Hi from the UK
 

Another newbie here. Been lurking on the Hub for a little while and I've already learnt so much I thought I ought to better join!

I have friends scattered around the world and plan to visit them all, one by one, on two wheels. I'm fairly new to riding the bikes myself, although an old hand at being pillion. Now my son has that honour!

I'm a lady rider so will be asking questions in the appropriate sections when I have a burning issue that needs solving, the first of which is the whole concept of taking a 12 year old on a journey to the arctic circle through Norway :eek:

Please be gentle with me, and I look forward to learning from you experts! :D

Hi Scythian,

:welcome: Plenty of useful stuff and great people on here as you'll already know, being a lurker!

Belle

Welcome to the HUBB!

I hope to find everything you need for your trip!:freezing:

:thumbup1:

Thank you folks! What a brilliant site and a font of information. Thank you to the founders for all their hard work in making all this possible.

Hello and welcome :thumbup1:

Hi Scythian,

welcome to the hubb,

In the past i have taken my both my daughters on tours around europe and had a great time, both enjoyed it and now have some great memories, at the time they were both between 10 and 13 years of age. Go for it you'll have a ball.

Dave

Hi Scythian

Welcome to the HUBB

What better way to learn about the world than to actually see it for yourself - your 12 year old will be better for the experience if you ask me. There is a fantastic German film of a guy who took his son with him on a major trip - the son sat in front of the guy against the fuel tank - truly inspiring (If anyone knows the name of this film please feel free to enlighten me)

Martin

Hello Scythian

Welcome from an even newer member of HU, who plans on a 2012 Nordkapp visit also. I'd say, go for it. I think the roads all all asphalt, except perhaps the last few km and that must be easy, as so many motor homes visit the Nordkapp.

I would imagine the biggest challenge would be carrying the gear for both of you on one bike, especially if camping and wet. The Hyttes sound like a sensible option in wet conditions though.

Sorry to read elsewhere about your 'off'. I hope you make a full recovery.

Grey Beard

Hi Scythian and Grey Beard.
Did Nordkapp trip this summer. Quick and dirty story with photos can be found Markon kotisivu

Hi Marko

I guess you are Finnish and living in Germany?

I am glad you provided an English version below your Finnish travelogue. My Finnish is a bit rusty :-) and I was struggling with Google Translate until I noticed the English version.

I take it, most of your trip was solo, but you met friends en route?

How much wild camping did you do, as opposed to using pay camp sites, Hyttes or hotels, etc? Your first day was a bit of a marathon, but mostly autobahn.

I will mark in on my plans, some of the monuments that you visited. I will not be going to the Nordkapp Tourist Centre, but rather will walk in to the point a little further north.

Were you using a Hilleberg Keron 3 GT tent? It was a long trip, similar to my planned one. Did you get everything in your panniers or did you have to strap bags on top of the seat and/or panniers and if so, what did you do about security, especially in cities & Baltic States/Poland? Did you use a Pacsafe or similar?

You didn't give the dates of your trip I think, but I am guessing you started about 16 or 17 July. You mentioned the July 22nd massacre at one point.

Thanks again for the link.

Hamish

Hi Grey Beard,

Yep, I am Finn living in Germany :)
I still need to finalize english version of my last summer Iceland and Faroe Island trip. Will post it here when it is ready (hopefully during the winter time whole page will be translated to english).

I usually always travel solo, this time I met one of my friends in northern Norway.
I camped only on camping areas, plenty of them and quite cheap. Spent some nights in hyttes (when weather was bad), easy to find even on tourist season.

I have Hilleberg Nammatj 2GT. Bought it last year for my Iceland trip. I had 2 strap bags on top of the bike (in addition to panniers). I had my packsafe with me, but did not use it, not even once (I mainly stayed out of the cities).

Started the trip on 18th of July (if I remember correctly).

Lots of food for thought, and thank you all for your comments.

Thanks also to Grey Beard - I am slowly healing, but still have a way to go. My son and I are both experienced campers on non-official campsites and know how to pack well, but I wasn't sure on road conditions the further north we go. I have friends in Norway, Finland and Russia who have offered me bed and board so I need to decide how far I can afford to go before I have to return to home.

I hear Norway is very expensive, so I will need to budget well. As it happens I'm also currently on the lookout for a set of secondhand aluminium panniers because of what I will be carrying. Seems I need to sell my body to science these days just to afford a set!

Thanks Marko

I bought a Keron3 GT so I can use with my wife when/if she comes with me on the bike and we camp. I am looking at a Soulo one man tent as I want to do some longer walks in the North of Norway and the Keron is too heavy. The sister tent to the Nammatj 2GT (Nallo 2GT) is lighter in weight, but otherwise looks similar, but is probably heavier than I wish for walking, but does have a large porch area for wet biking gear.

Camping cost us an average of €30/night when we were in Norway this year with a Wohnmobile for the two of us & electrical hookup (Oslo was the most expensive camp site), but it would be a little cheaper without the electricity and only one person. Any particular reason for NOT wild camping?

One further question. You went to Touratech before leaving. What bike spares did you/do you carry when doing an extended trip like this? I have a similar bike to yours.

Like you I am not a great fan of cities, though I may force myself to do some sight seeing in them.

I look forward to reading of your Faroes/Iceland trip. I think not so many people go to Iceland (expensive), though apparently very good for sea fishing.

Cheers

Grey Beard

Hi Scythian

Yes, I agree the price of the BMW aluminium panniers are horrendous and the prices are not much better second hand. Other after market ones are still pretty expensive, if I remember correctly. Maybe you can do a deal when you buy your GS?

I was in Norway late August/early September this year (with motor home) and the road surfaces were fine, very little traffic, excellent for biking with all the hairpins, etc. We were only as far north as Alesund and that is probably only a third of the way to the Nordkapp - it's a long, long way.

You can wild camp in Norway, though I think it is easier the further north you go. Petrol is 23% more than in Germany. Fuel is cheapest first thing on Monday morning, then it peaks in the afternoon and slowly falls during the week. If you are driving through Germany, fuel is cheapest during the week, but most expensive at the weekend and on public holidays. Most drivers seem to fill up at Hirtshals in Denmark, before boarding the ferry to Norway if you are going Colorline to Larvik or Christiansand. Of course there are other ferry options, or you can go via Sweden. Fuel in Denmark is about 14% more expensive than in Germany.

I think food was about 2-2.5 times more expensive than Germany in the supermarkets. However, I think UK food is more expensive than in Germany. Alcohol sells at stupid prices, though you may find beer at affordable prices in supermarkets. If you want a tipple while on holiday, try and bring wine or spirits with you. There are limits if the booze is duty free, but if you come via Germany or Denmark, there probably won't be any border controls (Schengen agreement).

The one food that seems cheap/reasonable in Norway, is the pastry/pizza/croissants with toasted cheese on top, in the petrol station/supermarkets. We brought all our booze with us and maybe half the food. We just topped up with bread, veg, dairy products, chicken/pork/reindeer meat & fish at local supermarkets. Some camp sites have BarBQ pits so if the weather is half decent, you could BarBQ the chicken, etc. We did make mistakes in buying the meat however! I bought chicken legs thinking they were raw, but it said they were 'summer' chicken. This is in fact pre-cooked, so you could eat it cold in a salad or picnic, but i still BarBQ'd them. Similar story with the pork. It was more like German kassler, a smoked pork, but it is quite nice. Need to bring a Norwegian dictionary into the shop (or just ask an assistant, but where's the fun in that :-) ?)

Do watch the speed limits though. The fines are horrendously expensive and the speed limit on most of the country roads now is 80km/h (50mph). Typically €800 for a 12.5mph excess on the 50mph speed limit, but the police will take you to an ATM to get the cash. They are not bad that way, otherwise you may get free B&B. Higher speeds may lead to a spell in the local clink. But we saw very few police during our 2 weeks there. Of course you may not want to go too fast as the scenery really is superb, but if going to the Nordkapp, think about the distances. There are a lot of speed cameras around the cities and even up at the Nordkapp, plus the police do patrol in unmarked vehicles. You can get a speed camera database for your GPS, so at least you will know where the cameras are, but they usually pre-warn you that there are cameras in operation anyway. You don't usually get charged (environmental toll NOK 26 for Oslo) for a bike to go into cities or on toll roads, but you will have to pay for ferry crossings and there are a lot of them in the western fjords. Not horrendously expensive, unless you are driving a large motor home over 6 or 7m long. You will have to pay each way to go in the tunnel under the sea to the island of Mageroya, where the Nordkapp is and I think there is another biker toll up by Trondheim. Most GPS systems allow you to programme routes to avoid tools, etc. where possible and some maps show the toll roads. If you go to the Nordkapp Tourist Centre, then you will need to pay another €30 or so/head for 48hours - rip off, but it's a short tourist season.

If you want to go to Russia, you will need to think about Visas and that needs time. I read there is a loophole whereby you can go to St Petersburg on a 3 day cruise from Helsinki and you have to book on some organised city tour, but you don't need a Russian Visa. There was a good write up on one of the caravan/Motor home UK forums that gave some good costs:

Europe By Camper: Russia

Europe By Camper: Norway

Apologies if this link is breaking forum rules.

It would be a good experience for your son, but how would he feel if the weather was not so good? You will know the answer to that, but just something to think about.

Lastly, I found the Norwegians all very friendly and helpful and it really is a beautiful country.

Cheers

Grey Beard

Oddly enough my friend is in St. Petersburg :mchappy: - am thinking of going via Finland to St. Petersburg then down towards the Baltics. I don't think I will have time to head to Moscow and back as I am also constrained at son's school holiday times.
I have a visa cheat for Russia - I have discovered that a French national is charged a lot less than a British one for an identical visa (I have dual nationality), and its also less if you get a 'visitors invite' rather than a tourist one. Is it right I won't need anything else except for an International Driver's licence? No Carnets etc?

I'll be starting at the bottom of Norway to see my friends then work my way north, so how much time should I allow to reach Nordkapp? Would love to time it to see the start of the Northern Lights, but I don't think that will currently be possible. May be mean to my son and introduce him to Lutefisk :innocent: