Norway average speed: 68.4 kph
Norway max speed: 145 kph
Total distance from Home: That is another bloody story.
Average km/day since Stockers joint: 379.4 km's
No of hangovers: Nil for a long time
Total number of times stopped by the Police: 6 or 7
Great ride to Heysham, great Ferry trip to the Isle of Man, great weather also. As usual, Stockers came through and found us a bungalow at Union Mills. Shared our good Mate Damien's house. Sulby Straight, Balaugh Bridge, The Gooseneck. All the grouse view points. Even watched from the grandstand at the start/ finish line one day. Jeff Lowe had recommended it. All the tourist things, Laxley, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown and Lady Isabella. Watched in amazement as the Peel Lifeboat was launched and retrieved. Beers and St Hilliers Pear Ciders at The Railway Hotel, Sulby Glen Hotel, The Craig and for old times sake, Queens (several times), as well as all the pubs in Castletown. watched the 125 and 250 races at Castletown in the first ever TT races held there. Plenty of action on the Prom. Beers with Graham and Kaci. Coffee with Ashley, Jake and Jane. Bumped into Andy White (Strapz) and his girl. Met Lord Newman Sir Phillip John Newman-Perathoner, he rides a BSA 350 and has done India and Pakistan on it, just about to head to Norway. Good bloke as well. Took the Rooney for 4 or 5 laps of the 73km TT Course. Worked out I would have qualified on the front row for the 1926 Senior TT!! Four of my laps were aborted when the mountain was closed for accidents. Had a cup of tea, at last, with Mary Brett. Cameron Donald was the first Aussie to win a TT in 25 years. Then he won a second TT. Then he took a second place in the big race on Friday, would have won that as well only the bike developed a bad oil leak. Stockers took my photo with him. Balls the size of water melons. Rides for Dave Jefferies old team. Definitely the gun rider of the moment and a top young bloke, a good ambassador for the sport and for our country. And can that bastard ride!! And it was sunny most of the time. I would go to the TT every year if I could. Rum & Race Tour punters, eat your hearts out! A couple of beers at the pub at Heysham. Watched the races on TV. The pub was not the same without the Rum & Race Tour boys.
Ron and Gloria went to Scotland, I went back to Stockers and Jacquie's. Met Stuart Jenkinson, a mate of Stockers. He is in his 70's, leads Motorcycle Tours to Europe on his Vincent Black Knight. Immaculate condition and 748,000 miles on the clock. Stuart purchased it new in 1955 and it has only had 3 engine rebuilds. Original rear wheel bearings and paint. Fcuking amazing!! To Whitby Pub (Captain Cooks port) to watch 'Troy Bayliss' blow them away at a karaoke pub. Bat Out Of Hell again. Brings back memories. A bit unreal, sitting in Captain James Cook's living room, once again, watching videos of Stockers and his mate racing when they were young. Would Jimmy Cook have approved? The place is almost a shrine for Aussies.
Put 2 new Mitas E07's on the Rooney. The old ones had over 19,000 kms on them and still plenty of meat left. Not so popular here and none in the country, so Kevin from the importers, CGS Tyres, brought in 4 from Czechoslovakia for me, and had them delivered to a local dealer. Is that good service or what? The price, about $AUD400 for the 4 tyres. How good is that! Put my riding gear in the laundromat for the first time on the trip.
Stockers and I went to Scotland to the Bob Mac classic race meeting at East fortune. Ron and Gloria turned up as well. Magnificent setting, racing, company and bikes. Something unreal about watching David Hailwood do demonstration laps on a Honda 250/6. Made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. And the exhaust noise. Bloody music. Stockers and I talked at length to him. A bloody good bloke. Caught up with Stockers racing mates, Hartleport Dave & Angie, Doncaster Dave, Wally and Eddie. Good blokes, many beers, much red, to much Vodka and the odd bottle of bundy. One 4 am knock off, next night we were in bed early, about 1.30 am! Lindsay would have loved it again this year, the girl behind the bar asked after him.
Back to Jacquie and Stockers joint. Neva turned up with the worst case of jet lag anyone has ever seen. Took her a week to setle down. Changed the oils in the Rooney. The gearbox was meant to hold 800mls. Only had about 350mls. Fcuk the bike shop in Istanbul. Pulled the box out and took it to my new best Mate, Roger Bennett. (01422 835566 if you want your engine or gearbox rebuilt by the best in the UK) I had met him at the Lydden CRMC meeting. He dropped everything to re-build my gearbox in 3 hours. He is the Man. Does all the BMW Airhead race engines and gearboxes. The gearbox was ratshit. Probably wouldn't have made Magadan. Roger did not know what the problem was. Said the lack of oil would not have helped. Broke Karen's screen (the GPS) repairs would take 3 weeks and cost 130 pounds. Bought a new one $700. She is called Emily. Karen cost me $1,500 and we bought 5 to get them that cheap! Fcuk me. A fantastic meal at Martin and Leslie's and on to the boat from Newcastle to Stavanger in Norway. Cost about the same for a 20 hour trip, with a cabin, as it did for the 3 hour trip, without a reserved seat, from Heysham to Douglas on The Isle of Man. Problem is, the Aussies (Macquarie Bank) own The Isle of Man Steam Packet. And they want to run Sydney Ferries!!!!! What a fcuking joke.
An absolutely brilliant ride down to Evje to see Bec Williams and her boyfriend, Morton. Top chick, top bloke. Stayed two nights at Morton's parents Campground. Lovely people, cooked us a magnificient meal. Took us on a tour on the lake (an inland fiord) on the 'D S Bjoren', a steam ferry, built in 1866. Amazing! Rode for a few days up through Norway to the Artic circle. stayed at Geiranger. This is the Fiord where the cruise ships anchor for the day. Incredible to see three large cruise ships anchored in a little bay only 2 or 3 times the size of Sydney Cove. P & O's 'Arcadia' was there when we were, she is big. In Melbourne it rains a lot. In Saltburn By The Sea it rains a lot. Add the annual rain fall of these two places together, double it, multiply by six and you will get the weekly rainfall for Norway. And fckucking cold. But that is to be expected as you can almost see the North Pole! Rode past the amazing Jostedalsbreen Glacier to Trondheim and into the Artic Circle. Bloody cold. Went up as far as you can go and still stay on land, Nordkapp (North Cape) Santa Clause and the North Pole are the only things further north. Still incredibly amazing. Stayed in little cabins in the campgrounds, all very clean and about the same price as a tent site. But warm and dry! It does not get dark at all in this joint. We have not seen dark for days and days. Is that incredible or what? Saw many reindeer. Blitzen and Rudolph and the rest. Ate reindeer cooked many different ways. Even reindeer jerky. Norway is a place I will come back to. I can see why Troy Malcom, Justin Hovey and Mark Hebden keep coming to Norway.
Finland is a lot flatter. Many beautiful forests and rivers. Stayed at a really sensational campsite. Ate more reindeer in a fantactic log cabin. The roads in Norway were incredible for motorcycling. Even better than those in Tasmania. Finland had great roads and a more realstic speed limit. Crossed into Russia. What fcuking road!! Jesus! But does it get any better? I think not. And it still has not got dark!!
Norway max speed: 145 kph
Total distance from Home: That is another bloody story.
Average km/day since Stockers joint: 379.4 km's
No of hangovers: Nil for a long time
Total number of times stopped by the Police: 6 or 7
Great ride to Heysham, great Ferry trip to the Isle of Man, great weather also. As usual, Stockers came through and found us a bungalow at Union Mills. Shared our good Mate Damien's house. Sulby Straight, Balaugh Bridge, The Gooseneck. All the grouse view points. Even watched from the grandstand at the start/ finish line one day. Jeff Lowe had recommended it. All the tourist things, Laxley, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown and Lady Isabella. Watched in amazement as the Peel Lifeboat was launched and retrieved. Beers and St Hilliers Pear Ciders at The Railway Hotel, Sulby Glen Hotel, The Craig and for old times sake, Queens (several times), as well as all the pubs in Castletown. watched the 125 and 250 races at Castletown in the first ever TT races held there. Plenty of action on the Prom. Beers with Graham and Kaci. Coffee with Ashley, Jake and Jane. Bumped into Andy White (Strapz) and his girl. Met Lord Newman Sir Phillip John Newman-Perathoner, he rides a BSA 350 and has done India and Pakistan on it, just about to head to Norway. Good bloke as well. Took the Rooney for 4 or 5 laps of the 73km TT Course. Worked out I would have qualified on the front row for the 1926 Senior TT!! Four of my laps were aborted when the mountain was closed for accidents. Had a cup of tea, at last, with Mary Brett. Cameron Donald was the first Aussie to win a TT in 25 years. Then he won a second TT. Then he took a second place in the big race on Friday, would have won that as well only the bike developed a bad oil leak. Stockers took my photo with him. Balls the size of water melons. Rides for Dave Jefferies old team. Definitely the gun rider of the moment and a top young bloke, a good ambassador for the sport and for our country. And can that bastard ride!! And it was sunny most of the time. I would go to the TT every year if I could. Rum & Race Tour punters, eat your hearts out! A couple of beers at the pub at Heysham. Watched the races on TV. The pub was not the same without the Rum & Race Tour boys.
Ron and Gloria went to Scotland, I went back to Stockers and Jacquie's. Met Stuart Jenkinson, a mate of Stockers. He is in his 70's, leads Motorcycle Tours to Europe on his Vincent Black Knight. Immaculate condition and 748,000 miles on the clock. Stuart purchased it new in 1955 and it has only had 3 engine rebuilds. Original rear wheel bearings and paint. Fcuking amazing!! To Whitby Pub (Captain Cooks port) to watch 'Troy Bayliss' blow them away at a karaoke pub. Bat Out Of Hell again. Brings back memories. A bit unreal, sitting in Captain James Cook's living room, once again, watching videos of Stockers and his mate racing when they were young. Would Jimmy Cook have approved? The place is almost a shrine for Aussies.
Put 2 new Mitas E07's on the Rooney. The old ones had over 19,000 kms on them and still plenty of meat left. Not so popular here and none in the country, so Kevin from the importers, CGS Tyres, brought in 4 from Czechoslovakia for me, and had them delivered to a local dealer. Is that good service or what? The price, about $AUD400 for the 4 tyres. How good is that! Put my riding gear in the laundromat for the first time on the trip.
Stockers and I went to Scotland to the Bob Mac classic race meeting at East fortune. Ron and Gloria turned up as well. Magnificent setting, racing, company and bikes. Something unreal about watching David Hailwood do demonstration laps on a Honda 250/6. Made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. And the exhaust noise. Bloody music. Stockers and I talked at length to him. A bloody good bloke. Caught up with Stockers racing mates, Hartleport Dave & Angie, Doncaster Dave, Wally and Eddie. Good blokes, many beers, much red, to much Vodka and the odd bottle of bundy. One 4 am knock off, next night we were in bed early, about 1.30 am! Lindsay would have loved it again this year, the girl behind the bar asked after him.
Back to Jacquie and Stockers joint. Neva turned up with the worst case of jet lag anyone has ever seen. Took her a week to setle down. Changed the oils in the Rooney. The gearbox was meant to hold 800mls. Only had about 350mls. Fcuk the bike shop in Istanbul. Pulled the box out and took it to my new best Mate, Roger Bennett. (01422 835566 if you want your engine or gearbox rebuilt by the best in the UK) I had met him at the Lydden CRMC meeting. He dropped everything to re-build my gearbox in 3 hours. He is the Man. Does all the BMW Airhead race engines and gearboxes. The gearbox was ratshit. Probably wouldn't have made Magadan. Roger did not know what the problem was. Said the lack of oil would not have helped. Broke Karen's screen (the GPS) repairs would take 3 weeks and cost 130 pounds. Bought a new one $700. She is called Emily. Karen cost me $1,500 and we bought 5 to get them that cheap! Fcuk me. A fantastic meal at Martin and Leslie's and on to the boat from Newcastle to Stavanger in Norway. Cost about the same for a 20 hour trip, with a cabin, as it did for the 3 hour trip, without a reserved seat, from Heysham to Douglas on The Isle of Man. Problem is, the Aussies (Macquarie Bank) own The Isle of Man Steam Packet. And they want to run Sydney Ferries!!!!! What a fcuking joke.
An absolutely brilliant ride down to Evje to see Bec Williams and her boyfriend, Morton. Top chick, top bloke. Stayed two nights at Morton's parents Campground. Lovely people, cooked us a magnificient meal. Took us on a tour on the lake (an inland fiord) on the 'D S Bjoren', a steam ferry, built in 1866. Amazing! Rode for a few days up through Norway to the Artic circle. stayed at Geiranger. This is the Fiord where the cruise ships anchor for the day. Incredible to see three large cruise ships anchored in a little bay only 2 or 3 times the size of Sydney Cove. P & O's 'Arcadia' was there when we were, she is big. In Melbourne it rains a lot. In Saltburn By The Sea it rains a lot. Add the annual rain fall of these two places together, double it, multiply by six and you will get the weekly rainfall for Norway. And fckucking cold. But that is to be expected as you can almost see the North Pole! Rode past the amazing Jostedalsbreen Glacier to Trondheim and into the Artic Circle. Bloody cold. Went up as far as you can go and still stay on land, Nordkapp (North Cape) Santa Clause and the North Pole are the only things further north. Still incredibly amazing. Stayed in little cabins in the campgrounds, all very clean and about the same price as a tent site. But warm and dry! It does not get dark at all in this joint. We have not seen dark for days and days. Is that incredible or what? Saw many reindeer. Blitzen and Rudolph and the rest. Ate reindeer cooked many different ways. Even reindeer jerky. Norway is a place I will come back to. I can see why Troy Malcom, Justin Hovey and Mark Hebden keep coming to Norway.
Finland is a lot flatter. Many beautiful forests and rivers. Stayed at a really sensational campsite. Ate more reindeer in a fantactic log cabin. The roads in Norway were incredible for motorcycling. Even better than those in Tasmania. Finland had great roads and a more realstic speed limit. Crossed into Russia. What fcuking road!! Jesus! But does it get any better? I think not. And it still has not got dark!!
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