The top of the Lysevegen is not the sort of summit that announces itself with a sign and a car park, at least not to a rider who has just spent a quarter of an hour climbing hairpins. Instead the land levels out, the walls fall away, and you find yourself on an upland of bare granite, small lakes and heather, the Sirdal highlands, with the great fjord hidden somewhere behind you. It feels like arriving on a different continent.
The riding on the plateau is gentler. The road wanders over low ridges and past tarns, with long straights and easy curves, and the surface is generally decent. The weather is the main risk: fog, rain and wind can sweep across the open ground in minutes, and in spring or autumn there can be ice on the road. Sheep graze freely, and they have strong opinions about right of way.
This is old grazing country. For generations, farmers from the valleys took their animals to summer pastures on the high ground, living in simple huts and making cheese. The landscape bears traces of that history in stone walls, old paths and clearings, and there is a good chance you will see walkers on a marked trail. Further along, the plateau tilts toward the Sirdal valley and a different pattern of settlement.
Nature here is a mix of bog, rock and low scrub, with cotton grass in summer and a sharp, clean smell of peat and wet heather. Golden plovers call over the moor and the occasional eagle quarters the ridges. At the viewpoint above the fjord, where the cafe stands for the summer season, you can look back along the great trench of Lysefjord.
A seasonal cafe at the top serves coffee and simple food in summer, but this is not a place to rely on for anything more. Jørpeland, far below on the coast, is the nearest sizeable town. The road is only open in the warmer months, usually from late spring, so check conditions before you plan the day. Ride it in the morning, and take your time on the way down.