Post
by sirhrmechanic » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:45 pm
Just got back from doing a similar trip... some thoughts...
First, read Pupster's epic through Scandanavia and Russia. Outstanding write-up and lots of good tips, too.
The best riding will definitely be the West Coast of Norway. Sweden and Finland... MMFT. That's Miles and Miles of F-ing Tundra. Though there are some nice roads around the Gulf of Bothia.
Nordkapp is absolutely, completely and totally worth the trip. Even if just to say you have done it. The road up there is amazing. If you can get to Kirkenes, so much the better. See Pupster's write-up for more details.
By far the best part of the trip is the West Coast of Norway. If you can speed through Finland and Sweden, slow down from Nordkapp to Alta, Tromso, Trondheim, Bergen, etc. Take the coast roads. Lots of ferries, but they are cheap (the only thing in Norway that IS cheap) and some are free.
The best roads in Norway I found were the bypass roads around the tunnels. The tunnels are everywhere on the West Coast. And some are spectacular in their complexity. Corkscrews, curves, etc. But the tunnels generally replaced tiny (and ancient) roads that edged their way around the fingers of the fjords. Some of them paved, some not. Most seasonal. Some only the width of a very small car. On a bike they are great!!! And the views from the tops of some of them are really cool. These were the best roads of the trip.
If you can go all the way to Bergen, great. It is definitely worth riding across the mountains North of Telemark and Lillehammer. I visited the Norsk Hydro Heavy Water plant at Vemork and that was also amazing. Great museum. The roads around it are also spectacular riding.
Oslo is a waste of time. Looks like any other city with lots of concrete and too many signs. But there is a good overnight ferry from Freidrikshavn into Oslo and you get out of Oslo early before traffic gets bad.
Skagan Denmark is interesting only because you can put a foot in each of two seas simultaneously. But it's touristy and while probably once quaint, now just your standard mall shops.
Petrol is readily available everywhere, but in Finland and Sweden some of the stations are unattended and take only cards. Make sure you have one with a good PIN number. I rode it on a Dakar BMW, so I have almost a 10 gallon tank. Gas was never an issue. But the smaller MT tanks may take more attention to fuel stops.
I only hit a few dirt roads in the middle of Sweden and in Northern Norway. But most are well-paved. Better than at home, in fact.
For camping, you can get Huts almost anywhere and they are cheap. They have electricity and hot plates. Much better than a tent, though I carried one of those for emergencies. Pupster is doing similar, but has done some camping, too.
At this time of year, the constant daylight really messes with your head. Set youself a limit on time to get off the road. You will get tired without realizing it. And unless you get a good blackout, you may not sleep well with bright sun at 2 am! Force yourself to stay on a rest schedule. They get a lot of crashes up there from people who stay awake too long.
Last, no matter where you go, there is going to be some cement salesman from Dortmund towing a 24 foot camper behind a VW polo at 40 km/hr. And not just one... there will be lines of them travelling in some kind of convoy. Be careful passing as there are areas where visibility is good and the speed limit is rather rigidly enforced. I was told that the speeding fine was 500NKR per KM over speed limit. Not a small amount. Norway had no speed cameras I was aware of. Sweden had them about every 10 feet.
Gas stations have really good hot breakfast food. Rolls and pastries and coffee in particular. But food in general is really, really expensive. So is petrol. And hotel rooms are out of sight.
Bring warm clothes, too. Even in summer, some of the high-lattitude areas are cold. And windy. You will ride through glaciers if you go into the central mountains, even South around places like Telemark. At times I had 4 -5 layers and an electric vest, though I was never cold I was glad I had the layers. Rain gear is a must... Good rain gear... especially this year which has been the wettest in a generation.
Just some thoughts for your trip. My trip, despite constant rain, was amazing. Great photographs (I'll be posting some shortly) and fantastic experience.
Have a fun and safe time.
Cheers,
Sirhr
0 x
. I'll be wildcamping wherever possible and want to head onto some unsurfaced roads and try to find some mountain passes too.
