Living the Dream Solo Around the World Trip
- Thread starter schalk vd merwe
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schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
I really love the look of Norway
TVB
Grumpy Mutt
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Welsh said:
And I thought it was a submarines propellor :lol8: :thumleft:
Awesome foto's Schalk :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Daar kom nogTom van Brits said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Net soOubones said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Yes one beautiful countryRi said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
You spot on Welsh. Are you guy where we rode together to Parys dirt road a while back on a breakfast run ?Welsh said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Dankie my maatboere said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Long Long day
It was a Sunday morning. I had a good night rest and ready for the road in this beautiful country. The plan was to travel through the longest road tunnel in the world and then late afternoon to look for a place to sleep. Conni and Alexander in Gothenburg Sweden insisted that I come and say good bye. Conni was in Germany and would be back Monday evening. So the plan was to arrive back in Sweden on the Monday and Sleep over at their place.
I hit the road early morning riding towards the ferry before the tunnel. I was to cross the Sognefjord which is a Fjord that runs from the sea and goes quite deep into Norway. At the ferry I got in the queue behind some cars. I was the only one with a motorcycle. I must say the ferries are reasonably priced. I stayed with the bike to make sure the bike does not fall over against a car as all vehicles are parked close together in order to fit the most possible on. A Tesla electric car came to park behind me. They are imported from America into Sweden and Norway tax free as they are classified green technology. It is really a nice and streamlined car and you see them all over with tremendous acceleration.
The scenery from the ferry of the Sognefjord and mountain behind is breath taking. On the other side of the fjord I disembark quickly and did the twenty kilometers to the Leardals Tunnel. I on purpose plan to travel through the tunnel of 24,5 km but I belief the mountain pass over the mountain is also beautiful. The tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the world but there is a train tunnel in Switzerland which is 58 km long. I remember when I traveled through Switzerland there were Germans that was scared to travel through the 18 km St. Goddard road tunnel due to no place to stop once inside should your bike have problems.
This tunnel was different. A third way in there was a place where you could stop as well as half way and three quarter way in. Those 3 places were enlarged and had beautiful ultra-blue lights on the ceiling with parking on both sides. I stopped half way in just to experience this beautiful piece of Engineering.
After 24,5 km I was through the tunnel and I decided if I ever come back here I would love to spend more time in this area. But for now I am coming closer to the end of my 3 month Visa. I then traveled through small little towns with names like Gol and Geilo and Hol.
It was getting late afternoon and I started to look for accommodation. It was a long weekend and all the places were fully booked out. Eventually I saw no more camping or cabins as I was approaching Oslo. As I entered Oslo which is the capital of Norway it was 11 pm. I was cold and hungry and tied. I went to the city center and wow the place was vibrant with young people all over in the streets. I parked my bike in front of a coffee shop and went inside and had a nice warm cup of coffee.
Then the searching for accommodation starts again. Even a youth hostel cost the equivalent of R 1200 and they are all full. The only option now is camping. My GPS took me to a large camp site in the center of Oslo. It was 12 o clock midnight now and there were no guard now at the gate. I rode the bike in between some low level poles. Half way in I came across the security guard. He said I can camp anywhere and pay the following day. Even this time of the night it does not get dark in Norway in the summer. I could clearly see the hundreds of tents all over but there is no level ground. All the tents are at an angle and I just know I would not be able to sleep like that. You always slide down.
I was hungry and tied but I started to play with the idea to push through to Alexander and Connie’s place 80 km outside of Gothenburg in Sweden. That would mean another 380 km of night riding.
The GPS was set and off I went. The last off day that I had was at Nord Cap many midnight suns ago but the cozy little house of Alexander and Connie was playing in my mind while hitting the road going south towards Sweden.
On the outskirts of Oslo I saw a Mac Donald’s that was open 24 hours. Now I very seldom go to a Mc Donald’s but hunger is the best cook. Inside was a young man in attendance. We had a lekker chat while he was preparing my burger and Coke. It was chilly outside and I put my rain suit on.
After the meal which was the first for the day or night I felled better. The last time I was deprived of food was when I traveled through the deserts of Sudan in Africa when I went two days without food.
About a hundred km before Gothenburg the bike ran out of petrol. I thought I had reserve left and switch over the fuel tap but the bike would not start. Fortunately there was a small shopping center about 400 meters away with a fuel pump. The bike was heavy to push. It was about 4 am now and fortunately there was a young guy next to the road who was waiting for his employer. He offered to help me push. About 100 meter from the pump I told him he better go back otherwise he is going to miss his lift. Man the bike was heavy and I nearly dropped the bike. Eventually I made it to the pump.
Now it was the same old story. It was only self-service. That means if you pay with your card at the pump it reserves an additional R 2200 because it is a foreign card. That money only gets credited in about a months’ time. If the shop was open then I could have paid a the till and then you only pay for the fuel. I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.
I hit the road to Gothenburg and from there about 80 km east to Alexander and Connie’s house in the forest on a farm. I met them in Africa. I arrived there Monday morning about 5.30 am. 22 hours on the road with more than a 1200 km behind me. You cannot do great distances in Norway like in South Africa due to the low speed limits of the rural roads. Also stopping all over looking for accommodation waist a lot of time. I knock on the door. They were only expecting me that evening. Eventually Alexander opens the door. I told him I am tired. He pointed me to my cozy bedroom upstairs. I did not even offload the bike. In no time I was fast asleep and got up at 11 am, Five and a half hours later.
It was a Sunday morning. I had a good night rest and ready for the road in this beautiful country. The plan was to travel through the longest road tunnel in the world and then late afternoon to look for a place to sleep. Conni and Alexander in Gothenburg Sweden insisted that I come and say good bye. Conni was in Germany and would be back Monday evening. So the plan was to arrive back in Sweden on the Monday and Sleep over at their place.
I hit the road early morning riding towards the ferry before the tunnel. I was to cross the Sognefjord which is a Fjord that runs from the sea and goes quite deep into Norway. At the ferry I got in the queue behind some cars. I was the only one with a motorcycle. I must say the ferries are reasonably priced. I stayed with the bike to make sure the bike does not fall over against a car as all vehicles are parked close together in order to fit the most possible on. A Tesla electric car came to park behind me. They are imported from America into Sweden and Norway tax free as they are classified green technology. It is really a nice and streamlined car and you see them all over with tremendous acceleration.
The scenery from the ferry of the Sognefjord and mountain behind is breath taking. On the other side of the fjord I disembark quickly and did the twenty kilometers to the Leardals Tunnel. I on purpose plan to travel through the tunnel of 24,5 km but I belief the mountain pass over the mountain is also beautiful. The tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the world but there is a train tunnel in Switzerland which is 58 km long. I remember when I traveled through Switzerland there were Germans that was scared to travel through the 18 km St. Goddard road tunnel due to no place to stop once inside should your bike have problems.
This tunnel was different. A third way in there was a place where you could stop as well as half way and three quarter way in. Those 3 places were enlarged and had beautiful ultra-blue lights on the ceiling with parking on both sides. I stopped half way in just to experience this beautiful piece of Engineering.
After 24,5 km I was through the tunnel and I decided if I ever come back here I would love to spend more time in this area. But for now I am coming closer to the end of my 3 month Visa. I then traveled through small little towns with names like Gol and Geilo and Hol.
It was getting late afternoon and I started to look for accommodation. It was a long weekend and all the places were fully booked out. Eventually I saw no more camping or cabins as I was approaching Oslo. As I entered Oslo which is the capital of Norway it was 11 pm. I was cold and hungry and tied. I went to the city center and wow the place was vibrant with young people all over in the streets. I parked my bike in front of a coffee shop and went inside and had a nice warm cup of coffee.
Then the searching for accommodation starts again. Even a youth hostel cost the equivalent of R 1200 and they are all full. The only option now is camping. My GPS took me to a large camp site in the center of Oslo. It was 12 o clock midnight now and there were no guard now at the gate. I rode the bike in between some low level poles. Half way in I came across the security guard. He said I can camp anywhere and pay the following day. Even this time of the night it does not get dark in Norway in the summer. I could clearly see the hundreds of tents all over but there is no level ground. All the tents are at an angle and I just know I would not be able to sleep like that. You always slide down.
I was hungry and tied but I started to play with the idea to push through to Alexander and Connie’s place 80 km outside of Gothenburg in Sweden. That would mean another 380 km of night riding.
The GPS was set and off I went. The last off day that I had was at Nord Cap many midnight suns ago but the cozy little house of Alexander and Connie was playing in my mind while hitting the road going south towards Sweden.
On the outskirts of Oslo I saw a Mac Donald’s that was open 24 hours. Now I very seldom go to a Mc Donald’s but hunger is the best cook. Inside was a young man in attendance. We had a lekker chat while he was preparing my burger and Coke. It was chilly outside and I put my rain suit on.
After the meal which was the first for the day or night I felled better. The last time I was deprived of food was when I traveled through the deserts of Sudan in Africa when I went two days without food.
About a hundred km before Gothenburg the bike ran out of petrol. I thought I had reserve left and switch over the fuel tap but the bike would not start. Fortunately there was a small shopping center about 400 meters away with a fuel pump. The bike was heavy to push. It was about 4 am now and fortunately there was a young guy next to the road who was waiting for his employer. He offered to help me push. About 100 meter from the pump I told him he better go back otherwise he is going to miss his lift. Man the bike was heavy and I nearly dropped the bike. Eventually I made it to the pump.
Now it was the same old story. It was only self-service. That means if you pay with your card at the pump it reserves an additional R 2200 because it is a foreign card. That money only gets credited in about a months’ time. If the shop was open then I could have paid a the till and then you only pay for the fuel. I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.
I hit the road to Gothenburg and from there about 80 km east to Alexander and Connie’s house in the forest on a farm. I met them in Africa. I arrived there Monday morning about 5.30 am. 22 hours on the road with more than a 1200 km behind me. You cannot do great distances in Norway like in South Africa due to the low speed limits of the rural roads. Also stopping all over looking for accommodation waist a lot of time. I knock on the door. They were only expecting me that evening. Eventually Alexander opens the door. I told him I am tired. He pointed me to my cozy bedroom upstairs. I did not even offload the bike. In no time I was fast asleep and got up at 11 am, Five and a half hours later.
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
How much longer would the pass over the tunnel have been? Was the air in the tunnel reasonable fresh all the way through?
I don't enjoy riding through tunnels, I find the idea of all that rock above me oppressive - well done on your 24,5km :ricky:.
I don't enjoy riding through tunnels, I find the idea of all that rock above me oppressive - well done on your 24,5km :ricky:.
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