Circle2Circle - Arctic Trip

Bald Biker

Guest
Hi Guys,
I'm travelling to NordKapp (Europes most northern point) in the Arctic Circle. Travelling in May+June,
Route- Harridge, Denmark, west coast of Norway to NordKapp, returning Finland, East coast of Sweden, Denmark, Home to UK.
Any advice please on, clothing, do's, Dont's, things to see and do. Has anyone experience of this route
 
The only advice I would give is to post this in the right place:thumb
 
time

how long have you given yourself for this trip ???
 
there you go

Bald Biker said:
Hi Guys,
I'm travelling to NordKapp (Europes most northern point) in the Arctic Circle. Travelling in May+June,
Route- Harridge, Denmark, west coast of Norway to NordKapp, returning Finland, East coast of Sweden, Denmark, Home to UK.
Any advice please on, clothing, do's, Dont's, things to see and do. Has anyone experience of this route
Click to expand...
There you go mr bald biker, one of the forum gurus has put you in the right place, welcome aboard by the way and welcome to the mayhem.all the best Paul
 
Nordkapp!

Been up to the Nordkapp twice. It's a long way but I like the E6 'Arctic Highway' even though it's very slow 80/90kph. I like the 'Inlandsbann' in Sweden aswell its a bit faster at 110kph. First time It was my first long trip on a brand new 1150ADV, second time I cheated a bit and drove my Defender 90.

I've also done a third trip to the the Arctic Circle in 2008 on my HP2 Enduro with Mrs P. on her F650GS as it was her first long trip but we stayed mainly in Swedish Lappland at a friends farm riding gravel roads before return south for an easier tour through Fjord Norway. It was very cold again in the north but at Arjeplog and Skelleftea in Sweden it was good weather, really warm and enjoyable.

First time at the Nordkapp 25th May 2003 which is very early, very cold at the Kapp down to -9c at 1am still daylight could see the sun clearly and the roads had just opened.

Second time was 1st June 2007 again broken cloud and sunshine at the Kapp and it rained and snowed most of the time on the way up there. Not as cold though only down to -1c.

Check out 'Norway's Arctic Highway' by john Douglas, it's a good read with a lot of info on the E6 and side routes it covers the 'blood road' from the Arctic circle to the Russian Border at Kirkenes which is worth a visit if you're already that far north.

I used the Norweigian Hytter huts for acomodation and camped if the weather was nice. Hytters cost £20-£35 for a four berth as it was early season. Just pull in and ask for one, they're very good but basic.

Our longest day was nearly 600miles but I usually rode 300-350miles with an early start we had to ride long days and it's a slow average speed but you get to see plenty of fantastic scenery.

Great sense of achievement when you pull into the Arctic Circle Centre it's even better at the Nordkapp.......!

FP.:thumb
 
I've got the secret horn for a trip to Nordkapp, the trick is to take loads on money.... cos it's expensive:thumb2 take lots of pictures and do the ride report...:thumb2:thumb2

there must be a place where you can be in three countries at one time...
 
we have allowed 17 days riding, with 3 days for rest+sight seeing
 
Nordkapp in mid June 2006; real mix of weather on the tour. Very cold crossing the Arctic Circle (glad I had packed the balaclava, fleece, and my Rohan merino wool baselayers); interspersed with a couple of very wet days (really tested the Goretex) which again kept temperatures down, then some lovely sunny days in the low 20's. Roads were all clear of ice & snow but there was still plenty of it lying around. Pack as if for Scottish spring weather i.e 4 seasons in one day :eek

I had also taken the ferry to Bergen and allowed 2 /12 weeks to do Nordkapp & back from there. If you dawdle and take the scenic routes around the fjords, factor in some delays whilst crossing fjords, and sight see it can take along time to get north. Norway is a very lon.............g country.

Roads can be quite narrow & slow; they may be badged as trunk routes but don't expect to hold a steady 70+. There is lot of wildlife in the far north (reindeer, sheep, etc) which can suddenly appear; cue hard braking. Probably averaged 300 - 400 miles per day; you can probably work it out using Garmin routing how long the ride may then take.
 
Do you has your routes
places you stayed
Good bad points
clothing tips etc
 
We did the A/C in three days on each trip and arrived at the Nordkapp on the fourth evening both times. That was from Haugesund/Stavanger then rode back south sightseeing.

I really like the E6 just north of the A/C aswell as north of Alta. The last part of the road up to the Nordkapp itself is amazing with plenty of reindeer. I was told in the south never to ride at night as the risk of hitting an animal was quite high. In the north where it doesn't get dark the reindeer sleep on the road and believe it or not they are quite hard to see. Watch out for the 'traffic light girls' aswell as when there were roadworks the traffic was directed by very attractive Norweigian students.......!

My heated grips stuck on full power on my 1150GSA and I didn't even notice untill we got back 'down' to Geiranger and it warmed up a bit. It was just a sticky switch so I just pulled the fuse.

I usually wore my waterproofs over the top of my 'twat suit' aswell as thermals but I was still cold at times. I had no heated grips on my HP2 at the A/C and was nearly in tears a few times with cold hands so stopped at an agricultural supply store and bought some snowmobile gloves which really helped a lot. I had winter gloves with liners but couldn't keep my hands warm.
 
A must do is to catch the small car ferry from Hellesylt along Geiranger Fjord (numerous stunning cascading waterfalls off 1000ft+ sea cliffs) to Geiranger village. Roads south or north from Geiranger are good with fantastic views; route north is called the Eagles Road which gives you some idea how high you climb above the fjord. If you do go north from Geiranger cross Nordalsfjorden and aim for the route 63 to Andalsnes as this takes you down the Trollistigen pass. For me, these areas were Norway in a nutshell.

I camped on this holiday but mostly stayed in hytters (think glorified shed with bunk beds and hotplate) which were available to rent in just about every campsite. Reasonable value if there are 2 /3 of you touring together and a bit warmer / easier than setting up / packing tents every day.
 
Wicker said:
A must do is to catch the small car ferry from Hellesylt along Geiranger Fjord (numerous stunning cascading waterfalls off 1000ft+ sea cliffs) to Geiranger village. Roads south or north from Geiranger are good with fantastic views; route north is called the Eagles Road which gives you some idea how high you climb above the fjord. If you do go north from Geiranger cross Nordalsfjorden and aim for the route 63 to Andalsnes as this takes you down the Trollistigen pass. For me, these areas were Norway in a nutshell.

I camped on this holiday but mostly stayed in hytters (think glorified shed with bunk beds and hotplate) which were available to rent in just about every campsite. Reasonable value if there are 2 /3 of you touring together and a bit warmer / easier than setting up / packing tents every day.
Click to expand...

+1:thumb

Fantastic roads and ferry!

FP.
 
Bald Biker said:
Hi Guys,
I'm travelling to NordKapp (Europes most northern point) in the Arctic Circle. Travelling in May+June,
Route- Harridge, Denmark, west coast of Norway to NordKapp, returning Finland, East coast of Sweden, Denmark, Home to UK.
Any advice please on, clothing, do's, Dont's, things to see and do. Has anyone experience of this route
Click to expand...

Forget Sweden and Finland if you are looking for fjords and hairpins.
Look at this map and see the topographic of the area, and then you know what I mean:
http://maps.google.no/maps?f=d&sour...09073,9.953613&spn=4.948839,13.952637&t=p&z=6

:) Liv.
 
My wife and I are off on a trip on the Hurtigruten starting 10th June from Bergen. We plan to go all the way up to Kirkenes and then with the bike discourged from the ship, take a saunter back to Bergen.
I've got plenty of time to get to there (Harwich/Denmark/Kristiansand) but my wife is flying to Bergen and back due to time constraints.
Apart from spending some time on the Lofoten, we don't plan to book accommodation but just turn up to get Cabins on spec. From what I read, this shouldn't be a problem. Is that the case?

Andy
 
I had no problem turning up on spec at campsites and getting hytter cabins during the latter half of June / early July. However, I may just have been lucky in my timing as people on campsites were still talking about June as early in the season; believe Norwegian school holidays are from early July and it gets a bit busier from then on. The ferry home in July certainly had a lot more people & families aboard than the outward leg in June. Mind you, it's a big country with a population not much more than Scotland so its not really busy. Many Norwegians do go to warmer climates for their summer holidays.

I did have a tent on the bike so would not have been stuck for somewhere to sleep even if all hytters in a specfic location were full.
 
Would you be interested in discussing your bike trip experiences in more detail
 
Bald Biker said:
Would you be interested in discussing your bike trip experiences in more detail
Click to expand...

Me? :confused:
I have never been to Nordkapp and I do not want to go up there either. Too many kilometres! :eek:

My best advice for you is:
Listen to those who has been there, bikers here at ukgser.
You need more time then you think; the main roads in Norway are slow and not straight, and the fun roads are even slower.
-Do you really need to go to Nordkapp? Ride in this area, and have fun! http://maps.google.no/maps?f=d&sour...143235,9.18457&spn=4.997492,14.128418&t=h&z=6
The last part are the funniest road in Sweden. Well, I have been there... -It is a nice area, no doubt! And the road Brudfjellsvegen is fun, but there are no view, no hairpins, ony many bends in the woods. -And thet is the road with most bends in Sweden! Yawn... -We have musc more fun roads Norway. But not all over - stick to the area in the south and west, close to deep fjords, pick narrow roads (most have tarmac), and have fun!
Forget Nordkapp, forget Sweden and Finland and Denmark if you like mountains and fjords.

Bring your sleepingbag and you don't have to prebook all nights. Prebook in the most popular places (like this: http://www.norwaynutshell.com/ ) in July and the first weeks in August, the rest you follow the weather forecast!

:) Liv.
 
Toll roads in Norway. And beer.

What not to do in Norway?

A long and really expensive tunnel: http://maps.google.no/maps?q=Fjærla...unnelen,+6848,+Sogndal,+Sogn+og+Fjordane&z=13

The area is beatiful!
But I would choose another road because this road is fast, and fast is no fun - and it aint for free either! :eek:

Motorbikes go for free in most toll roads in Norway, but not all in the west.

Would you like a beer? Or a drink? :jager
Petrol is not your problem, but alchohol might be...
But buy in a supermarket and bring it to your tent - if you are not too loud late at night it is ok in most places.
Jegermeister and wine; go to Vinmonopolet.
If you go to a bar you'll regret it because of what you have to pay!

And sigarett cost a lot here too.

Petrol right now: Unleded 95 ca. NOK 12,50 for one litre.

:) Liv.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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