Day 11

Another brilliant day of riding.

Wet, though not raining when we left Garmo, we had a short stop in Lom, to take in a fantastic wooden stave church. The back side smelt of burning and was blakened, so not sure if it has had a fire recently or not. A very impressive structure but again they wanted £7 to go inside! No thanks.

From Lom we took the RV55 Sognefjellet tourist route south. It was at ths point that Knutr's tomtom decided not to work any more, saying it couldn't plan a route, so he was left to rely on me leading the way. Starting at fjord level, RV55 gradually climbs and twists higher and higher, into the snow covered granite monsters that we have become used to. At one point, we were stopped at road works and whilst waiting, we watched people skiing on the slope alongside us. Bonkers! The route down again is equally twisty and spectacular and not a little scary in places. Coming up a rise and seeing only sky, then a drop off the side of the new tarmac, focuses the mind. There are no barriers to stop you ending up in a frozen lake!

When we got down it was time for a coffee, before finishing this part of our journey at the Manheller ferry. Once again, by pure fluke, we timed it to perfection, though it was a close call for Knutr, who had to dismount to get his money out, meaning I had to dawdle getting on board, to make sure they didn't raise the ramp without hm He should have just done what the German camper driver in front of me did and just drive straight passed the two young guys collecting the fares.

From the ferry, it's a short way to the start of another tourist route, the Aurlandfjellet route. More of the same, so narrow, twisty roads, with the occasional sheep, rising into the sky to a snow covered plateau, before decending again to the warmth and greenery. Along this route is the Stegastein viewpoint. A walkway that hangs out over the rock face, to give a superb view of the Sogne fjord hundreds of feet below and the town of Aurland. These Norwegians like to make the most of these natural wonders and haven't been shy in spending money to ensure each one is an experience for the tourist. More narrow, tight and twisty road leads you down to Aurland. One the way we had a jam, with a camper having to back up passed us (we can't backpedal up hill) to allow those coming up hill to pass. Could have been interesting if we hadn't stopped where we did.

In Aurland it was time to fuel up again. No problem, until it came time to restart and my alarm wouldn't disengage. In that state, I'm basically stuck, as the engine is imobolised. After a mild panic, pointing the fob somewhere near where I imagine the control unit to live, brought it back to life. When we reached our digs though, it still didn't seem to be right, making some ad-hoc bleeps. Hopefully, whatever the issue is will have righted itself after a night's rest, else Knutr may be continuing on his own. 

Tomorrow, we will head east, for our penultimate full day in Norway, staying in a place called Gol.