Early June the weather can be quite variable in Norway. If you decide to ride about in June, bring good rain gear & warm clothes!
Of later years June has been a dry month. In fact very dry. At least in the south-eastern, some western and central parts. And July has evolved into somewhat of a rain season month. Unpredictable, with at times torrential rain.
The downside with early June is that it’s still pretty cold up in the mountains. As a result many roads, especially the roads less travelled, do not open before first to second week of June. The reason being…. snow, and safety.
If I were to give any advice to motorcycle riders, then the last two weeks of June is what you should aim for. At least that is the trend now. But I could be wrong. No one knows what the 2024 season will bring!
Aurland mountain and road Bjørgavegen, early June 2023
Early June ride west
A friend has a house in Aurland. Early June it wasn’t in use so I got to borrow it for a few days. The weather forecast was great so I decided to take two extra days off work. Turn a weekend into a mini-vacation.
From Oslo to Aurland it takes between four and half and five hours. But that means main roads all the way. I had other plans, as usual.
Right after Drammen, the next big town west of Oslo, I took off the main road towards Kongsberg, in direction of Skotselv. Hadn’t decided on what route to follow over to Aurland. So I rode in direction of Eggedal, an in-between route that that made it possible to postpone a decision till later.
Along Fv63, a public gravel and dirt road
Soon I was on gravel, a public road called Fv63 (Fv is short for “Fylkesvei”, or county road in Norway). At Lyngdal it was onto pavement in direction of Sigdal. Coming down from the hills on Fv134 you’re greeted with a view like below. There are indeed worse things to behold.
Lake Soneren in Sigdal, seen from Fv134..
From Sigdal onto Fv133 which runs on the eastern side of lake Soneren. It’s a lot more fun for motorcyclists. On the north side of the lake Fv133 merges with main road to Eggedal.
Route decision
While having a coffee break in Eggedal a friend living on the west coast sent me a message. He was taking Friday off so we decided to hook up somewhere in Aurland the next day. He suggested I’d try a mountain road from Hemsedal over to Ål – Votnedalen.
This sounded like a great idea. It was a road I’d never tried. A route decision was quickly made. From Eggedal across the mountain, past Haglebu, and down into Hallingdal. It was pretty chilly up there, with temps down towards 8/10C. Typical early spring. And a sign of what to expect further north and higher up.
Coming down towards Hallingdal
Down in Hallingdal rode up to Gol, then quickly onto Rv52, also called Hemsedalsvegen. At Hemsedal Skiing Center the mountain road begins. With an automatic toll station. Cameras recognize license plates. Don’t know how they manage to charge tourists, if at all.
Use credit cards wherever possible. The company that runs these automatic toll stations add an extra fee when they invoice. Create an account and register your vehicle on youpark.no makes it possible to avoid the extra fee. But you have to pay within 48 hours of the invoice time.
Up on Hemsedalsfjellet making my way across. Or so I thought.
Shortly after I was up in the mountains. Lots of snow up there but the road was dry and looked promising. Most of these types of mountain roads offers pretty easy riding. And should be doable for and with touring motorcycles. There can be more challenging sections. Take it easy and you should be fine.
Road closed, change of plans
I had great fun for a while. But coming around a corner, the fun ended in the form of the below sign and road barrier.
An unmistakable sign, road closed, probably because of snow.
It would be easy to get past, plenty of room on both sides. However, there was a high probability the road was closed because of snow. Just the week before I had a similar experience on another road further south. I’d passed the barrier set up, only to run into snow a few kilometers later.
Here I could risk riding far into the mountains, and then have to turn around. Time began to be a factor. It has a sad tendency to go fast when you’re having fun on small roads.
So I went back down, and took Rv52 across Hemsedalsfjellet to Lærdal and Lærdalsøyri. Just like in 2021.
Over Aurland mountain early June
Between Lærdalsøyri and Aurlandsvagen you have two options, the Lærdal tunnel, or the scenic road Fv5627 across Aurlandsfjellet. Latter had opened just the day before. I’ve ridden that road multiple times. So I actually did start on the tunnel, but turned around and took “Bjørgavegen”.
There’s something almost magical about coming across the mountains down into Aurland. Those who have been there will agree. Above the tree line there was plenty of snow all over, and along the road.
Aurflandsfjellet is, even during summer, one of the colder mountains in these parts of the country. Early June temperatures below 10C is to be expected. My dash said 6-7C. So didn’t stop to take pictures but rode across and began the descent to Aurland.
Down from Aurlandsfjellet on the other side.
Made a brief stop at Stegastein for the “obligatory”, seasonal picture of Aurlandsfjorden. If you’ve not been here, make a note of it! Absolutely breath taking view. But try to be here either early in the season, early in the morning or later afternoon. Or else expect it to be crowded!
Aurlandsfjorden, seen from Stegastein
Down in Aurlandsvangen made a short stop for food, then carried on to my accommodation. The next day I’d once again face snow barriers and U-turns.
Back soon with more!
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