Day 5. Haugesund to Ølberg.
Distance 90km. Average not known.
The following day we left by 10 am with the weather looking a bit iffy. We wasted a good hour in Haugesund on a fruitless attempt to buy something better than Rød Sprit for our Trangia. We did discover that there was another product (Fin Fyr) but everyone was sold out in Haugesund and no-one had any methanol that they could sell us. By the time we were ready to leave it was raining very heavily, and after delaying things with coffee and cake for a half hour we decided we just had to push on.
The weather was changeable through the day, by the time we reached the bridge at Norheim (the scariest of the whole route) it was wet and windy again. The bridge goes up steeply is very narrow and has side barriers not even at shoulder height. The footpath is only just wider than a bike with panniers on it. It seemed to be a very busy road which removed the option of cycling up the bridge (even if we had wanted to). I was very nervous and I think even Damae was having her doubts at times.
If we ever come this way again then we will definitely try and find a way round this bridge or take a bus over it (recommended if you are at all scared of heights). Astonishingly on the way down we met a couple (Norwegians?) on mountain bikes cycling up the narrow foot path.
Relieved at having survived the bridge we got to the bottom, and turned right to follow the route through farmland. After about 15 mins the rain stopped completely and we took our rain gear off and paused to have a quick drink. The landscape at this point was very flat and with the rich green pastures reminded me a little of the English county of Cheshire where I grew up. As happened many times as the sun came out it warmed up rapidly. Wonderful.
We cycled for some time close to the shoreline, the sun glinting on the water sky glorious blue. Did I mention it was sunny?