This year's main tour took the Section abroad for the first time. The destination was the Western fjords of Norway. Taking part in this mammoth escapade were Shane Powell (13), Mark Burnard (14), Ian Luke (15), Peter Rushworth (15), Mark Sloman (15), Mark Moxham (19) and Michael Jones. Rain plagued the early part of the tour, but this did not detract in any way from its success.

The overnight train was taken from Newton Abbot on the Tuesday evening, depositing everyone on a cold Carlisle station at about 5am. Three hours later a DMU took us across to Newcastle, where we spent the morning buying breakfasts and browsing through the shops for phrase books and cycle parts. The ferry for Norway left in the early evening from the Tyne Commission Quay at Tynemouth, about ten miles from Newcastle. We managed to avoid the built‑up areas by taking the Tyne Cycleway along the South of the river Tyne, and then crossing by way of the Tyne Tunnel, a pedestrian and cycle tunnel which offered great fun at either end on the escalators.
The ship was enormous. There were numerous restaurants, all offering excellent value. We tried to grab sleep in the reclining chairs, but none of us slept too well.

The crossing to Norway took about 25 hours, calling at Stavanger in mid afternoon and dropping us at Bergen at 2130 Norwegian time (one hour ahead of BST). Along the way it passed between the many islands that dominate Norway's western coast. We made our way to the Montana hostel in Bergen and enjoyed our first good night's sleep for three days.

Next morning, after a little shopping, we took the train to Voss, the location of our next hostel. We had planned to go only as far as Dale and cycle the rest of the way, but plans changed as the rain fell! Norwegian trains are certainly good fun. They are electric, of course, and seem to travel at a respectable speed. Bikes are paid for in advance and loaded on for you by the staff, rather like Red Star parcels in Britain. The route included some rather lengthy tunnels but also gave us our first glimpses of the magnificence of Norway's scenery ‑fast flowing rivers, towering mountains, picturesque fjords ‑ a natural wonderland. With an hour to spare at Voss we took a cable car up the towering Hangur mountain side, giving us fabulous views of Vangs lake from the restaurant at the summit.

The hostel was purpose built in a delightful location on the edge of Voss lake - no wonder Voss is such a popular tourist location!

There was more rain for our first day of cycling - not at all what we had hoped for. Our route took us north from Voss, flat for most of the way. We stopped at a shop to stock up with Norwegian yoghurts, made by the official Norwegian dairy company and especially delicious with their separate compartment containing the dry ingredients. We pressed on up a steep 1000m climb with many hairpins. On the way we saw several herds of goats and some farms advertising geitost - goat's cheese - very popular in Norway. It's a dark brown in colour, and sweeter than most cheeses - most of us thought it excellent! As we neared the top we found snow next to the road - an amazing sight in mid-August! We passed several houses with grassed rooves before enjoying the exhilarating descent to Vik. This is located on the Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway. We rode around the edge for a few more miles to Vangsnes and our youth hostel.

Vangsnes is really only important for its ferry links across the Sognefjord, but the hostel was comfortable enough. Just for a change it was raining as we left. The ferry to Hella was cleverly designed with two decks and a ramp that could be lowered to allow access to the upper deck. Norway has so many ferries that it's not surprising they have some impressive designs.

Next stop was Sogndal, involving a pleasantly flat ride along the north bank of the fjord. Sogndal itself was a busy town nestling in the shelter of the Sogndalsfjord. The warmer climate and fertile soil was the reason for the presence of many fruit trees, particularly apples, perhaps the first real cultivation we had seen in Norway.

The main hostel looked a bit like Voss hostel, purpose built, but we slept in the annexe which seemed to be used as school boarding rooms during termtime. There were some brighter spells in the weather this morning, so everything looked much more attractive than it had last night.

Today's journey was relatively flat, following the banks of Lustrafjorden for much of the way and then taking us deeper into the mountains. We saw numerous enormous waterfalls running off the mountains and plunging into the fjord. The hostel at Skjolden was situated next to the rapids of a huge river ‑some members of the tour revelled in the overpowering noise, but others couldn't sleep even with the window closed!

The ride to Boverdalen on Tuesday was the toughest of all. The road climbed to a height of 1434m, higher than Ben Nevis, and we took all morning and half of the afternoon to reach the Sognefjell summit. We stopped frequently to admire the ever-improving views.

When we got to the top we were rewarded with scenes which would not have looked out of place in Greenland ‑ huge glaciers hugging the snow‑covered mountain sides, vast lakes with icebergs floating around in them, and subzero temperatures. It was all very impressive, but once the rain began we decided to get on with the descent towards warmer temperatures and hot showers at the hostel. Boverdalen youth hostel was nothing special, but it was adequate.

Finally we had sunshine as we set off from Boverdalen. There was plenty more downhill riding, following the river all the way to the delightful tourist village of Lom. We sampled the modern luxurious cafe above the shopping centre and explored the stave church, made entirely of wood.

This was the most easterly point on our tour, so we headed west along the wide-bottomed river valley, where all the flat ground between the mountains was cultivated by numerous small farms, each with their own tractor. Unfortunately we had a tough headwind all the way, which made the afternoon ride a real battle. Skjak hostel was a mix of 4-bedded chalets that offered a comfortable night.

This was our longest day, covering more than 50 miles to Geiranger, and it started with some bright weather. None of the hills in Norway are ever as steep as they are in Britain, as they have to be navigable in winter when covered with snow. We climbed gradually for 44 miles, passing what looked like a deserted ranch near Grotli and a Lap trading post where the Laplanders were selling anything and everything to do with dead animals. The lakes near the top of the climb were crystal clear with the purest water, and all around were white tufts of cotton grass blowing in the wind.

Showers were coming in again as we reached the top, and there before us was the most amazing downhill we had ever seen. It descended more than 1000m in 6 miles along a road which could be likened to a helter skelter. It twisted and turned its way in seemingly endless hairpin bends right down to Geiranger. The view down to Geirangerfjord opened up as we descended through the stages. This is reputed to be the most scenic fjord in all of Norway, and we couldn't really dispute that. The final descent had more hairpins, and it was here that a number of goats by the roadside left us no choice but to stop and make friends.

We took a boat trip right the way along the fjord, with a guide telling us about all the sights as we looked up at the sheer sides of the narrow fjord. The rain didn't make it quite as enjoyable as it should have been, but we were pleased to have seen it. Shane was fortunate enough to be allowed to steer the huge ferry for a while, with a little supervision from the captain of course.

Our hostel was at Hellesylt, just near the end of our ferry journey.

More rain greeted us next morning. Back in Devon they were still suffering a three-month drought, but here there was water wherever you looked.

We had now reached the most northerly point on the tour, and it was time to head back towards Bergen. We stopped at a bus shelter that had been equipped with a lounge sofa - for added comfort. We rode past a large lake and yet another athletics track - apparently standard equipment for most Norwegian schools! The day's ride involved a couple of rises and falls but was not too strenuous.

Finally we approached the delightful Nordfjord and continued the short distance around its perimeter to Stryn, located in a high position overlooking the town.