Geirangerfjorden Fjord
That day I saw some really beautiful places: Geirangerfjorden fjord, waterfalls and the Eagle Road with its bends. Next I rode upland towards Trolla Road. I must admit that Trollstigen is really impressive especially if you do it on a motorcycle. It is steep, narrow and not secured. A small mistake and you fall off the cliff.
However, this was not the end of the experience. Late in the afternoon I got to Atlantic Road. I have to write subjectively, that it is interesting, but a little over-rated as it turned out. There were small islands, several bridges and lots of rocks, and many campers and motorcyclists. I was slightly disappointed. Well, it's the little things that "win" along the Trolla Road.
Trolla Road
That day I had planned accommodation in the area of Trondheim. The problem was that a rain front was chasing me and I tried to flee. Therefore I checked in at the Storsand Gard campsite just out of town and as soon as I could where after a while, I pitched up my tent and then quite a downpour began that lasted almost all night. Fortunately, the sun was already shining in the morning.
Atlantic Road
I must admit that I made a mistake here. According to my plan, I should have visited Trondhem on that particular day. It was definitely worth it and I suggest that you do it. I somehow did not feel like riding on. It’s always the case that I regret things later and that was the case this time around. I do not know if I will ever go so far north again.
Advice: Edging up the Trolla Road from the south, it is worth stopping over at the huge parking area and walking (a few minutes) to the viewing platform. The view is unforgettable. Another big attraction is the Zakarias Dam - you should ride up it, but unfortunately I did not have enough strength. I gave up unnecessarily. I should have done fewer kilometers, stop earlier for the night before and not give up this attraction.
Equipment: Take an electrical distributor. There is no problem with the current at the campsite, but the sockets are often occupied. Then you should have your distributor. The second issue is the appropriate charger and cables. Do not forget to take them. I suggest you also get additional USB cables since they can be damaged.
Day 6 - Trondheim -> Mo and Rana, 480 km
Riding and once again riding north marked this day. I did not stop along the way, beyond the fjords and the tunnels. I spent a prolonged stopover on shopping. I stocked up the local bakery, dairy, fruits and some vegetable produce and the local value price store. In the evening I got to the camp near the town of Storli in the area near to Storforshei.
On the way up North
Since it was raining, and I was really tired, I booked into hotel accommodation instead of my tent in a small camp house at a cost of 350 NOK. Although the camp was aged, it's clean and very pleasant. Renting a house allowed me to embrace things. I noticed that one trunk was leaking, I think from the top? I had food in it, generally the entire kitchen. Fortunately, everything was packed in bags, so there were no losses. I checked the other two trunks and both were dry. I'll have to check and fix its vulnerability, but after returning.
Advice: In Norway, there is a lot of camping, so there is no problem finding accommodation. Before planning a journey to places where I planned to stay, I always checked out several options by reading the reviews and ratings. I was never disappointed, though halfway through I stopped at random places. When I was simply tired, I turned at the first place I encountered.
Equipment: Camera, GoPro and stuff like that. It's definitely worth investing in a good webcam that can be attached to a helmet. Sometimes, there is no time or ability to stop, and the views are great. Do not forget to order a remote webcam and mount it somewhere on the steering wheel, as close to the left hand as possible. A few batteries would be useful as well as an efficient charger. It should also take a good camera. Still, no smartphone is substitute for a good lens.
Day 7 - Mo and Rana -> Bodo -> Moskenes -> A -> Lofoty, 468 km
It rained for half a day. Only when I drove into the Arctic Circle (Arctic Center) did it stop. After that it was cold (+4 degrees) and a strong wind was blowing. I was dressed in woolen underwear, inner liners, motorcycle jacket and bottoms and also rain protectors and gloves. The grips were turned on for heat. All was well, but my feet were not adequately protected. My summer shoes were too airy and my legs were freezing.
W dodze na Lofoty
Whilst passing through the Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park more and more animals appeared and at the start there were deer and in the course of kilometers, reindeers also appeared. I started more closely at the roadside. More or less from here you can see how nature becomes even more severe. There are no trees in the highlands, just glaciers and snow lies in the mountains.
It was about 1pm when I got to Bodo and I noticed a workshop and a motorcycle shop on the way. First, I rode to the crossing, to find out about the ferry time. It turned out that it was at 15:30, although boarding starts at 14:45, so I had more than two hours time to kill. After a moment of hesitation I made the decision to return to the centre and see if I could buy raincoats pads for boots. When I drove to the store, I found out that there was one pair and it was just my size. The problem is that it was original BMW and cost me a little, but health and comfort, however, are the most important things. But there is still a lot of riding to the north and with each day the temperature decreased.
Just before entering the ferry, I noticed that I did not have the ignition key and within a second was sweating cold. I started an intensive search all through my pockets and came up with nothing. At some point another motorcyclist, from Germany, came up to me and asked if it was not my key on the back of the motorcycle. I realized when I pulled the set of keys from the coffers of the ignition they simply fell out. This is a good lesson for the future. Since then, I have kept them in another pocket of my jacket, additionally clipping them.
The ferry to Moskenes sailed about 4 hours, which is more than 80 km and cost me 319 NOK. That day it was blowing hard and there was a storm. During loading the support staff required that we have secured each motorcycle in the four lanes.
We arrived in Lofoten in the evening. I did not neglect to visit the village with its famous name and as it turned out, the greatest part of the trip began for me from that moment on. Lofoten is simply stunning with its raw nature, incredible images and colours. The bay and the islands are simply amazing. The sun practically did not set, and I was riding for more than two hours stopping every now and then, absorbing the scenery and taking fabulous, postcard like photos.
Advice: Don't load electricity for too much equipment directly from the battery. It turns out that while riding the battery is charged only to a certain current. If, at the same time, you receive power to charge other things, you may find that the balance will be negative and after some time the battery will discharge and this happened with a pair of motorcyclists from Italy. They had plugged in their GPS, telephones and intercoms. At one point, whilst standing in traffic, they could not fire up the motorcycle. The solution is to connect directly to the installation of the motorcycle (an electrician's assistance is necessary).*
Equipment: Cruise control. Although I have heard many different opinions about it, I completely disagree with the negative ones. I think that people who express them have not benefited from them. Let me be clear - it is indispensable to improve and help the motorcyclist. First, even brief moments, when the hand can rest while riding hundreds of kilometers per day, are priceless. The possibility of loosening the grip, moving the fingers and resting is a wonderful thing. The second thing is convenience. I have 'mechanical' cruise control that is, one in which sets up the throttle and not the speed of the bike. Nevertheless, the ability to maintain "constant" speed when riding and observing such restrictions such as 80 km for a long time is something great and to add to this the frequent, very long stretches of straight road. A third possibility, which I "discovered" was the possibility of lightly choking the throttle. In this case, even when riding through the
corners and changing the speed, the hand can also rest. Finally, I will add that you can immediately turn the throttle and release the accelerator at any time and additionally lock and unlock cruise control with one small finger. To sum up, the equipment is irreplaceable, I recommend it 100% and it saved my ... hand.
Day 8 - Lofoty -> Narvik -> Birtavarre 552 km
I woke up quite early in the morning and the white nights did not allow me to sleep much. I forced myself to lay in to 7am. What I saw after leaving the tent was amazing and…outright overwhelming. I did not notice it in the evening, the fact that the campsite was located near to a wonderful bay with its own harbour. My first steps were to have washed myself, but immediately turned back to the tent to get my camera, and then I went to the bridge to take a photo. A rainbow appeared in the distance.
Lofoty
Nature here is amazing and the campsite also appeared to be great and in my opinion it's the best. The dining area is common, large and heated. And it what seemed to be a simple matter, breakfast took me 2 hours. I met a couple from Rzeszow who got into their car and I quote: '...it somehow happened that we got to Lofoty. That's quite a distance from Rzeszow. The other person I spoke to was a boy from Lodz who had flown in by plane to Bergen and it was there that he borrowed a car from a friend and was travelling around himself. When the next couple entered the dining area with almost grown up children I decided to make a move for it, otherwise I'd leave after lunch and I did not have time for that.
Despite the fact that I left quite late, I got to Narvik where I rode up to the monument commemorating the ORP Grom marines. Several kilometers after the twon I got to a cemetary with Polish quarters where soldiers who had fallen in May 1940 defending Narvikk lay in rest. I also wanted to go up to the peak by cable car to see the panoramic view of the town but unfortunately it was out of order.
At the end of the day I got to the campsite near to Birtavarre.
Advice: If you are ever going to plan a trip to Norway, then you should certainly visit Lofoty. Leave another attraction be such a the fiftieth fjord or the twentieth tunnel, pass by another town but get onto the ferry heading for Lofoty.
Equipment: Computer, which I had to take, though earlier it hadn't been on my list. I knew that during my expedition I would have to work a bit remotely. By the way, it appeared that you can really effectively rip the pictures and put them into order thanks to which, when I finished the expedition, I'd put together a really great album to look at.
Day 9 - Birtavarre -> NORDKAPP 494 km
This was the day that I reached Nordkapp. I'd spent the previous night in a small house not in my tent. I managed to sleep better because I could draw the windows so that I could be dark and I put on some heating to that at night. When I got to the campsite, it was only 6 degrees and I was ready to ride off before 10 in the morning. The weather was very good, it was warmer, around 14 degrees, with a little cloud. The last 500km before Nordkapp was exceptional due to the nature. There were fjords, mountains, hills, high lands, tunnels and bridges and some wonderful colours and unique the unique variety of nature to add to that. I had to really be careful of reindeers because there are lots of them. Although they move around slowly, they can startlingly jump over the road and cause great danger. In the evening, just before 7pm, I got to Nordkapp. Unfortunately, you have to pay a great deal to enter the car park, and in my case it was 200 NOK. Well, everyone did warn me that Norway is expensive. Yes, I can state that it is expensive.
Nordkapp
Nordkapp presented itself amazingly and at that time there was a 'sunset' lasting several hours. There was also a wonderful view to the ocean, not too many clouds and even the wind let go. At first, I left the motorbike in the parking area and walked up the headland. I took a few photos and then I went to get some souvenirs and next to the restaurant to chill out a bit. When I saw that other motorbikers were going up the headland, I decided to take my mite up there because we had done so many kilometers together.
After taking a series of photos and a walk, I got on my motorbike and rode back down south for 20km where I had earlier passed the Naf Nordkapp campsite. I quickly pitched up my tent, took a shower aand made myself some supper. I calmly drank some tea after 10pm and then I took advantage of the internet connection to speak to my family.. It had been a wonderful day and I reached my target.
Advice: Don't hurry and while riding také many stop to také in the atmosphere, views and amazing nature. Whenever there are placesthat are worth seeing, there is a parking area or larger bays. Thanks to this, after you get back home you will be less regretful that you didn't see something. Unfortunately, from my own experience I can say that you will regret it in any case ;-) It's also worth stopping off at places where local sellers put up their souvenirs, and there's a high probability that they are made in Norway not in China. Then you can buy some souvenirs for yourself, your family and acquaintances for little money.
Equipment: Warm gloves with a GoreTex membrane. I rode in warm gloves during the whole trip. In addition, I switched on handle heating and when it rained I put on my rain protection gear over my gloves and boots. On two occasions, riding in the evening, I put them on even when it wasn't raining. Breathable gloves have it in them that they do it two ways and also emit heat.
Day 10 - Nordkapp -> Motel before Rovaniemi, 552 km
I would like to write more but simply it just is not possible. On this particular day I went further than I had planned and thee were forests upon forests everywhere. The road was often straight and empty; the roadsides were visible so you could go a little faster. Just before evening it started to rain, so when I stopped to fill up, I found out that there was a small motel at the station, so I decided to stay there overnight. The restaurant and motel is managed by some Chinese and maybe it is not so new, it's clean. I got the room for 40 Euros including breakfast. I put my motorbike by my window from the forest side. I was really tired, so after a shower, I went straight to sleep.
Reindeer
Advice: In the guide, Findland was described very interestingly, but reality changed all that. I advise you to choose a different route than I chose. On this day and on the next I rode through the whole of Finland and did not see anything interesting. Fortunately, I went through Helsinki, but more about this later.
Equipment: Every little bit matters during a long trip. Even. Something small can affect comfort, safety and the whole expedition. In my case my helmet made the whole difference, which unfortunately wasn’t a success, and first of all it was because it blew under my chin. Unfortunately, it's its big fault and it results from the fact that it's a jaw helmet and that excludes the possibility of good protection under the chin. The effect was such that in the case of side wind, I felt significant discomfort, cold and noise. The other aspect was quick misting up and unfortunately it's not double riding often in the rain, so I had a problem with misting and this affected my safety, which disqualifies the helmet in my judgement – I refer to the Shark Evoline 3 helmet.
Day 11 - Rovaniemi -> Helsinki, 882km
During that morning breakfast was prepared for me in the hotel. There was access to the net so I could talk with my family for a moment and I started to pack. Fortunately, the weather was nice, though a little cold. I put on my jacket, rain proof trousers so as not to get cold on the way.
Just before 10 in the morning I rode into Rovaniemi in Lapland, the place where Santa lives. By the way, it's also the place where the Arctic Circle runs across. It's a very commercialized place but with all those views. I met up with Santa and spoke with him for a moment. Unfortunately a photo with him costs ….just 25 Euros.
I decided therefore to spend that money on something better, on souvenirs. I had prepared myself for a somewhat longer journey, when an HD had parked next to me with a couple and after a moment it appeared they were from Italy. Just like myself, they were on their way back from Nordkapp. Immediately, I asked myself the question how they
did it – it's 4200 kilometers one way, for goodness sake! After a short discussion it appeared that they had covered most of their journey by ...train. They certainly did that in Germany and Finland.
I continued my journey through forests. I put on a good audiobook and time seemed to flow faster. At a certain moment I thought to myself that riding along this road was great, there was 'nothing' on the way, so I could ride right through to Helsinki. I stopped off at one of the many shopping centres in Finland and went to eat and rest a little. There was still 300km to go to Helsinki. The first motorway since Germany started here, so I decided to consider that instead of a campsite, I could run through to the capital of Finland. I quickly checked the possibilities of accommodation, and since the weather was starting to get worse, I focused on hotels. I found a relatively cheap hotel with breakfast and it did not take me long to decide. I texted my family that I would be longer on the road that day. It was late because I got to my hotel at 11pm. That day I exaggerated a little by doing 882km.
Advice: When you are more patient towards Finland, look through the guides and internet to find an interesting place on the way. I planned to visit the ski jump in Lahti, but in summer there is no snow nor summer competitions and that's how it looks....
Equipment: Cooker. I know that I'm sentimental and although I have a professional Primus cooker, I take a different one on each expedition, this one is made in the USSR. It's petrol one, but with a history, which is impossible to describe, you just have to see it. Heating up 0.7l of water takes about 10 minutes, which is quite long. However, it is small, handy and reliable. I used a tourist pot to prepare meals with a capacity a little less than 1l. It was enough to boil water for a freeze-dried meal or coffee or tea, at the same time. I carried water in a 1,5l bottle. It was useful when I stopped by a roadside services or parking area where running water was not available.