Orson Posted August 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 Shropshire County, with its rustic manors and pastoral settings is as nice a place as anyone would want to spend their languid summer afternoons. Crisscrossed with old canal routes and small farming villages, it's the perfect getaway for city dwellers eager for some peace and quiet. Why would anyone want to leave? Unfortunatley, team orson is smitten with the wanderlust bug and can never stay in one place for very long. The fjords of western Norway beacon. We bade farewell from our English hosts and make our way across the Midlands towards Newcastle on England's east coast. Along the way, we pass through the walled city of York, the spiritual capital of northern England for over 2000 years. Here is the famous York Minster, sight of the famous Pudding Rebellion of 1612. We also make our way past Richmond Castle, built by the Normans shortly after William the Conqueror's victory over King Harold. We finally arrive in Newcastle and after getting lost on the wrong side of the river, we finally make it to the ferry port by the 11:00 A.M. check in time for the 2:00 P.M. sailing. Waiting in line to board. After boarding and securing the bike, we make our way to our cabin. The ferry is quite nice with clean, well-lit cabins, several restaurants and even a cinema. We settle in for the 26 hour crossing to Bergen. We arrive in Bergen under overcast skies at around 5:00 P.M. the following day. Surrounded by hills, Bergen is the former capital of Norway and its waterfront is a UNESCO Heritage site. The next morning, we make our way inland to some of the surrounding fjords... I lost count of all the waterfalls. There must be at least a bazillion of the things. This one was encountered on the way to Sognefjorden. First sight of the Sognefjorden with the town of Vangsnes bellow. Notice the GS trying to horn its way into the picture. These guys were everywhere! First of what would be many ferry rides. This one across the Sognesfjorden. Now we're talkin'. The sun was starting to make an appearance. The road along the western edges of the Jostedalsbreen Glacier was bliss for a motorcycle. Still alongside the Jostedalbreen Glacier... By late afternoon, we were approaching the Geirangerfjord. The Geirangerfjord is used in many tourist brochures for Norway. In spite of being well inland, large ships can navigate it. You can just barely make out the road making its way up the opposite side. If you squint, you can just make out team orson's team yacht at anchor A view from the other direction, looking down at the town of Geiranger. Another view... We stay the night in Alesund, a charming fishing town along the coast. The next morning we head out to explore some of the valleys near Alesund. The famous Trollstein Pass... Riding along another fjord. Traffic was relatively light. I seldom encountered another car and if I did, I quickly found my way past it. We'd spent too much time lolling about the fjordland. We needed to start making tracks towards the north. Heading out after a morning rain shower. North of Steinkjer, we leave the fjords behind and the terrain turns to smaller but still respectable mountains and pine forests. After a full days ride from the fjords, we finally cross the Arctic Circle into the land of the midnight sun. By now the terrain has evolved into more worn mountains and rolling hills. It takes another 2 full days of riding above the Arctic circle to reach the ethereal Lofoten Islands. These are the true soul of northern Norway. Even under rainy skies, the majestic beauty of the Lofotens shone through. Some might say that their true beauty is revealed in inclement weather. Just hope you're not on a motorcycle. After several days in a row with at least some rain, I finally needed a break from riding. I took a hotel room in Bodo and took the time to get my laundry done and look about town before heading south along route 17. Route 17 can be compared to California's Pacific Coast Highway if in scenery alone. The road itself is barely more than one car wide in places so, it's not a road you'd want to rail on. There's also several ferry crossings along the way to make you stop and smell the roses. Heading south... Yet another ferry! They didn't seem to run regularly. If you didn't arrive just at the right time, you might be sitting for up to an hour. More views of the Norwegian coastline along route 17. Finally, after 5 days above the Arctic Circle, the sun began to fight its way through the clouds as we approached the fjordlands again. Back in the fjordlands, we crossed the Jotunheimen ice fields... before dropping down to lower elevations. Cruising along the Lustrafjorden. The blue of the fjord doesn't come out in this photo. It was the most vibrant glacier blue. View from the hotel. The road leading down to the valley below. heading towards Oslo finally... The traditional turf roof of the Nordic homes. Approaching Oslo, the terrain began to resemble western Oregon with scenic rolling hills. After Oslo, I headed down the coast towards Sweden. The part of Sweden I crossed resembled Pennsylvannia farmland. In Sweden, I came down with a terrible case of food poisoning. Thankfully, our resident Dane, Tikkanen lives near Copenhagen, Denmark and graciously took me in and nursed me back to health. I was laid out for a whole day before feeling well enough to continue. It was touch and go there for a while with funeral plans being discussed at one point. Many thanks to Soren and his family for helping me out in my time of need. Where would we be without the internet community. Soren even rode my bike down to the local shop to have a new rear tire fitted while I was laid up in bed. A big thumbs up to our v11 community After one last ferry crossing to Germany, I was running low on time so, I Autobahned the length of Germany down to Munich. I was then able to enjoy a day in the Alps before arriving at team orson's home base in Parma, Italy. Recap: 18 riding days / 2 rest days Days above the Arctic Circle- 4 Distance traveled- 8250 kilometers / 5126 miles Ferrys- 16 Reindeer sightings- 0 in the wild Citations- 0 Pucker moments- several Bee stings- 0
Guzzirider Posted August 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 Orson! What a great trip- and thanks for posting those lovely photos. Norway looks beautiful. Nice one
G.POLEGATO Posted August 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 Hi Orson thank you for the photographic report. Very nice travel. Have you suffered any problem on the Tenni? Best regards Giovanni #60
Orson Posted August 1, 2006 Author Posted August 1, 2006 Have you suffered any problem on the Tenni? Going south on Highway 17 along the coast, I began hearing popping noises from my rear end. I've had rear wheel bearings fail on me twice before so I suspected it was another bearing. By some miracle, I came upon a Honda - Aprilia - Moto Guzzi shop in Namsos, Norway who had some bearings in stock. I had them installed and never heard the popping noises again. I now have 52,500 kilometers on the Tenni. The only problem being I'm on my 4th set of rear wheel bearings. On a more positive note, my transmission spring hasn't failed....yet
g.forrest Posted August 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 sounds to have been excellent trip fantastic photos. ride safe.
Martin Barrett Posted August 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 Very nice Will. Slartibartfast did a good job on the fjords. Very spectacular and those Loften peaks WOW. I feel like the Elves in Lord of the Rings with the sound of gulls and the call of the sea. Untill now my yearly jaunt around Scotland was suffient, but I now feel the need to see these for myself. It will have to wait a few years though. When will you & the Tenni be back in the UK if at all?
Orson Posted August 1, 2006 Author Posted August 1, 2006 Very nice Will. When will you & the Tenni be back in the UK if at all? I hope to get back and do Scotland properly...someday...maybe 2 or 3 years. Still haven't seen Ireland either.
tikkanen Posted August 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 Hi Orson, You definitely know how to make a trip report interresting! Beautyful scenery up in Norway, I must confess Glad to hear you made it all the way home in one piece and I'm glad that I could help you out your misery. You guys should have seen him! What a shitty state he was in.... There's one thing you forgot to count in your recap: The 200 bog roles that you went through while staying at my place! ....... Søren
Orson Posted August 2, 2006 Author Posted August 2, 2006 There's one thing you forgot to count in your recap: The 200 bog roles that you went through while staying at my place! ....... Ah well...I didn't want to include a description of bodily functions in my trip report
Keith Foster Posted August 3, 2006 Posted August 3, 2006 Slartibartfast did a good job on the fjords. Very spectacular and those Loften peaks WOW. I feel like the Elves in Lord of the Rings with the sound of gulls and the call of the sea. I now feel the need to see these for myself. It will have to wait a few years though. What Martin said - exactly - WOW, beautiful!!
antonio carroccio Posted August 6, 2006 Posted August 6, 2006 Orson, great pic's................................ I notice you have a bike with an Italian plate. Are you allowed to ride this bike? FR??? Is this Frosinone? Or was it PR..........Parma?
G.POLEGATO Posted August 6, 2006 Posted August 6, 2006 Ciao Antonio,Orson la moto l'ha comperata da Guareschi a Parma,il motivo per cui sia ancora targata italiana non lo so. Quando sei in Italia fatti sentire #60 Orson, great pic's................................ I notice you have a bike with an Italian plate. Are you allowed to ride this bike? FR??? Is this Frosinone? Or was it PR..........Parma?
Alex-Corsa Posted August 6, 2006 Posted August 6, 2006 After one last ferry crossing to Germany, I was running low on time so, I Autobahned the length of Germany down to Munich. I was then able to enjoy a day in the Alps before arriving at team orson's home base in Parma, Italy. Recap: 18 riding days / 2 rest days Days above the Arctic Circle- 4 Distance traveled- 8250 kilometers / 5126 miles Ferrys- 16 Reindeer sightings- 0 in the wild Citations- 0 Pucker moments- several Bee stings- 0 GREAT , , Have to do this my self one day , but I guess with more riders would be a real joy.
Orson Posted August 7, 2006 Author Posted August 7, 2006 I notice you have a bike with an Italian plate. Are you allowed to ride this bike? FR??? Is this Frosinone? Or was it PR..........Parma? Polegato is right I bought the bike from Moto Guareschi in Parma. Very nice people. They treat me like family. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to ride the bike. When I go to Guareschi, I tell them I am Canadian. Very much scratching of heads and talking in Italian continued I'm not sure how they do it but, I have 50,000 km now so, I am happy. Maybe the papers are in name of Guareschi?
antonio carroccio Posted August 7, 2006 Posted August 7, 2006 Ciao Antonio,Orson la moto l'ha comperata da Guareschi a Parma,il motivo per cui sia ancora targata italiana non lo so. Quando sei in Italia fatti sentire #60 Adesso non mi mandare le madonne, ho appena visto di dove sei, ed io ero li in zona da te per un quattro/cinque giorni. Farra d'Alpago, campeggio Sarathe sul lago (che era pure prosciugato...azz...) Ora sono tornato a casa in Olanda. Scusa....cmq non appena sono giú a trovare i miei a Corsico, mi faccio sentire. Sorry guys for this Italian intermezzo.
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