Nordkapp June 2-17, 2013

[Bury_Dave]

Nordkapp 2013 – A journey by David (aged 49 and-a-half)

Well, when should a trip report be published ? After the trip or from the beginning of the planning ? Or somewhere in between maybe. That’s where i find myself right now. No 20 x 20 hindshight or known outcome. Just an aspiration.

To begin at the beginning ......... I was planning a solo trip to Eastern Europe. Harwich to the Hook and then through Germany, picking up parts of Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania and returning via Austria and Switzerland or trying to make it down to the Med’ and back up the RDGA. 2 weeks and a general idea but nothing fixed / booked and just a tent for a home. I don’t like planning down to the last mile and day.

A German mate who still works where I used to in Switzerland rang me on New Years’ Eve to wish me Happy New Year and to tell me that his planned trip to Finland had fallen through. I suggested to him that as I had nothing fixed and that I’d go with him. He then mentioned that Nordkapp was on his bucket list. To be honest I didn’t know much about Scandinavia and assumed that Nordkapp was in Finland somewhere .......... when he told me where it was (and that it is in Norway ....) I said sure, count me in. Next day I looked NK up on Wiki and on Google Earth. I had a bit of a shock when I read that Oslo to NK is the same distance as riding from Oslo to Naples !! Could it be done ?? Well, a bit of research on UKGSER told me that others had done it and that whilst it wasn’t the most exciting (or cheap) destination in the beautiful tri-nations, a visit there at least once was not only do-able but des rigeur. Certainly a change from heading south.

I plotted a quick route on google to see how many miles it would be and when i divided that up into the 15 days i have, it made for some long days in the saddle and that some idea of where we ought to be on any given day was necessary so that we didn’t end up going a bit slow and having some epic 36 hour ride to catch the return ferry.

My mate left me to work on the route and I decided that as he would be using the overnight train from Basel to Hamburg, that we would meet at a service station just north and make Nordkapp in 4 LONG days which would give us the relative luxury of 9 days to get back down what is supposed to be the gorgeous Norwegian coastline and to the Hook for me and Hamburg for him.

So I head out next Sunday morning on the Harwich ferry and spend my first night in Arnhem. The Monday i will visit the Oesterbeek museum at the Hartenstein Hotel for the morning and head to a town just north of Hamburg in the afternoon and where I will spend the night before meeting my buddy on the Tuesday morning when he will be disembarking from the night train.
After working out a rough route – he wants to cross the bridges in to Copenhagen – and I want to head up through Sweden via the inland E45, I turned to what I might need to take. Since then it has been a process of throwing into the spare room everything I think I might want and then removing items in order to meet a realistic packing volume. The weather could be rough and cold and windy or hot and dry and likely to be a combination of all 4 seasons in 2 weeks. I’ll be needing a bit more gear than for my jaunt a couple of years back into France, Italy and Switzerland. I also vowed after the last trip that a bigger tent and more comfortable sleeping mat were not luxuries at my time of life !

So today I finally packed my stuff and put it on the bike ready for next weekend. I won’t have time during the week. Next Saturday I’ll pick my money up and that is it.

Here’s some photos of my kit laid out and then packed and then loaded onto my bike.

Kit laid out:

<a href="http://s5.photobucket.com/user/pilgrim632000/media/Nordkapp%202013/IMG_1510_zps24384acd.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/pilgrim632000/Nordkapp%202013/IMG_1510_zps24384acd.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1510_zps24384acd.jpg"/></a>

Sleeping bag and some riding kit:
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Tent, sleeping mat and grub:

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Clothing: Yes, you do see a Barbour suit. I got so sick of some of my mates telling me that whilst many bikers had been to Nordkapp, so far no-one with a GS had made it with anything other than a Rallye / Klim or Rukka suit and so I am going to prove them wrong  You will also notice that I am using a Davida Jet open faced helmet with goggles and a neoprene facemask rather than some flash’Adventja biker’ helmet. I have an Arai Tour X3 but it is noisy, drafty and has poor visibility compared to my Jet. My personal view is to avoid having and accident rather than wear what might be a bit safer in the event f an accident. Personal preference and not a dig at anyone ! 


Food for 2 blokes for 11 days. We’ve both read that it is EXPENSIVE in Scandinavia and so we are taking a lot of the food we will need and will supplement it with fresh fruit and veg’ as well as fish and roadkill. The rations came from British and US mates who are still in the military (I work on a USAF base).

<a href="http://s5.photobucket.com/user/pilgrim632000/media/Nordkapp%202013/IMG_1512_zps61cd9b90.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/pilgrim632000/Nordkapp%202013/IMG_1512_zps61cd9b90.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_1512_zps61cd9b90.jpg"/></a>

Fully packed – until i can offload some of the food to my buddy and hopefully empty most of the contents of the daysack.

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Rear view of bloated beastie:

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Side view:

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Now I appreciate that I have rambled excessively and that most riders will have given a full 3 month report in fewer words than I have used thus far, but that is the way I am. If it is too much , let me know and when I do my update in 3 weeks, I’ll keep it brief and to the point and just do the usual list of roads and campsites and mileages.

Apologies for the pants photos - that's an iPhone 4g for you. I'll be using a DSLR for the trip.
See you all in 3 weeks and 2 days 

 

[andrewh]

Enjoy the trip, looking forward to your next report

 

[Bury_Dave]

Cheers Andrew

You read it whilst I was still editing it Hope the photos view better now.

 

[aspiring]

write up is great,pics are good.soft panniers make a nice change to the usual ali boxes.let us know how you get on with the military rations.look forward to the ride report,enjoy the trip

 

[GSTourer]

Looking forward to the rest of it........have a good trip.

P.S. Are you taking the seedlings to supplement your fresh fruit and veg purchased en route?

 

[aspiring]

Looking forward to the rest of it........have a good trip.

P.S. Are you taking the seedlings to supplement your fresh fruit and veg purchased en route?

and the stainless bowl in the first picture looks like an extravagence too

 

[Bury_Dave]

write up is great,pics are good.soft panniers make a nice change to the usual ali boxes.let us know how you get on with the military rations.look forward to the ride report,enjoy the trip

The rations are a huge step forward from my days in the early to mid 1980's. Much healthier. My American mates on base gave me a load of the US MRE heaters which are basically a plastic bag of some sort which is filled with metal filings. You add a little water and a chemical reaction takes place which heats up to 2 meals in several minutes. The food weighs a bit - probably the heaviest items in fact - but even if you pay the £4 per main meal that Cotswold Camping charge, it's still a lot cheaper than a Scandie restaurant - especially as we will be wild camping for the most part.

As to the bowl, extravagance indeed. That's for the dog - I have to eat off the floor when the dog is done

 

[boatman]

Hi Dave
What does that make ,do you recon for your total mileage round trip?

 

[Bury_Dave]

I'd have to check but I think somewhere between 4,700 and 5,000 miles - possibly more. We have a few detours if we get time. I suppose for a proper number it'll have to wait 3 weeks . I will keep a log .

 

[davem]

Great write up so far, Dave. I'm planning a similar trip next year so interested to see future installments.

Are you planning on doing any gravel roads?

 

[Bury_Dave]

Cheers Dave

Most is Tarmac -albeit minor in parts. The lack of time and need for 'speed' have in large part dictated that. However, there is a section on the way back that is 150 Kms IIRC. I don't want to say too much about the route til it's over as I' got lots of scenic sections and quite how we stitch those together will reveal itself to us as we go along.

My write up will have route, distances, overnight locations and many musings and general bollox/ comment on what we see etc. Also some of the sources I used so that others can use them to work their own routes.

The weather is currently very warm and there has been much flooding as the snow and ice melt quicker than usual. Also some Finnish mates are telling me that the mossies are getting bad earlier than usual - it's been that warm.

Cheers

 

[johnnyrep]

i want to wish you well and write as many words as you want i will read it.

my tip on the rations having tried them all while serving.
the MREs are horrible [nicknamed meals rejected ethiopian] but of course are well balance and like all army stuff can be eaten cold.
in my view the best rat packs are the British,French and German but as my dad allways says you will eat anything when hungry.
i was speaking to a Norwegian girl last week about the speed limits its simple they are strict they will catch you,so beware.

 

[johnnyrep]

by the way why no tank bag?weight is in the middle of the bike camera and that are also to hand.

 

[Bury_Dave]

i want to wish you well and write as many words as you want i will read it.

my tip on the rations having tried them all while serving.
the MREs are horrible [nicknamed meals rejected ethiopian] but of course are well balance and like all army stuff can be eaten cold.
in my view the best rat packs are the British,French and German but as my dad allways says you will eat anything when hungry.
i was speaking to a Norwegian girl last week about the speed limits its simple they are strict they will catch you,so beware.

Johnny, thanks for the encouragement and advice

The rations are all latest gen' Brit ones. Plus some Wayfarer ones from Cotswold Camping. Tried some bits and thought they were tasty. Not like the liquid cheese or dreaded baconburgers from my time in the Mob.

Regarding speeding, i am happiest when bimbling along at 70-80 mph with the time to enjoy the views. And much faster increases the liklihood of hitting some local, large-scale, wildlife. This touring malarkey isn't a race for me.

And whilst it isn't an 'Adventure' in any sense, it will be challenging and maybe a little uncomfortable at times. But it is only a couple of mates catching up and having a good, shared experience and i'm sure my squaddy stoicism matched with my German boxhead (ex leopard gunner) pals sense of schadenfreud will come in handy.

It will also be a good comparison between his year old 7,000 km 1200 Adventure and my 4 year old, 23,000 MILE F800.

To answer the question on why no tank bag: the amount of weight you are likely to stuff in one is unlikely to be felt wherever you put it on the bike. Plus my camera and go-to items will be in the double lockable top box with only a set of goretex and some snacks for the day in my daysack. Far easier also to carry a backpack than tankbag if wandering away from the bike. Just my thoughts.

 

[johnnyrep]

Yep the new rat packs are even better



Driving is a great way to explore Norway outside major cities. There is a limited network of motorways around Oslo (up to 100 km/h). Country roads are mostly dual-lane separated by a yellow line in the middle. General speed limit is 80 km/h (50 km/h in villages and towns) if otherwise not specified. A good rule of thumb is to calculate 1 minute for 1 kilometer on average. Do not underestimate driving times/distances.

Traffic is generally calm and light, and most drivers are disciplined and law abiding, although moderate speeding is common on highways. Inside Oslo and around traffic jams occur. Oslo has a network of trams (light rail mixed with other traffic), note that trams in general have absolute right of way - trams don't even yield to pedestrians.

 

[johnnyrep]

I passed my test on a B40,when I was Don R I survived on oatmeal blocks I still love em if I can find them.

 

[juhhyto]

Sorry about the high prices and mossies. Welcome to Scandinavia (I am from Finland). I'll have a quick trip to Lofoten islands (Norway, just below the Nordkapp) between 14.-18. June, with my mate. My advice, take some gravel roads because they are in a good conditions generally. It is a loads of fun to travel 100 kph in a loose gravel.

-juha-

 

[Roberto]

Dave,

Looks like a great set up- best of luck with the trip bud

Are you going to write as you go along? Publishing on the way can be done of course but I find it is best to write up whilst all the little details are fresh in the mind.

I'd have my doubts about using George Roper's crash helmet, but then again I'm a big sissy.

Interested to see how it goes with the nosebag.

Good luck and have a great trip

R

 

[bladerunner]

Looking forward to this - Nordkapp is on my bucket list.

Don't bimble at 80mph - the scandinavians are very strict on speeding (DAMHIK ).

Enjoy the MRE's - I seem to remember some of the meals lead to the most alarming coloured stool!!

Consider "Avon - skin so soft" for the mozzies!! Curiously it works and I gather the paras use it. Much nicer than deet which strips plastic!

 

[iand46]

Plus my camera and go-to items will be in the double lockable top box QUOTE]

How does your double lock work on your top box. I noticed it on top of the box.
did you buy or fabricate it?