Sami, sun and introducing 'From the Pillion'♡ (2149)

We're in a privately owned cabin in Kautokeino, Norway. (We rode in three countries yesterday; Sweden, Finland, Norway.)

From our veranda

This small town is one of the main centres of Sami culture. Chatting in a bar last night, we discovered that 90% of the residents here are Sami and 75% have some kind of involvement in reindeer herding. There's no-one around now because they're all away for the summer at the coast with their herds. In the winter, the town streets are swarmed with reindeer; it's where they live. They go away in the winter to allow the pastures here to recover. Fascinating.

The sun doesn't set here at the moment. It just kind of circles us. Not so far above the horizon during the day, just slightly below at 'night'. It makes me feel unsteady on my feet, knowing how close to the top of everything I am. When I was a young teenager, climbing a rope in the school gymnasium, it wasn't the height from the ground that unnerved me, but the realisation, looking up, that I was close to the ceiling. That's how it feels.

Last evening, 21.45 hrs

And now, the first in an occasional series of reports:

From the Pillion ♡
Following my pre-trip announcement that I didn’t want to commit to an ‘obligatory blog’, I have now changed my mind.

I really like Simon’s musings and reflections on our trip and have decided to share my ponderings now and then.

First off, I can’t stop going on about the midnight sun. It’s one thing reading about it, another experiencing it. Yesterday, it was still light at 11 pm, felt a bit overcast at midnight and was light again at 1 am. This is a bit confusing for a night owl like me!

You might wonder why we take so many rest days? Well, just ask our gluteus maximus! (maximi?)

I love riding in this part of Europe, not much traffic and lots of greenery and lakes. Tons of them.

And then there’s Mama Moose* trundling down the road with her offspring, shooting us a look that says 'You just mind your own business' - which we did.

More later. Tea’s brewing and the Pilot's taking a nap.

 
* Probably reindeer (Ed.)

Spawning (1924)

We're inside the Arctic Circle now.

Pilot

Pillion; astride the circumference

It surprisingly mild - though we've experienced how quickly and dramatically the temperature changes with each new weather front. Still, we'll be at Nordkapp and travelling south within the week, so we should escape the worst weather the region has to offer.

We're at a small town called Jockfall. It's situated on a river (the Kalix) at the point of a waterfall. The camp site we're staying at (in a fairly rustic cabin) is mostly frequented by fly-fishermen. The river is a salmon spawning route and the falls are climbed by fish making their way from the sea - 130k downstream - back to their place of their origin to produce their own offspring and repeat the cycle. It's quite captivating.

View from camp-site cafe bar

The locals, though some are keen fishermen, accept custodianship of the salmon and have built a 'salmon ladder' at the far side of the falls as seen from his photo, to encourage the salmon to their spawning grounds.

Salmon ladder

There is no night-time darkness here as we would recognise it and the mosquitoes roam in armed gangs, carry weapons and have tattoos.

Do check 'Noonpics', the daily trip photo. See the link on the navigation bar below the blog title (select Web View on smartphones.)

Holy cheesus!

They make cheese here.

Shelves of cheese

Angelika lifts a cheese

More shelves of cheese 

Looked at from another angle

A rat on a motorcycle 

Info on cheesemaking

It's very tasty cheese, too. Made right here in Ånäset.

It's not just us

During our rest-up at Lufta Camping we've encountered Alex (Netherlands) and Pernilla & Max (Stockholm). All are riding motorbikes (respectively, for those that care, GS800 and a pair of GS1200s) and all are headed to Nordkapp. We're a dime-a-dozen us bikers-going-northernmost.

More and more throughout the planning and now the executing phase of the trip we've come to realise that riding to Nordkapp is a 'thing', as the youth say.

Here's a photograph of the camp-site restaurant and Alex's bike. 

The weather is getting milder by the day and it looks as though we'll be spared icicles up north. Alex alerted us to a Norwegian weather website that covers this area really well.

We've agreed a change to our itinerary. Having received advice re great places to visit hereabouts (including the biggest waterfall in northern Europe and the definitive museum of Sami culture in Jokkmokk) that we can't currently take in due to our accommodation commitments, we're going to travel south from Nordkapp through Sweden (rather than Finland), eventually taking the Umeå - Vaasa ferry to Finland and so on to Helsinki and St Petersburg.

We're excited by the prospect.

Closing in on the Arctic Circle (1692)

You know the town you're staying in is a small one when it never appears on the road signs.

This is Ånäset. Last stop was Sundsvall (one night) and now, after two days' back-to-back riding, we're resting up for three nights in our own cabin-from-home.

Our next stay will be in Jockfall, inside the Arctic Circle. Apparently upon entering it (the circle, that is) one should drink a Wolf's Paw, a vodka and cranberry juice. Let's see...

If you're reading these posts, don't forget to look at Noonpics; one photo per day at noon (or thereabouts) - see the link below the blog title (select 'web view' on smartphones).

How exactly do you strike the balance between freedom to roam and being sure of a bed after a long ride?

Shame Federer didn't get over the line, but no one deserved to lose that.

And don't fret if there's no post for one day or several - I don't want it to become a chore. x

Walking the Swedish capital

It's very beautiful and interesting.

On the road again tomorrow. Going north.

Northerly

Take a close look and you'll see, marked, Sundsvall and Ånäset. These are our next two destinations.

From the latter, we'll have three days riding to Nordkapp through Finland and Norway.

The weather seems to be getting a little more gentle up there, which is good because we'll be spending several days in the Arctic Circle.

On the other hand, regarding the ecology it'd better if it was colder.

We might even be there on the 24th - my 65th birthday.

Stockholm (1229)

We're in the Swedish capital!

En route...

We topped the 1000 miles on the way.

'Trip B' = miles from home

We're taking an extra day here (four nights) to rest up and gather our thoughts.

It was bloody cold on the way. If it keeps getting colder as we go north, it'll be uncomfortable. We've had reports of snow at Nordkapp. Neither of us fancy riding on the white stuff - for reasons of comfort but also for reasons of staying vertical.

Let's see.

Budget food (955)

I quite enjoy improvising with food on the go. Acting on advice recieved we try to make sure that we have bread and a jar of peanut butter available for those hungry moments. I like it.

Life on the road, isn't so onerous.

Food advisor: Len Brown

Nearing the first 1000 miles - and getting colder.

Stockholm tomorrow for three nights.

I experimented with the weight distribution on the bike. I seem to have solved the front-end-bike-wobbles by moving the security chain (a hefty item) from its original storage position suspended below the rear mudguard to up front wrapped around the tank bag. The handling is much better now.

Serendipity (715)

More good fortune. Our visit to Copenhagen coincided with the jazz festival here. These chaps were wonderful.

Kappeln

OK, truth is we're here because I gigged, thrice, at Palette, the best small music bar in northern Germany. It's in Sleswig-Holstein, in the Plattdeutsch, the flat lands on the border with Denmark and the coast of the Baltic. I love it here.

The proprietor of said music bar, Hans-Peter Scholz, is a work of art in his own right. A 70-something cool dude who knows good music when he hears it (of course I'd think that), and creates a great vibe for guests and artists alike.

Sometimes you get lucky. I loved playing here. Angelika and I were welcomed warmly this time, too, and we've had a great stay.

Denmark tomorrow.

Amanda is a Windmill... (483)

... and she's a beauty.

Read here...

The Town Musicians of Bremen (323)

Tourist photograph #1. Check out the story of the four musicians.

Bike handling
Btw, rear-ended a fellow motorist in almost stationary traffic on the autobahn on the way to Bremen. Have realised that the weight/distribution of luggage makes the front end of the bike skittish at slow speeds*. This probably contributed to me clipping a lorry with the pannier while filtering with the result that I mashed a Dutch couple's brand new bicycle carrier. 😥 No damage to the bike. 🙂

All-in-all, it was no biggie. A very civilised exchange took place and I'll have to cough up when they know the cost.

*Bike handles perfectly well at all other times. Will have to see what can be done to eliminate the issue.

View from the Captain's Cabin (74 + 1 sea voyage)

06.30 and all is well...

Setting off (0)

No going back

0

- 4 hours appx...

Ready to go

Not much left to do

We've been living with these for months...

Nearly all done

Only for the moto-enthusiast...

Final week stuff happening now and so to the final tool check. I know you're desperate to know.

With this lot we can do the following: change oil & filters; change air filters; remove & replace wheels and tyres; adjust and clean chain; repair punctures; remove & replace brake pads; remove bodywork as required - and possibly some other stuff.

Tools #1

12 & 10mm C-wrench, Right-angle pick, Small JIS crosshead, OEM cross-head & Screwdriver, Toothbrush (chain cleaning), 5mm hex & extension, Large wrench, Small wrench, Bead-breakers, Tyre levers, Adjustable spanner, 5mm T-handle hex.

Tools #2

Sockets: 27mm, 22, (adapters), 14, 12, 8, Headtorch, Gerber Multi-tool, Multi-meter leads, Wheel bearings, Fuses, Reusable pop-rivets (bodywork), Oil-seal cleaner, Oil filter tool, Multimeter, Cable ties.

Pump, etc.

Bike-battery operated pump, Digital tyre gauge.

Puncture repair kits

CO2 canisters, Puncture Repair Kit #1, PRK #2, Plugs, Gloves, PRK #3 (just to be sure).

All packed up and ready to go...

And this is what it looks like when it's packed and ready to stow (with the addition of 1 x spare inner-tube, one chain lube and two film canisters of Fairy Liquid [for tyre-changing]).

For the non-enthusiasts, don't worry, there won't be test questions...

The first leg...

Well, starting in nine day's time, here's the first bit;

Don't pay too much attention to the fine detail (we're intending to visit St Petersberg, Kaliningrad, Angelika's mum in Munich and Carcassonne - amongst others), but the broad outline is right. Just shy of 6,000 miles and three months - or so.

And after that - well, we'll see!

The best laid plans of mice and motorcycle travellers...

Revisiting the security aspect of the trip, we are reminded that the trip plan (see right) was always meant to be flexible.

Recently (in last three months or so), things have become a little more febrile in West Africa and the UK government has revised its travel advice for the area - advising more caution and outlining more areas that either should be avoided altogether (red) or should only be visited if absolutely neccesary (amber).

Nigeria

Cameroon

Now, we know that this is ultra-cautious advice, but it behoves careful wanderers to be aware of it. We are aware, and we'll be keeping a close eye on it as we approach the region. We may not make South Africa (we'd have to pass through Cameroon to get there) - but we'll decide on that in six or so months when we're closer to the scene. We have contacts in the area that we're communicating with, too, so we'll be properly clued in to the situation.

After all, six months touring Sengal, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria won't be too onerous. 😊

But we'll see...

Yes We Can! (The practise trip)

Practise run; Camp #1

Here's the end point of the dry run. Fully loaded, we took off for the weekend to discover the following: we can load the bike with all our trip gear and ourselves (just); we can ride two-up off road (standing); we actually like the freedom of camping (so long as we have chairs and China mugs).

Practise camp

Here's to 1st July.

Douala, the city that never sleeps (at the weekend)

I wanna go here, too...

Channelling Grant Johnson

There are routines to be practised. Today we did two - both crucial in different ways.

One popped bead...

Using the tools and techniques recommended and demonstrated by Grant Johnson of Horizons Unlimited fame at the summer '18 HUBBUK event, their annual four-day long-distance motorcyclists' convention/seminar/training camp, Angelika and I this morning popped the bead on my old tubed wheel. This is the seal that keeps the tyre secure on the wheel rim.

This is, to use my son Thom's favourite phrase, a non-trivial task - motorcycle tyre beads are not meant to break easily. But following Grant's coaching, we were patient, taking an incremental approach and just the right amount of Fairy Liquid (the bikers' tyre-removal lubricant of choice) we did the job in the morning sunlight. Who'd-a thought it, but we're turning into proper bikers.

The tools - as recommended - are BeadPro bead breakers, and Buzzetti trye levers. Great kit.

Another great piece of design is the Jetboil. Crucial for a different reason, it's going to ensure the early morning boost we'll both need for a happy start to each day! :)

Today we had our first JB cuppa.

The Jetboil, jetboiling

Two panniers, one top-box and a tank bag...

There's a limit to how much luggage you can take on a bike. And here it is. There's no room for more.

The packing practise room...

From left to right: Angelika's pannier, Simon's pannier, tank bag, top-box (mostly filled with camping stuff).

Big jobs

First, weight the back of the bike

In terms of the mechnicals of the bike, this was the big one. Angelika (pillion rider par exellence and now co-mechanic supreme) and I put the new tubeless tyres on the new tubeless rims and replaced the 'old' tubed wheels with the new ones. That's easier to say than to do. But we did it in one long day in Dave's garage. It was the last main challenge in the bike preparation.

We're both rather pleased with ourselves. It means that, should we need to change a tyre in the bush, we know we can.

Then take the new wheel...

Well, we're doing our best!