....and after a chilly night in the tent, I woke up to nice weather and this view:
Then it was time to ride along the south coast back towards Seydisfjordur and the ferry...
But I had enough time to stop at Jøkulsarlon and take the trip with the WWII amphibous vehicle into the lake full of icebergs. Tried tasting some thousand year old ice.. but I wish I had somthing to go with the ice:)
At least some soda, given the fact that I was the designated rider:)
I ran into the BMW rider from Istanbul again.. he had slowly moved along the coast and did some guided tours and no stress.
Ship...eeh.. truck ahoi!
Splash...
I was running out of gas (again) but found a gaspump, but it was closed.
An Italian couple who were waiting, said that a boy told them the owner would be back in 20 minutes. Well, the italians had waited there for 1 hour... and then 30 minutes later the owner showed up. Well.. it's a remote country..and people have the time to wait out in the rural areas:)
Shot a picture of one of the thousands of sheep in Iceland... some of the breeds differ from the kind we have in Norway.
At this time... I was starting to get really sad that this was the last full day in Iceland.. so much more to see and so many people to meet.
So I started shooting even more pictures..:
This is along route 1.. gravel road with rocks falling down from the hills above..
Fjords near the southeast
Looking back..
Instead of doing the Eastfjords, I went over the Øxl instead.
This is actually straight up and over the mountain. Struggled to see where I was going in the fog.. but on the other side it cleared up...and i was greated with even more gravel roads:)
and backwards...
When I came to Egilstadir I met the italians who helped me when the tailpipe fell of...
I really, really, really, really didn't want to go home.. but I had to..
And really.. the chief bluesmoke had proven that he could take more of the bumps and dust...
...buhuu...leaving iceland..
In a desperate move to ride even more fun roads, I found a trail leading up to the top of a mountain... and this time I rigged the camera to shoot one of the water crossings:)
So.. that was Iceland.. need to go back there..soon.
Spent the night in the tent down in Seydisfjordur..and ran into some bikers from Scotland, Holland, USA and Ireland. Some had done the main road , but some had done the more hardcore trails.
Maybe I just need one of those KTM adventure bikes.. it will be possible to do the rougher rides and water crossings, while still have a bike capable of everyday riding. Well.. I'll see if my ducati will be traded for an adventure bike instead. BUT ... I doubt any bike can replace the ol' chief bluesmoke.. it has much more to it . and I'm not afraid of really using the bike. But not for everyday riding, and there are some definitive shortcomings (like suspension travel, fuel capacity, water depth etc)..
Left Iceland in the morning heading for the Faroe Islands...
Then it was time to ride along the south coast back towards Seydisfjordur and the ferry...
But I had enough time to stop at Jøkulsarlon and take the trip with the WWII amphibous vehicle into the lake full of icebergs. Tried tasting some thousand year old ice.. but I wish I had somthing to go with the ice:)
At least some soda, given the fact that I was the designated rider:)
I ran into the BMW rider from Istanbul again.. he had slowly moved along the coast and did some guided tours and no stress.
Ship...eeh.. truck ahoi!
Splash...
I was running out of gas (again) but found a gaspump, but it was closed.
An Italian couple who were waiting, said that a boy told them the owner would be back in 20 minutes. Well, the italians had waited there for 1 hour... and then 30 minutes later the owner showed up. Well.. it's a remote country..and people have the time to wait out in the rural areas:)
Shot a picture of one of the thousands of sheep in Iceland... some of the breeds differ from the kind we have in Norway.
At this time... I was starting to get really sad that this was the last full day in Iceland.. so much more to see and so many people to meet.
So I started shooting even more pictures..:
This is along route 1.. gravel road with rocks falling down from the hills above..
Fjords near the southeast
Looking back..
Instead of doing the Eastfjords, I went over the Øxl instead.
This is actually straight up and over the mountain. Struggled to see where I was going in the fog.. but on the other side it cleared up...and i was greated with even more gravel roads:)
and backwards...
When I came to Egilstadir I met the italians who helped me when the tailpipe fell of...
I really, really, really, really didn't want to go home.. but I had to..
And really.. the chief bluesmoke had proven that he could take more of the bumps and dust...
...buhuu...leaving iceland..
In a desperate move to ride even more fun roads, I found a trail leading up to the top of a mountain... and this time I rigged the camera to shoot one of the water crossings:)
So.. that was Iceland.. need to go back there..soon.
Spent the night in the tent down in Seydisfjordur..and ran into some bikers from Scotland, Holland, USA and Ireland. Some had done the main road , but some had done the more hardcore trails.
Maybe I just need one of those KTM adventure bikes.. it will be possible to do the rougher rides and water crossings, while still have a bike capable of everyday riding. Well.. I'll see if my ducati will be traded for an adventure bike instead. BUT ... I doubt any bike can replace the ol' chief bluesmoke.. it has much more to it . and I'm not afraid of really using the bike. But not for everyday riding, and there are some definitive shortcomings (like suspension travel, fuel capacity, water depth etc)..
Left Iceland in the morning heading for the Faroe Islands...
.. while waiting for the ferry in the morning (in Seydisfjordur) I shot a picture of the bike..and the bystanders.
one more night in the ferry between Seydisfjordur and the Faroe islands.. but this time the 6 man cabin was near empty..
Talked a lot with some other riders, they had lots to tell from their own trips in Iceland. Like dumping the bike in the water crossings at the Sprengirsandur route etc..and fuel, or the lack of fuel, had been a problem for several.
Early the next morning we arrived in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands, and I joined an american, Brian, on a trip around the Island. He was being relocated to London, and spent some weeks with his KTM 950 adventure in Iceland and Scotland.
Well, the Faroe Islands is just 115 kilometers from top to bottom.. so even before lunch we had seen a lot of it.
The view from Tjørnuvik (north in the Islands)
Then we rode over to another island and stopped in Gjøgv (?)
Lots of sheep in the roads, there are some 80000 of them in the Faroe Island. And some 50000 people living there.
The chief bluesmoke study the landscape.
Then we rode the tunnel west towards Klaksvik.. but we soon found rain, and eventually a place to eat. Klaksvik was a quiet place. Since the rain was not going to stop, we headed back towards Torshavn.
The bluesmoke's generator had been acting strange all day long, and just before riding into a dark tunnel I noticed that it was not charging...
And just inside the totally dark tunnel...the bike misfired and then just over halfway it stopped.
There were no lights in the tunnel and no room to push the bike out on the road.. two cars then came through the tunnel at way above the speedlimit.. and since they must have been blind also, I had to lean the bike to the tunnel wall to avoid a crash...
and while struggling to find my flashlight...I noticed a big vehicle coming in my lane..
one more night in the ferry between Seydisfjordur and the Faroe islands.. but this time the 6 man cabin was near empty..
Talked a lot with some other riders, they had lots to tell from their own trips in Iceland. Like dumping the bike in the water crossings at the Sprengirsandur route etc..and fuel, or the lack of fuel, had been a problem for several.
Early the next morning we arrived in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands, and I joined an american, Brian, on a trip around the Island. He was being relocated to London, and spent some weeks with his KTM 950 adventure in Iceland and Scotland.
Well, the Faroe Islands is just 115 kilometers from top to bottom.. so even before lunch we had seen a lot of it.
The view from Tjørnuvik (north in the Islands)
Then we rode over to another island and stopped in Gjøgv (?)
Lots of sheep in the roads, there are some 80000 of them in the Faroe Island. And some 50000 people living there.
The chief bluesmoke study the landscape.
Then we rode the tunnel west towards Klaksvik.. but we soon found rain, and eventually a place to eat. Klaksvik was a quiet place. Since the rain was not going to stop, we headed back towards Torshavn.
The bluesmoke's generator had been acting strange all day long, and just before riding into a dark tunnel I noticed that it was not charging...
And just inside the totally dark tunnel...the bike misfired and then just over halfway it stopped.
There were no lights in the tunnel and no room to push the bike out on the road.. two cars then came through the tunnel at way above the speedlimit.. and since they must have been blind also, I had to lean the bike to the tunnel wall to avoid a crash...
and while struggling to find my flashlight...I noticed a big vehicle coming in my lane..
...oh shit.. oh shit it's a bus !
I had tried to back the bike out of the tunnel..but the rear tire got stuck in something.. and now the front of the bike was halfway out in the lane.
And it was not a fullwidth lane either, and meeting traffic..
And off course the bus was approaching me at probably 90km/h instead of the allowed 60km/h.
And off course the bike was in gear, and I couldn't find neutral or reach the clutch pedal on the other side of the bike.
So.. this is the end!
At least for the chief bluesmoke..and I was not in a safe spot either..
Since the blind #%%#& in the bus didn't show any signs of slowing down, I grabbed the handlebar and lifted the bike as close to the tunnel wall as possible..
The bus driver braked just seconds before and managed to miss me and the bike.
Just after, two cars coming in both directions turned on their emergency flashers and slowed down. They had seen me as soon as they entered the tunnel..
Time to get some new glasses..or slow down in dark tunnels..maybe ??
With a car following me, I rolled out the tunnel and into safety.
Then a harley guy stopped, and Brian had turned around to see where I went. We tried to fix the generator, without luck.. but managed to ride through the tunnel with the two bikes in front and back.
Tried to find a battery, regulator or at least a voltmeter in the gas stations.. but they had nothing but soda and hotdogs.
Bought a 12v rechargeable flashlight.. and rode with that battery for a short distance until it was out of power.
The harley guy left, but gave me a number to the harley dealer in Torshavn, and eventually I had to call him. A friend of him came with a pickup later, and transported the indian the last 20 kilometers to Torshavn.
This was the second time I have ever needed transportation of the bike..
Back in Torshavn I parked the bike in the harley workshop, and put the battery on the charger.
The next day I spent several hours in the workshop, trying to repolarize the generator and fix the regulator.. But the regulator was fried, it was cooking the battery. So I had to ride without lights..and hope to find a regulator when returning to Norway. I need to say thanks the harley guys in Torshavn for all their help!! Now.. this was the 3rd harley dealership where I had to work on my bike on this trip...:)
The next days where spent in and around Torshavn.. some beer and partying together with the other bikers.
The harbour in Torshavn. Fresh pilot whale meat, from a whale hunt (Grindadrap) the night before.
sosial urine ? it's a newspaper..
After nearly getting killed in the Faroe Island..but still meeting a whole lot of nice people... it was time to get back on the ferry to eat and drink some more... a short stop in Scrabster, Scotland in the evening.. and another night in the torture chamber down in the bottom of the boat.:)
The western coast of Norway
Now, it was only a matter of finding a new regulator.. and head for the Norwegian Indian club summermeet... but...
I had tried to back the bike out of the tunnel..but the rear tire got stuck in something.. and now the front of the bike was halfway out in the lane.
And it was not a fullwidth lane either, and meeting traffic..
And off course the bus was approaching me at probably 90km/h instead of the allowed 60km/h.
And off course the bike was in gear, and I couldn't find neutral or reach the clutch pedal on the other side of the bike.
So.. this is the end!
At least for the chief bluesmoke..and I was not in a safe spot either..
Since the blind #%%#& in the bus didn't show any signs of slowing down, I grabbed the handlebar and lifted the bike as close to the tunnel wall as possible..
The bus driver braked just seconds before and managed to miss me and the bike.
Just after, two cars coming in both directions turned on their emergency flashers and slowed down. They had seen me as soon as they entered the tunnel..
Time to get some new glasses..or slow down in dark tunnels..maybe ??
With a car following me, I rolled out the tunnel and into safety.
Then a harley guy stopped, and Brian had turned around to see where I went. We tried to fix the generator, without luck.. but managed to ride through the tunnel with the two bikes in front and back.
Tried to find a battery, regulator or at least a voltmeter in the gas stations.. but they had nothing but soda and hotdogs.
Bought a 12v rechargeable flashlight.. and rode with that battery for a short distance until it was out of power.
The harley guy left, but gave me a number to the harley dealer in Torshavn, and eventually I had to call him. A friend of him came with a pickup later, and transported the indian the last 20 kilometers to Torshavn.
This was the second time I have ever needed transportation of the bike..
Back in Torshavn I parked the bike in the harley workshop, and put the battery on the charger.
The next day I spent several hours in the workshop, trying to repolarize the generator and fix the regulator.. But the regulator was fried, it was cooking the battery. So I had to ride without lights..and hope to find a regulator when returning to Norway. I need to say thanks the harley guys in Torshavn for all their help!! Now.. this was the 3rd harley dealership where I had to work on my bike on this trip...:)
The next days where spent in and around Torshavn.. some beer and partying together with the other bikers.
The harbour in Torshavn. Fresh pilot whale meat, from a whale hunt (Grindadrap) the night before.
sosial urine ? it's a newspaper..
After nearly getting killed in the Faroe Island..but still meeting a whole lot of nice people... it was time to get back on the ferry to eat and drink some more... a short stop in Scrabster, Scotland in the evening.. and another night in the torture chamber down in the bottom of the boat.:)
The western coast of Norway
Now, it was only a matter of finding a new regulator.. and head for the Norwegian Indian club summermeet... but...
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