Day 2: The morning began with a short but tough detour climbing 300m up a beautiful quiet road with mountain views all around. At the top, there is a short flat section before the famous Hoddevik switchback road descends down to a little cove with high mountain cliffs on either side.

Hoddevik is a tiny sleepy village with only a handful of people living there. However, each year hundreds of surfers visit from around the world to ride Hoddevik’s famous waves that crash onto one of Norway’s most beautiful beaches.

After a short stop in Hoddevik talking to a few students from Trondheim who were spending a week surfing the extremely cold waters. I headed back up the switchbacks and on to Ålesund.

The journey North along Eurovelo 1 has calm and quiet roads for the first part of Road 61. It was really relaxing to cycle. The fjords are so still that the reflection was mind-blowing and entertained me for hours. I stopped several times to admire the perfect reflection of the mountains and forests on the fjord water.

Unfortunately, the dreamy world came to an end as I took a ferry over to the island of Gurskøy. For some reason, road 61 became busier as I cycled further North crossing the Island. By 17:00 it was clear to see I was part of the rush hour traffic as people headed home from work. Many cars were passing but thankfully around 10km from Hareid a cycle lane appeared allowing my shoulders to relax again. From Haried, there is a short ferry journey over to the peninsular that Ålesund sits on. The first part of the ride is on the main 61 road but the traffic is controlled by the ferry so it was fine to cycle. After several kilometers, you join up with the E45 and from there, cycle lanes or side roads lead you into the pretty town of Ålesund.

It was another remarkable day of riding with so many highlights. But Hoddevik is certainly the crown jewel of the area and worth the detour! Tomorrow we take a detour to some of Norway’s most famous areas, Now the party really begins! See you tomorrow, plenty more to come!