CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 294 km round trip from Ålesund - roughly 7 h 05 in the saddle. It goes by way of Geirangerfjord Area, West Norwegian Fjords - Geirangerfjord and and back through Geirangerfjord Area. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,150 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
The ride follows Geiranger-Trollstigen Norwegian Scenic Route for 64 km.
Ålesund spreads across a string of islands at the mouth of the fjords on Norway's north-west coast, and it looks unlike any other town in the country because a single night in January 1904 burned it down. A wind-whipped fire destroyed most of the wooden town, leaving thousands homeless, and the rebuilding took only a few years. The architects who did the work were young and fresh from study abroad, so the centre came out in stone and Art Nouveau, with towers, turrets and curling ornaments in every street. German Emperor Wilhelm, who had holidayed in the area, is remembered here for helping with relief supplies.
Read the complete Alesund write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Ålesund is where the day begins. Next is Geirangerfjord Area.
Geirangerfjord is a narrow arm of the sea that cuts into the mountains for about fifteen kilometres, and its walls climb straight up out of the water. Waterfalls drop down the cliffs, the best known being the Seven Sisters, and abandoned mountain farms cling to ledges that seem impossible to reach. The whole area is on the World Heritage list, and the reason is easy to grasp the first time you come around a bend and see it. The village at the head is small and in summer is crowded by cruise ships, which dwarf the houses and give the place a strange scale.
Read the complete Geirangerfjord Area write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Geirangerfjord Area comes up about 83 km into the recorded legs. Next is West Norwegian Fjords - Geirangerfjord and.
Here is the other side of Geirangerfjord, the one the tour brochures skip. High above the water, on the mountain called Åkneset, a huge slab of rock is slowly sliding towards the fjord. Tens of millions of cubic metres of it are monitored day and night by sensors, because if it ever fell in one go it could send a wave through the narrow fjord and the village at its head. The danger is real, the monitoring is serious, and the local authorities have plans for evacuation. It is the sort of fact that puts the postcard in a different light.
Read the complete West Norwegian Fjords - Geirangerfjord and write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 147 km into the recorded legs you reach West Norwegian Fjords - Geirangerfjord and. Next is back through Geirangerfjord Area.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Geirangerfjord Area write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Geirangerfjord Area, late in the day. Next is Alesund.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alesund write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Alesund. That is the ride.
Ålesund → Geirangerfjord Area is 83 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Geirangerfjord Area → West Norwegian Fjords - Geirangerfjord and is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
West Norwegian Fjords - Geirangerfjord and → back through Geirangerfjord Area is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Geirangerfjord Area → Alesund is 83 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.