Which bike? Decision made. Honda Trans Alp

Took delivery today. Its a cracking little bike. Its no road racer but I'm not planning to race to the Nordkapp. Its a torquey 700c twin with a good top speed, very comfortable, heated grips which work (very important), and great fun to ride. Afterall, I am going to ride a few miles on it so it has to fun and comfortable!

Which motorcycle to ride to the Nordkapp? Honda TransAlp?

Well, I may have made a decision. Test rode the new Honda VFR 1200. It rides well and reminds me of my old Blackbird. However, I fancy something more sedate and laid back for this trip. The Nordkapp by motorcycle is a long way and I don't have much time. I think now my team mate (Tim Wade) and I will both be riding TransAlps. Test rode one yesterday and liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

A Right Proper Ride

Ok, so I promised I would tell you a little about the Nordkapp or North Cape as it is sometimes called. It seems to me that as a biker, the NordKapp is a magical destination. It is in the Norwegian municipality of Finnmark and is the most northerly point you can reach by road in Europe. Now that’s pretty special.

At a latitude of 71 degrees, 21 minutes and 10 seconds it is a long way north. I intend to buy a tee shirt celebrating this latitude assuming I make it that far! I’ve read that they sell T shirts with 71 degrees as a logo. I want one! The Nordkapp itself is a cliff some 1000ft (ca 300m) high and of course in June when we are going, it will be bathed in sunlight 24 hours a day. Ok, I might be being optimistic as it could be overcast, raining or even snowing but you know what I mean. We will be well past the latitude where the “midnight sun” starts in the summer so it will be light 24 hours a day.

Actually the most northerly point is the neighbouring headland of Knivskjelloden which stretches a further 1500 meters north. However, it is not accessible by road and is an 18km walk from the Norkapp. Forget it. I am a biker not a walker!

A story about the Nordkapp which inspires me is that of Richard Chancellor. This English explorer rounded the North Cape in 1553 whilst trying to find a north east passage to the India and the Orient. Of course, he never found one but eventually somebody found the north west passage. I leave that for you to check out.

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Now, trying to put it in perspective just how far this trip is, Hull is 52 degrees, 40 mins north. That’s 52 degrees north of the equator. Not sure where Hull is? Shame on you. Ok, London is 51 degrees 31 minutes north. Gibraltar is 36 degrees minutes north so 16 degrees away from Hull. But as I mentioned early, the Nordkapp is 71 degrees north which is 19 degrees north of Hull. Following me?

Another way of looking at this is to consider that Gibraltar is 1837 miles from Hull by road and the Nordkapp by the route we are planning is 1942 miles.

Finally, if you feel compelled to know (although frankly there isn’t much more to know but I find more when I get there, I will let you know) you can check it out at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordkapp

And there you have it. It’s a “right proper” ride!

Carpe Diem

“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today!”

On the other hand, it is a big trip but I have put this off for long enough so this is the year!

Route Planning

There are no ferries running from on the UK to Norway. The two options are ferry to Rotterdam and ride all the way or ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark. Unfortunately, this latter option soaks up two days on each leg.

The most sensible route seems to be from Esbjerg to Hirtshal in northern Denmark, ferry to Kristiansand ( 2.5 hours) and then a direct route up the Norwegian coast. The return trip, which would be slightly shorter ,would be down the Swedish Baltic coast, ie west of the Baltic Sea, and down to Goteborg. From there we would get a ferry to Fredrickshaven ( 3 hours) and then arrive back in Esbjerg in time for the ferry to Harwich.

Tentative Itinerary

Day 1 Hull - ride to Harwich - ferry – Esbjerg – 1800h – over night – 1230 arrival

Day 2 Arrive Esbjerg 1230

– ride to Hirtshal in the north of Denmark. Coffee with friends in Aarhus

– 1800h sail to Kristiansand arrive 2030

Day 3 Set off from Kristiansand

Kristiansand – Norkapp is 1505 miles going up Norwegian coast

- Return trip via Swedish Baltic coast to Goteborg is 1422 miles

- Total is 2927 miles @ 9 days of riding is 325 miles per day

- Allows three days off for rest and contingency!! It might snow!

Day14 Arrive Goteborg

Day 15 Ferry to Fredrickshaven in DK - sails at 0900h – 3hrs.

- Ride to Esbjerg

- Overnight ferry to Harwich

Day 16 Harwich to Hull

Tentative timing

Leave from Hull Friday 25 June. Arrive back in Hull Saturday, 10 July. This is in effect two full weeks but leaves Sunday for recovery before returning to work. It is quite generous and in the main leg of Kristiansand to Nordkapp and then back to Goteborg, we would have 12 full days. This part of the trip is 2927 miles which in theory is 243 miles per day . However, I am assuming two days off and one contingency day. If we have the contingency day to spare we can use on the way home and spend a day in Olso.

Accommodation

For a small group, we could manage without reservations particular as huts on campsites are plentiful. I believe the huts are pretty basic but would do if we can’t find B&B. Reports are quite good. Huts are around £30 for a four man hut per night.

Ferries need to be pre-booked but the internal Scandinavian ferries are flexible if we change dates. Not sure about the Harwich ferry but if we were running late for whatever reason, we could probably change if we called ahead.

Other

Petrol stations are reasonably plentiful but open at odd hours, ie not early mornings and not in the evening. One report suggested carrying a jerry can.

Rotterdam option

This would add about 1500 miles in total. It is 735 miles from Goteborg to Europort which would two additional days in each direction. Given the 12 Scandinavian days in the itinerary, this would add four more but at least it incorporates a ferry to and from Hull. Nevertheless, it is a lot more miles!! That makes it 16 riding days with one day off averaging just under 300 miles per day. A real endurance test!

The Bike

I don't know what I will ride yet. Going to enjoy thinking about for a while yet!!!

The General Idea

It has been on my mind for a few years to ride a motorbike to the Nordkapp. Now it's time to actually do it. Is it the ultimate ride in Europe? Possibly. I have ridden all over Europe and done a few trips in the USA. A few years ago, my friends and I rode up to the Arctic Circle and that set my mind rolling on the idea that going all the way to the "top" would be fun. But checking this idea out made me realise just how far it is - it's a long way!

Planning is progressing so more details on that later but for now here's the rough plan. Get bike. Pack. Set off from home (Walkington in East Yorksire). Ride, eat, sleep and ride some more. Get there (in June). Take lots of pictures. Have fun. Ride back. And share my experiences with anyone interested. I might even raise some money for charity but more of that later.

So this first blog entry is the official start. In the next entry, I'll tell you a little about the Nordkapp.