The Atlantic Road was built to connect fishing villages on islands that had been linked only by boat, and it does so with a kind of reckless grace: a sequence of causeways, low bridges and short stretches of road that hop from skerry to skerry across the open edge of the Norwegian Sea. This point lies near Eide, on the mainland end of the route, between the fjord country and the coast, on the Romsdal peninsula between Molde and Kristiansund.
The Atlanterhavsvegen opened in 1989 after years of construction, often in brutal weather; workers faced twelve hurricane-force storms during the building. It is only about eight kilometres long, but it is one of the most photographed roads in the world, especially the Storseisundet bridge, which rises and curves so sharply that from some angles it seems to end in mid-air. On a calm summer day the sea is blue and glassy, with eider ducks and cormorants on the rocks. In autumn storms, waves crash over the road, and people drive out on purpose to watch.
The coast around here, Hustadvika, has a fearsome reputation among sailors, with shallow reefs and violent seas. Old fishing villages like Bud and the island community of Averøy survived on cod and herring, and the region is still known for klippfisk, salted and dried cod, which was exported to Spain and Portugal for centuries. Kristiansund, the nearest town, is the capital of klippfisk and has a museum devoted to it.
The riding on and around the Atlantic Road is easy in technical terms but wonderful for the views. The road is flat and smooth, with gentle curves, but the wind can be ferocious, and spray from the sea makes the surface wet and salty. Traffic is heavy in summer, with tourists stopping on the bridges for photographs. The roads inland toward Eide and Molde follow fjords and pass through tunnels and small farms, with mountains on every side.
Eide and the villages along the route have shops and cafes, and Kristiansund, about twenty-two kilometres away, has fuel, supermarkets and hotels. Bring good rain gear, even in July, and stop at the viewpoints and fishing platforms built along the road to take it all in.