The nice thing about the KLR is that you can ride it just about anywhere. For example, up steep embankments around closed ticket kiosks and down the other side into the car park.

The nice thing about closed tourist attractions is that you don’t have to pay to get in 😉 It also means you can get away with things you couldn’t normally do when they’re open – like park right in front of the visitor centre and take a photo. (See photo!).

As the sign says, the latitude of this location is 71°10’21” North. They’re just numbers, the same as any other parallel, but the significance here is that this is the most northerly point in Europe. (That you can drive to. Technically you could climb down the cliff to the beach/sea).

In the previous photo the bike is parked next to the original monument, laid on July 2nd 1837 by King Oscar II. There’s an inscription on the monument which reads:

“Not as a transitory adornment, but as a solemn sign that the kingdom of Norway reaches hither, therefore I have erected this monument at the outermost point of the North”.

The path to this monument was clearly pedestrian and not for vehicles. In all I can surmise that Nordkapp is pretty good, especially when it’s closed!

The ride to Nordkapp was a shade under 400 km. The first half was fine, just a little wet and chilly. The afternoon was hard work as strong winds had whipped up. The KLR seems to be susceptible to side winds, and today it really showed. I’d never ridden around a right hand bend leaning to the left before today, but the wind made that essential!

The last 50 km were particularly hard, as the Nordkapp is on a mountain and the road goes over some very exposed ground. It was a slog to get there, and reminded me of every time I’ve been to Lands End – or John O’Groats. However, the scenery was spectacular, in a robust and rugged way. Not something to easily take a photo of, but certainly dramatic to experience on my bike!

I finally pulled up to the kiosk at 4 pm, not too shabby considering the trip. Like Lands End it looks like you have to pay to get in, but I’m a tourist so just this once I’ll make an exception to my rules. As I ride up to the window I’m shocked to see that it’s 245 Krone just to ride in! (That’s nearly $80!).

Unfortunately, directly underneath are the opening hours 09:00 to 15:00. It was closed!

Sophie
Latitude:71.16989
Longitude:25.78077
GPS location Date/Time:09/30/2014 07:33:06 PDT

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They’re everywhere! But very hard to get a decent photo of. Quite timid.

It’s lunchtime and I’m at the cafe in Lakselv. Last night I had a good chat with the guy at the cabin lodge. I was going to take the high road across to the E6, which is shorter and looks more interesting. He told me there are roadworks half way across, with long sections of mud and clay. It put me off a bit so I decided to go the long way around.

This morning I met his dad, who was a nice chap and said I’d be fine. So the high road is not to be missed. I’ve just come off it and it was fantastic! I’ve had rain, snow, sleet, hail and sunshine in the last 3 hours. It’s cold at around 4°C but the electrics are keeping me warm enough. (Just!). It’s just under 200 km to Nordkapp, which will be enough for one day!

The scenery has been epic. I made show progress at first, as every time I came round a bend I’d think “wow – take a picture”. Around the next bend the scenery was even better, and so on. Below is just one example, I’ll post a couple of others in a moment.

Hide her nightie! Boom tish! OK so it’s an old joke, but I think it’s important to share for the younger generation. Maybe I’ll open a joke museum when I get home, a place for old jokes for to be stored posterity. I’d probably need to explain what a nightie is first!

Anyway, lying in bed last night I had a nasty thought. Since I’ve owned the bike I’ve never checked to see if there’s antifreeze in the radiator! I bought it in a warm climate, I’ve ridden in it the warm and I never really planned to come this far north. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner.

With that in mind and the temperatures falling, I had to get up and check. My gauge said 0.2°C and there was ice on the seat, I’d best be quick about it – or maybe it’s too late already? (Not that I even have any antifreeze!). It would be a shame to have a cracked block so close to home, but worse than that I’d look like a prize pillock on the internet!!

By torchlight then, side panels off, seat off, tank off, radiator cap off. Luckily the fluid was dark green, all good then! While I had the spanners out I adjusted and lubed the chain, by which time I was wet and freezing cold. Back in the cabin I’m all thawed out now, ready for a new day and the final push to Nordkapp.

I managed a couple of hundred km after the border, then decided to call it a day. The border crossing itself was uneventful, which could well be my last official crossing of the trip! I stopped at a camp site where they have cabins, I splashed out for a cabin for the night.

The weather has been grey and drizzly all day, so I was already wet when I stopped. The thought of camping (and paying for it!) didn’t appeal. As expected the scenery has been very nice, but the grey skies and riding through mist means that photos don’t look so good. It also takes the edge off the biking experience, but it’s still very good!

As I sit in cabin drying my socks, I know I made the right choice!

The scenery has changed from Russia a little, there are no trees now. It’s more like the west coast of Scotland, think rugged and remote. It’s evident I’m in a different country though, subtle differences like yellow paint in the centre of the roads instead of white. There are also lots of Volvos and not so many Ladas, all being driven on the speed limit! A particularly nice change is the public toilet blocks every 20 km or so. I haven’t been in yet, but they look well kept and I bet they’re nice inside!

It seems to have taken a long time to get here, I reckon it’s the cold weather. I waited until 11 and it was still only 3°C! Just over the border, which you can see in the picture, I’m using the last bit of phone signal on the Russian network before I drop off the edge of it.

Norway is very pretty from what I’ve seen so far, all I need now is a little but of sunshine!