Meraker, Norway 378 km

The way it rained last night we weren’t sure what our day was going to be like but the rain had stopped and the road was dry by morning. We were glad the bike was housed in its own garage provided by the hotel. Still lots of low clouds/scud around. Cooler than the previous days so thankful for our electric vests, heated seats and grips. We think this was one of the best buffet breakfasts we have had so far. Will be a different fare tomorrow as we are doing it ourselves.

Today was a day of ferries, bridges and tunnels. The tunnels are a mainstay on the roads here. The shortest was only 230 m but the longest was 5.7 km – yes you read that correctly- and that one had a toll booth before entering it. Due to the length of these there are big fans to keep the air moving. You can hear them howling as you approach then be prepared because they move the bike too! The temperature also climbs quite a bit as you get near the middle. A bit of construction around today as they continues to build yet more tunnels!

This was one of the days we had been looking forward to. We were to ride the Atlantic Ocean Road! And we did but unfortunately the scud continued. It is still a very impressive road even though it isn’t that long. It must have been quite a feat building all these bridges. The epic bridge we had read about feels like you are going up and down a rollercoaster!

Atlantic Ocean Road

Most of the day we rode along the ocean, fjords and as you can guess the seaweed attracted the motorcycle pilot. We needed a rest stop anyway so off we went to check out what kind it was.

Seaweed

Lots of people fishing along the river. More traffic than we had expected but then this seems to be a very popular area for vacationers. One of our rest stops we talked to a couple who were riding their own bikes but with their 6 year old (?) daughter on the back of her dad’s bike. Their complaint was she keeps falling asleep. When Norma told them it happens to her they said – you mean she isn’t going to grow out of it!

Trout, Char and Salmon

We made a choice to try a different kind of accommodation tonight so booked a two bedroom apartment in Meraker. The fellow who owns it tells us this is used all winter for students (ages 16 to 18) coming here for high school and to train for cross country skiing. We can see how it would suit their needs. And it has a washing machine so our laundry is out in the sun drying. As we are pretty far north the sun doesn’t really go down. I bet it will get cool though as there isn’t a cloud in the sky now. Too bad this wasn’t the case earlier. It is pretty peaceful here. No neighbours, no one else in the adjoining apartments and the constant sound of goat bells in the hills around us, the occasional sheep bleating and sunshine so what more can you ask. A sharp contrast from the soccer revelers (drunks) the last couple of nights.

So. Here it is. Our first helmet cam video so you can ride with us along part of the Atlantic Ocean Road.