The North Cape

[Popeye]

A run around Scandinavia in 1994.

Full story with pics starts 23rd Feb. 2010.

[CeeGee]

Looking forward to this one as I've got an eye on the Nordkapp myself.

[aliengravy]

You really have been some places on these bikes haven't you!! Amazing!

[Pjam]

I went to work on my bike today, it must be ooooooo almost 2 miles

I love it when Popeye posts, there real gems

[Swim41]

Yes look forward to the read. Me and my mates were all set to do the journey in a Nissan Primera and wildcamping back in 1998 but it fell through. Definately on the Swim41 to-do list.

[Popeye]

It really began in 1993.
My mate at work was a late starter to enjoy the independence of two wheels but at least he got it right. His choice was a Honda 90. About every 18 months or so he would buy a new one. A few hundred quid and his old bike and he and his dealer were both suited. I suggested to him that the next time he bought a new one, tell me and we would buy two together and maybe save a few bob. The reason for this was that it was a milestone in my birthday calender (50) I also suggested
"How do you fancy a trip to the North cape?"
"Where's that?" was the reply.
"Oh somewhere at the top of Norway" A few minutes deliberation and
"Aye lad, Aw reet"
He was no stranger to traveling further afield than round the block having already done France and the Pyrenees on his '90.
So we had about a year to plan something. I wanted to go after most of the snow had gone and before the onset of hoards of Mosquitos. So we settled on May 1994.I took care of the route etc and my mate contacted Childline and we raised a quid or two for them.
We put two secondhand seats on the bikes and carried an extra 5 litres of gas each. We also took extra rear tyres, just in case.
My mate organized a guess the mileage competition and we had a stand at the BMF show before departure.
Colorline donated our ferry tickets for free which turned out to be the only freebie that we managed to acquire.
So the day of departure had arrived. I had been to much of Europe before but never on a 90.
We left Barnoldswick and caught the ferry from Newcastle to Stavanger in Norway.



The Mayor of Pendle checking my Mileometer for verification of the guess the mileage competition.



At the ferry port.



Leaving Tyneside.



Arriving Stavanger.



First coffee break. It was so peaceful. Really back to nature.

[aliengravy]

Exciting

[Popeye]

We crossed the Telemark Vidda, Very popular with the skiing fraternity.







The lake on the left is solid ice.



After crossing the vidda we descended into Dahlen for our first nights camp.




We were greeted next day with a very heavy frost which soon cleared into a warm sunny day. The weather continued like this until we reached the Arctic Circle in Finland. We could have just ridden up the notoriously boring E6 but I preferred to make it a little more interesting. My friend David had visions of snow all the way to the cape after what we encountered crossing the Telemark region.

[Popeye]

We continued to travel Eastwards to Oslo.
Not that we relished the idea of encountering any cities en-route but we were making our way to Trollhattan in Sweden. I had friends there that were long overdue for a visit. On leaving Uddevalla I heard a slight clicking sound from beneath me. Turned out to be a broken spoke. No problem I thought. My friend is a mechanic in a Bike garage. Should be able to get fixed up. I didn't realize that Cubs were not imported into Sweden and consequently no spares to be had. The nearest spokes I could find were from a Yamaha Fizzy but just a fraction shorter than the originals on the cub.



At the side of my friends house.



Off to the Bike shop.



Soon sorted. Probably due to tyre pressure a little on the hard side and the chain a little tight. My fault.

Repairs done and then treated David to the local sites.

Trollhattan is famous for it's lock gates.





The town sits by the Gota canal that links West with East Sweden. Some very big ships travel on this route. I first came here 30 years ago in winter (by Bike) and spent many hours watching the shipping and the little ice breakers keeping the canal clear of ice. The original Lock gates, and there is a lot of them were made of wood and built by French navvies. Now the system is full computerized.

[Tackleberry]

Great thread - brand new C90 electric start models. What did they cost new back then?