Norway May 2010 ... please help!!

SlowJohn

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Your help would be massively appreciated with this ...

A mate and I are planning a trip in May. This is our criteria so far:

1. 17th May 13:00 Land at Esbjerg
2. 27th May 18:45 depart from Esbjerg
3. Get to the arctic circle
4. Keep the costs low
5. Do as many gravel roads as possible
6. Where possible use bridges, not ferries

I'm taking an 1150 GSA and the other "bike" is a KTM 950

This is our first trip like this so we have a million questions (well my mate (Leigh on here) does, I don't do detail :D)

Ideally we would decide each morning where we're going to head to that day rather than have a set itinerary.

Here are the first set of questions:

1. Do we rough camp or camp on proper sites? If proper sites is there a good book we can take listing them?
2. Are there any places we should go out of our way to see?
3. Are there any places we should try to avoid?
4. Will a decent 3 seasons sleeping bag be warm enough?

Absolutely any other advice would be brilliant, we really are clueless!
 
I realise I'm pushing my luck here but ..... :hide ....

It's possible I'll wear a rear tyre out on the trip .... do I take one or assume I can can buy one?
 
(A quick and bad reply now - I'll get back to you.)

Gravel roads and camping rough; start to look at AdamA's thread here at ''Scandinavia and Iceland''.
Tyre: If you know where you are when you need a new tyre you can order a tyre before you leave home, and make an appointment for changing it.
If you have no idea when&where you need a new tyre you could be waiting for them to get it and they might not have time to change it that week...
-But if you are lucky they have your size and can fix that day - but then you are really lucky.

Sleepingbag:
If the mattress are good too, and you are wearing thin wool underwear (longjohns and sweater) you'll survive.
But you might get cold night with ice on ponds the next morning, in May, so be prepared.
-Why not try to sleep outside your house one night? And eat your breakfast outside too.

-I'll be back for you! :angel

:) Liv.
 
One thing I'd take is a good stock of your own booze as it's ball breakingly expensive to buy in Norway
 
We did Norway on a budget a couple of years ago.
We were going to alternate between rough camping and campsites but none of the ones we stayed at were that expensive. we even had a hut one night after a wet day as it just as cheap as two tents!! Fully equipped for cooking as well:thumb2
The Atic circle is easily do able but to be honest the roads there are not as enjoyable as staying around the Fjords. One of those has to be done things
though, great to drop into conversations about where have you been on that!!!!;)
I was doing about 77 mpg on the Dakar as you speed is never that high, too much too look at and VERY high fines if you get caught:( so fuel cost weren't an issue.
Took a fair bit of food with us and beer to last 10 days (although neither of us drink much so maybe only a std Tossers days supply:D)
Found real ale in the supermarkets at a similar price to home anyway:cool:
All the ferries across the Fjords are cheap enough not to worry about.
It wan't matter which road you take, they all have the wow factor:thumb2
When approaching a tunnel look for the brown tourist signs which take you over the top on the old roads.
Pick the main points to visit and string a route together as you go along.
Enjoy!!!
 

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Hi all, I'm the other half of this clueless dou taking this trip.

what are the recommended must see sights in Norway???

I would hate to miss something spectacular by visiting a 1/10.

Time, Energy, Thermals and willpower allowing we would like to make it up to Bodo so as to get the Arctic Circle tick in the box.

Leigh
 
Thanks all (except Leigh)

Does anyone know of something similar to the Alan Rogers camping guides for Norway? It would be nice to take a book so we don't have to plan campsites before we go.

I've had a look around and think maybe the "Rough Guide" would be good. Am I right?

How about a decent tough map book? Any recommendations? If the map showed the type of road (gravel or metalled) that would be great, is there such a beast?
 
Norway in June

Went over about 3 years ago with Rushy, Pipster, Hayley, Terry, Alison and Kev late May/June.

Came back through Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, etc, etc.

Found out that the high roads just start opening (due to snow) the first week of June. Some side roads were still blocked with snow and barriers. Drove along some cut out of the snow with 20ft high snow on each side, even in June. Some Skiiers were jumping over the road from one side to the other.

This was southern Norway.

There will be snow.

Malc
 
Camping in Norway

Info on all camp grounds here: http://www.nafcamp.com/en/

You can pick up the paper version at any NAF office, or have it mailed for a NOK 60,- (appr £6) fee. That part is all in Norwegian, but you guys are intelligent enough to work it out.

Personally I wouldn't want to sleep in a tent up North in May, but I'm a pussy. Go for a cabin ("hytte"), they are affordable and you will have no problem finding one at that time.

I would also stay south of Ålesund, as it is the best part. The good gravel roads will be wet and muddy, if open at all. They tend to be in the mountains or deep into the inland woods, they take time to melt and dry.

If you have a Garmin gps, I have some routes I could mail you if you like.

Have a nice trip!
 
SlowJohn said:
1. Do we rough camp or camp on proper sites? If proper sites is there a good book we can take listing them?
2. Are there any places we should go out of our way to see?
3. Are there any places we should try to avoid?
4. Will a decent 3 seasons sleeping bag be warm enough?

Absolutely any other advice would be brilliant, we really are clueless!
Click to expand...

1) Plan for both occasions. The wild camping can be done in some amazing places, but in May it can get BLOODY cold up on the higher roads so you may need to drop down into the lower more populated areas where wild camping may not be an option.
2) See the link Murdo posted. :augie
and the answer to 3 below.
3) In general the SE is (whist still beautiful) not as stunning as the SW Fjords and South central Mountains. Don't avoid the SE, but plan to spend more time in the more central to westerly areas.
Again when you head north (tronheim and beyond) the scenery tones down a bit, still lovely but a less stunning and a bit samey. It can get a tad monotonous.
4) as per 1. Up high level in May, possibly not. Get a thermal (fleece?) liner to go with it and it should be fine tho. With LONG days it should still be light enough to up sticks and move down the valley by the time you realise it's not warm enough tho.


As muzvmc said, no plan needed especially for accommodation as there is so much to be had (look at Hyttes too as they are not much more expensive than camping on a camp site and often have log burning stoves so are good at higher levels unlike a tent). Personally I think a rough route is worth having tho, if only to not miss the best bits.
Yes, it would be a great journey just following your nose, but it would also be bloody annoying to get back, read someone else's ride report and think "bugger, wish i had gone there!:blast".

Any other Qs you have I will do my best to answer....
 
SlowJohn said:
It's possible I'll wear a rear tyre out on the trip .... do I take one or assume I can can buy one?
Click to expand...
VERY possible, depending on the tyre and how much movement there is in your right wrist.:augie
More so when doing the arctic circle as the bike will not spend much of it's time on it's ear in the northern half of the trip, unlike on the SW hairpin passes.
A recently fitted tourance or similar should be up to it if you aren't max acceleration out of every corner....
 
The plan so far

This is what we're thinking so far (based largely on the excellent advice here and emails from you helpful lot :D ):

13:00 17/5 land at Esjberg
Ride to Hirtshals (Denmark)
Camp here: http://hirtshals.dk-camp.dk/
Early 18/5 Get ferry to Kristiansand (Norway)

This makes SW Norway very accessible.

Take in as many routes on this map as possible whilst heading generally north

http://www.cappelendamm.no/main/katalog.aspx?isbn=9788202297428

BTW, for those people like me who speak almost no foreign languages the Google Toolbar is excellent for translating everything on the fly :beerjug:

The burning questions at the moment are:

Do we book the Hirtshals to Kristiansand ferry or just turn up?
What are the "must see" bits?
Which roads on this series of maps are legal and which are the gravel roads?
http://www.cappelendamm.no/main/katalog.aspx?isbn=9788202295134

Thank you all very, very much from the clueless duo :clap
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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