Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Biking on Gurskøya, Oct 31 & Nov 1 2009

(incl. Moldtusteinen, Brandhornet/Fjellsenden & Hasundhornet)


 

Moldtusteinen, Brandhornet, Oct 31 2009

The truth of the matter is that on this weekend - I didn't feel like doing any hiking. This was an unusual situation, to say the least. But I had felt tired all week, and this Saturday morning, things were no different. The only thing I could get motivated for was to get on the bike, go somewhere and perhaps do some short walks along the way.

Arriving at Moldtustranda, I decided to stop by Moldtusteinen - a 70m hill that I had planned to visit for some time. The local graveyard became my trailhead, and 6-7 minutes later I was on top. This was a welcome break from the bike. My rear has still not fully gotten used to the hard seat..

I continued to Gjerdsvika and went up the Sædalen road. A side road took me a little bit closer to Brandhornet (aka Fjellsenden, 380m) - my second short walk for the day. 12 minutes later, I was on top - glad that there were no more short walks awaiting. I also looked forward to the long downhill to Moldtustranda, and the - fairly - easy leg home.

The whole trip took 3h:40m. The total distance was 46,7km, of which 45,3km was on the bike. 700 vertical meters.

 

 

Our local Highway 1 on Gurskøya

Our local Highway 1 on Gurskøya
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Around Gurskøya, Nov 1 2009

This Sunday, I was even more exhausted than the day before. After a very late breakfast, I ended up watching and old movie on some TV channel or other. But after a while I pulled myself together, as there was no way I would be watching telly before noon. I decided to go on yet another bike trip, this time without any short walks along the way.

I figured that a trip around the island would be nice. That was before I got on the bike seat. "Holy cow! Major ouch!" I went back in and put on some extra underwear. That felt better.

I decided to do the trip counter-clockwise, which meant that I would do the ascent to Leikongeidet early on. I was greeted by a strong head wind. I barely exceeded 50km/h on the way down to Gursken, which was fine - for I wouldn't have been able to see much with watery eyes.

 

Gursken fjord

Gursken fjord
(Click for larger image)

I stopped at Gjøneset for pictures, some peanuts and water. The rest of the trip would be nice and easy - along the main road all the way back home. But as I was getting ready to get back on the bike, another biker passed. "No! No! this can't be happening", I said to myself. The competition animal in me had awakened..

I soon caught up with him. "Going far?", I asked. He told me that he was going around the island and would head across Sædalen (where I went the day before). "Really? Me too", I said, lying through my teeth. I increased the pace and by the time I reached Gjerdsvika, I expected that I had shaken him off. But no, he was only 100 metres behind.

Grrr. This meant that the ascent up Sædalen would be a painful one. Halfway up the first leg, the distance between us was the same. I kept on pushing the pedal to the metal and when I got to the top of the hill, he was nowhere to be seen. Flatmo-machine vs. Stranger 1-0. I felt good, but also a bit insane.

There was now the familiar downhill to Moldtustranda to look forward to. The goal was to beat the 57km/h I reached a couple of weeks ago. And I was en route, until a small boy decided to block my way. That was quite OK. I shouldn't be going that fast where kids are playing anyway.

What amazed me that I had head winds all around the island. That shouldn't really be possible (?), but I've heard about this before. And now I had experienced it. This phenomenon will need some research..

The 47,2km trip took 2h:30m altogether. And I got 600 vertical meters without having done a single short walk...

 

Hasundhornet, Nov 1 2009

Later in the afternoon, I went up Hasundhornet to get some after-dark pictures (a short and easy walk). The hike got aggravating, as while I was on my way up and down the mountain, no less than 3 cars stopped next to my car. And after a few minutes, they moved on. Who were they, and what did they want?

But all this aside, Hasundhornet is a most excellent viewpoint...

On Hasundhornet

On Hasundhornet
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Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 450D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 
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Moldtusteinen, Brandhornet, Oct 31 2009

0A. Trip tracks 1. Moldtusteinen 2. On Moldtusteinen 3. Moldtustranda 4. Moldtustranda 5. Skorpa island 6. Langholmane 7. Green forest below Moldtusteinen 8. To Gjerdsvika 9. Rugged terrain 10. Rugged terrain 11. Gjerdsvika ahead 12. Brandhornet ahead 13. View from Brandhornet 14. My Brandhornet trailhead 15. Looking back on Brandhornet 16. Halloween sky

Around Gurskøya, Nov 1 2009

0B. Trip tracks 17. Blåtind massif 18. Gursken fjord 19. Tra-la-la 20. The sky seen from Gjøneset

Hasundhornet, Nov 1 2009

21. Hammarstøylsvatnet 22. Ulsteinvik 23. Ulsteinvik 24. Dimnøya 25. Deep thoughts?

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0A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 0B 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

 

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