ACPC '99, Norway

"If I can offer you only one advice in life, Norway would be it..., It's stress relieving results have been proven by motorcyclists Norway is one big meandering experience Maybe you'll have sunshine, maybe you won't.. Maybe you'll have snow, maybe you won't.. but trust me on the twisties.. Get to know Norway, you never know when it'll be gone for good Enjoy your motorcycle in every way you can, it's the best instrument you've ever owned Dance...." In the end of may I left for a 10 day trip to Norway with my PC800. The route I took followed the Atlantic Ocean / Northsea (same water, isn't it ?) via the Dutch, German, Danish and Norwegian coast to Ålgård near Sandnes. I would meet my host, Arvid there and ride the anual Moto Guzzi ralley there on Saturday. On Sunday we would both leave via his home in Stavanger to a cabin in Hemsedal as seen on the map:

The first day (Thursday) to Norway started out very blue and very warm, a real summer day in spring, so far so good. To stick with the Atlantic Coast theme, I decided to take the route via the 30 km long Afsluitdijk crossing the IJsellake:

After 1000 kilometers I finally arrived at the ferry in Hirsthals in Denmark. Because it was a slow nightcrossing I was able to get a few hours of sleep to be ready for the last 250 km to the Moto Guzzi ralley site at Ålgård.

Tieing up the PC800 wasn't difficult. Keep it on the sidestand in first gear with the steering lock engaged and a single rope tied from the outer footpeg over the saddle to the railing. It didn't touch the tupperware and kept the bike solid as a rock.

After waking up and rolling into Norway at Kristiansand I was greeted with blue skies and stunning scenery. Or at least I thought that was stunning, little did I know of the motorcycle paradise awaiting me.

Around noon on friday I was able to meet my host Arvid and his '89 PC800 "SOS" (Scooter On Steriods):

Saturday, the day of the Moto Guzzi ralley, turned out to be a cloudy one.

The route took us to the ferry for a long cruise thru the famous Lysefjord. The mountains there go as high as 800 meters at some points.Unfortunately the clouds were at 400 meters. On the next picture you can see Arvid on the left and Frank and Chris in similar jackets on the right. Frank, Chris and their little daughter Katelyn are English and live in Norway for 3 years, working for NATO.

One of many waterfalls in the Lysefjord:

The 36 hairpin bends at the end of the Lysefjord on a clear day:

We got of the boat at the end of the Lysefjord and rode up the mountains via 36 hairpin bends, one of them lying within a tunnel ! But as you can see we ended up in the clouds, giving a very mystical atmosphere with all the white snowwalls on the side. You can also see Frank's ST1100 Pan European with "flex it" sidecar. The (Dutch made) sidecar leans with the motorcycle, so the motorcycle rides like a ...eh... motorcycle, you don't notice the sidecar

On the next picture you can see a twisty road climbing itself up on top of the biggest rockslide in Northern Europe, Gloppedalsura:

Here you see the road on the left, paved on top and thru the rockslide:

Here we met up with the other Guzzi riders who took the other route, had lunch and headed back to the ralley camping site to debrief around the BBQ.

On Sunday everybody went back home. Here you see the cabin we had at the ralley site and Frank's flex-it sidecar. On the left Arvid's mother.

From Ålgård Arvid and I went to his house in Stavanger to pack up for our trip to the cabin we were going to use as base for our trips the coming days.

From Stavanger we took the ferry north of Stavanger and headed northeast to the cabin, normally a 10 hour trip which took us 12 hours thanks to me taking all the following pictures and thanks to a little "off road" detour we made trying to be quicker. The PC800 handles great "off road" BTW. I have to add that not paved road is "off road" for me, not being used to anything other than asphalt or concrete. The next couple of (panorama) pictures speak for themselves......enjoy..

Look out for motorcycle-eating goats along the fjords:

One of a countless number of waterfalls, the 600 meter long Langfossen:

Twin waterfall "Låtefoss" with two "Twins" in front:

A glimpse of the road next to these waterfalls following a twisty wild river:

Three waterfalls falling straight down a gorge. For height reference check out the big 4-story hotel on the edge:

After following all this water upstream we ended up in the source laying on a very big plateau. The bamboo sticks are reference for the snow clearers to find the road.

Wow...and we'er talking almost june here....

And these roads just keep on going....

After this big but very beautifull ride we ended up in our luxury cabin. Room for 8 people, TV, dishwasher, micro wave, two toilets, sauna...you name it.... The deer who normally keep the roof trimmed had the day off.....

It's monday. Our destination today is the world's most steepest "normal" railway in Flåm.

Enroute we pass the Borgund Stave Church from 1150. There is a copy of this church in Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

We've got another mountain pass to conquer today:

Unfortunately not so visible on this picture are Norway's highest snowpeaks on the horizon:

But not to worry, we've got enough snow right here:

Coming down the mountain pass we encountered this stunning view. The greenish watercolor is because of clay sediments.

Arvid and his typical posture ;-)

At Flåm we took the steepest trainride of the world up to Myrdal. It includes 6000 meters of tunnel. You can see the train on the right:

And at Myrdal we took the same train back down after a coffeebrake. And Arvid sure needed one because of his tunnelsyndrome (yawning every time we entered a tunnel):

On the way back to the cabin another stunning view of the Aurlands valley, river and fjord:

Another road for ourselves twisting thru fields of snow and passing along icelakes:

I was hungry, cold and getting tired but smiling ear to ear. Here we try to warm ourselves with some lukewarm coffee. At least it stays light very long.