Adventure North Cape 2015 (ANC 1501)

Velkommen til Norge! Before the tour could start there was a lot of preperation to do. Some additional motorcycles had to be brought to Ålesund, all the bikes were checked and (if neccessary) maintained and one of our vans (plus trailer) was brought to Tromsø. So a lot of work until the tour could start... Day 1 and 2 - Ålesund - Sunndalsøra - Trondheim Riders from all over the world have just gathered in the lovely art nuveau town Ålesund to start another motorcycle adventure towards North Cape! Canada, United States, Germany, Switzerland and even Brazil are here, guided by Manuel "the Italian", Manu "the Austrian" and also Chris "the Austrian". We are gonna have lots of fun! Day 3 - Trondheim to Overhalla Leaving Trondheim with a morning ferry brigs us immediately into another world: tranquil rural roads, coastal landscape mixed with pine forests, some sheep here and there, the casual seagull singing at the ocean. What a relaxing cruise we have today! Day 4 - Overhalla to Sandnessjøen There are only two routes to enter northern Norway: the inland E6, backbone of Norway, and the magnificent coastal route 17. Of course we go for the latter... and three ferries today! Day 5 - Sandnessjøen to Bodø Time for a milestone of the trip: crossing the Arctic Circle at 66°33' it's quite an emotional passage. When you reach the Saltfjellet plateau and the vegetation goes from pines to birches to small bushes you can truly feel the call of the North... Day 6 - Bodø to Lofoten The long awaited moment has arrived: there is a big excitement in our smiles this morning because we are about to board the ferry towards the magical archipelago of Lofoten! Day 7 - Lofoten to Harstad What a ride! With leaving the Lofoten to the North the landscape changes completely. Although its just a few kilometer away we entered a different world. White sandy beaches, deep green islands and incredible blue-green water. The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. We alsmost thought we went to the Caribbean. Day 8 - Harstad to Storslett With nice weather we left the islands and headed back to the mainland. On the longest ride so far (~400km) the landscape changed constantly and the temperatures climbed up to breathtaking 22°C - which made us sweat in our riding gears. That's the way it has to be... Day 9 - Storslett to Alta Day number nine was just a relaxing ride of 180km along the E6. Easy to navigate, almost no traffic at all and comfortable waether-conditions brought us further up to the North. Day 10 - Alta to Lakselv... via NORTH CAPE So today is the day! Adventure Northcape the tour is called. We already had adventures - and today we hit the target: 71°10'21"... STRIKE!!! Day 11 - Lakselv to Karesuando After a relaxed daily briefing we startet our motorcycles and headed further to the South. Leaving Norway and entering Finland. Known as the land of 1.000 lakes, 10.000 islands and 100.000 billions mosquitos... The landscape became differnt again, no more fjords and mountains. But therefore a lot of soft rounded hills and endless forests of small sized trees... Day 12 - Karesuando to Tromø The last riding day brought us back to the west. Back to Norway and the lovely fjords... Adventure North Cape This tour was not just a tour. It was and outstanding experience for all of us. We visited one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, we had great ridings, we've seen breathtaking landscapes and visited the most northern point of Europe. This roadtripwas was very emotional und unforgettable. We've not just been a great team - we have become friends!!! And that's the way it should be...   We say: Thank YOU... Epilog After the tour has ended all our equipment (including our bikes of course) had be brought back to Ålesund. With our additional driver Gerhard we headed to the "South". 1.500km country roads and 27 hours later we arrived at midnight in the hotel. Great ride... Wanna know how things are going for our "leftovers" Lee, Steve & Sally, Manuel, Chris and Manu? → take a look @ our new blog: Viking Experience (CVE1502)