jakobpoffley wrote:I've had a new idea for my route through the south of norway. I thought instead of doing the Rallarsvegen east to west on the way to Bergen i could go on the section of the rallarsvegen from Voss to Flam after Bergen and go further south on the way to bergen. I thought i could do this by mainly following the E134 and going on smaller nearby roads when they are there. Looking at a map it looks like there are roads to go round all the tunnels that are forbidden for cyclists along the route but please let me know if that isn't true. I then though I could go north along the shore of Sorfjorden (I'm not sure whether to go on route 13 on east side or 550 on the west). I'd then follow Hardiangerfjorden till Norheimsund and then go along the smaller roads into Bergen.
Coming back out of Bergen looking at the tunnel map i can't avoid the tunnels on the E16 to Voss so i'd have to go south via Norheimsund. Maybe on the way to bergen i'd go on the south side of Hardangerfjorden so on the way to voss i'm not going down the same roads. I'd then follow the Rallarsvegen to Flam and then i'd like to go over the small mountain pass road to Laerdalsoyri. It looks like a hell of a climb but from google maps it looks absolutely incredible and so much fun so i really want to do it. I'm then not sure what to do when I get to Laerdalsoyri. Is there a ferry taht goes across to Kaupanger or anywhere nearby? My plan would then be to go up Sognefjellet road and beyond.
The E134 is rather busy. You could follow the NSCR down towards Haugesund and then pick up the Rv13/520 to Røldal. Thereafter you can take the old road from Røldal to Odda to avoid a tunnel and make your way up to Voss that way. Røldal north to Odda is nice as is the 13 to Voss
we did that in 2008.
There are two cycle routes to avoid the E16 between Bergen and Voss, one goes north of the E16 the other one goes south. One of them is described somewhere on the
Cycletourer.co.uk website (the old Army Road??). There is another website with a travelogue of the other route IIRC but I cannot find it at the moment. These alternative routes add a couple of days to your trip.The E16 between Bergen and Voss is know as the "Road of Death" in Norway and is not fun in a car so not being able to cycle on it has to be seen as a plus.
The Rallarvegen West to East is harder work, I have done most of it in both directions. Mainly as you start at 1000 mas in Haugastøl and somewhat lower in Myrdal (830 mas or so). Also the roughest road surfaces are on the Myrdal side of the watershed which means you spend a fair bit of time pushing your laden tourer uphill. It is perfectly do-able but most people go East West. There has been talk of improving sections of the Rallervegen but it is a three year plan and I am not sure when they will start and which bits they plan to do first.
If you want to take the Fv7 via Norheimsund you better have a good head for heights, there being a few sections with "panoramic" views. The road is also a tourist road so it is not up to the standard of other routes, can be full of distracted tourists enjoying the views and is narrow in places. There are some tunnels along the way, unlit if I remember correctly so good lights (preferably automatic hub dynamo powered) are essential.
You can cycle up over from Flåm to Lærdalsøyri, it is a big climb but nice apparently. From Lærdalsøyri you need to take a bus to the Manheller - Fodnes ferry and beyond. There are two tunnels, one on each side of the ferry both of which are closed to cyclists. The other alternatives are, as I mentioned earlier, to take the ferry Flåm - Leikanger, or cycle the E16/Rv52 to get somewhere else. Note that the E16/Rv52 is the busiest of the East/West routes. You can stay on quieter roads for most of the way between Lærdalsøyri and the junction with the Rv52.
jakobpoffley wrote:Could you let me know if there is anything with this route that wouldn't work or you think would be better done differently. This seems to be the most complicated part of the trip so i'm planning most of it now whereas the rest i'm pretty much leaving to decide when i get there. What i plan on doing is marking on tunnels that are forbidden for cyclists with no alternate route on my map in the areas im fairly sure i'll be going through.
The last time we went from Bergen to Voss we simply put our bikes on the train. It made life a lot easier.
Just to remind you, it can get very cold in summer in the Norwegian mountains and there is often little protection from the wind and the rain when you get up above 700 mas. Make sure you take enough warm clothing to see you through a summer storm or a rainy day.
So long and thanks for all the fish...