realize the thing goes straight down.

For the third day of riding, Geirangerfjord was on tap. It is perhaps the world’s most famous fjord, the destination of many cruise ships. We parked our bikes on a larger ferry and cruised the fjord. We passed the tall waterfalls named the Seven Sisters on the left, and directly across from them is a waterfall called the Wooer. The Geirangerfjord is not straight from end to end, so the lumbering ferryboat traveled in an arch through the fjord. Imagine my surprise when we slowly rounded the bend and saw a cruise ship in the distance. As we got closer we were dwarfed by its size. And not just one, but three were moored at the end of the fjord to disembark tourists for the waiting fleet of busses. Once we were back on land, we snaked our way up the mountain to an observation deck, where the view made the cruisers look like toy boats in a bathtub.

Most days, we logged a couple hundred miles but not at a crazy pace; quite comfortable, actually. We were inundated with rain and chilly temps at times, so don’t let the July calendar page fool you. Norway is way up there, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities for snowball fights in the mountains.

Rolling with the punches needs to be on your list of inherent skills. In our case, intrepid tour leader Claus Lazik made some last-minute decisions based on weather predictions and surprise situations to make sure we got the most pleasant ride each day. On the fourth day, Claus made one of those last-minute adjustments. Instead of heading to the Trollstigen road, we altered the plan at breakfast and spent the day at the fjords. Although he did his best forecaster impression, we ran in occasional rain and chilly conditions, but the group of participants on this trip was having so much fun that the weather didn’t matter. The sense of camaraderie pulled us through.

Trips like this are a great opportunity to meet like-minded, adventurous riders and have fun. There were many people traveling as couples and families, a pair of newlyweds and even a birthday boy. Some folks were Edelweiss first-timers like me, but, to my surprise, some were multitime veterans, adding another notch to their Edelweiss tour belt.

This was the day that I broke away from the pack and headed out on my own. Away from Norway’s coast, I headed north to south through the mountains surrounding the fjords, while the group ran the rim south to north. I enjoyed the day, and I met up with the group during my ride. Almost like clockwork, we passed each other on the far side of the tour. Riding alone was a great opportunity to stop and get pictures whenever I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, the tour leader stops at picturesque locations and there’s plenty of rest time, but since I was shooting a tour article, I kept getting the feeling I was missing photo ops. No fewer than 10 fjords were on this day’s schedule, viewed from countless sweeping turns. I got to see some sun and set my own pace on some fine cliff-side sweepers.

The fifth and final day was jam-packed with excitement and featured the best weather we had all week. It sent us north to Trollstigen and the Troll’s Ladder, perhaps the most spectacular mountain road in Norway. Claus definitely saved the best for last. And no ferry boats! Good, I was going broke. The weather was clear and sunny for our morning ride. Once we got there, the group stopped at a pull-off at the base of the mountain. You would have thought we had ants in our pants to ride up the zigzagging highway. I blasted off ahead of the pack so I could stop above and get some pictures of the other riders. The time of day we were there was tourist-filled, and we had to dodge busses, trucks, and sightseers in cars most of the way up the mountain. I wish we could have ridden up and down it a bunch of times; I would have made a day of it. Unfortunately, the fog rolled in once we reached the top of the mountain, so the vista was nothing but pea soup. But still, one of my favorite parts of the entire week was Trollstigen road.

We headed north from there; the terrain turned to rock and snow at elevation. In a short time, we stopped at Gudbrandsjuvet Gorge overlook. The jordbaer stop was awesome; the jordbaer (strawberries) at Jordbaerstova were in season, and delicious. Still, we had time for all this and to make it back to home base in time to change clothes and ride to an observation tower overlooking Ålesund. Definitely the best was saved for last.

If you’re interested in riding Norway, the Edelweiss Touring Center trip is the way to go. Edelweiss will handle the details for you and there’s a pro leading the way. Even adventurous, excitement-seeking types like me can appreciate the convenience of having some trips preorganized. The tour includes six overnights in a comfortable homebase hotel, plus breakfasts and three group dinners but no lunches. Motorcycle rental is also part of the package, with unlimited mileage and liability insurance. Not included are airfare, beverages, gas, tolls, ferry fees, and the obligatory souvenirs. The cost ranges from $2,700 to $4,300, depending on which bike you ride and how many people are in your party. The bikes offered were mostly a selection of BMWs; I rode a F800ST, perfect for one-up riding, but other bikes are available. The bike’s speedo read in kph, but I got used to it quickly.

Aside from the tour cost, be forewarned of another cost — Norway is extremely expensive. I was not told this before the trip and neither were others; many were genuinely surprised at the cost of goods and services. Plan to spend at least $80 US on the assorted ferryboat rides necessary for traveling this region. Remember that even though it’s the middle of summer, temps can dip pretty low, so leave your T-shirts and shorts at home.

If you don’t have “Ride Norway” on your list of things to do before it’s too late, you should. The unexpected can be so fulfilling. RB

Home, Sweet Home

I enjoyed strolling the streets of Ålesund every night. Although not quite the land of the midnight sun, it does stay light out quite late every night during summer. Actually, the sky never really seemed to get pitch black, even in the wee hours of the morning. I liked seeing all the strange cars: Skoda, Fiat, Opel, Renault, and Peugeot. I wish we had some of those in the states. Here’s a tip: if you’re traveling solo, network with some of the other riders to occupy your downtime. There’s nothing prearranged to do at night other than the three dinners that are included in the tour package.

Sources

Edelweiss Bike Travel
Norway Touring Center
www.EdelweissBike.com