Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict

January

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:35:00 +0000

So Gerry and a couple of his mates had a ride around in Cork, Ireland, 21 January. Not far from Aghada, East Cork, they had a break and Gerry took these images. To be honest, it's not the sort of January landscape I'm used to. Still it's something one definitely could get used to. I think this sight, as Gerry also suggests, is a good omen for the 2012 season. Thanks for sharing, Gerry. It's hard not to be envious...

Record breaking New Year's Rally

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Parts of the Merry Crew of the New Year's Rally

Guzzi buddy Knut, his son Herman and myself wanted to have a go at the New Year's Rally at Trollsvann in Vestfold, some 120 kms south of Oslo. Knut had never been to it, and I hadn't attended the rally for since 2010 myself, so why not? It wasn't too bad weather wise, only the temp was hovering around 0 C, which is a bit too mild when you want to go to a winter rally. Nevertheless: We saddled our Guzzis and headed there.

Knut's Guzzi had some problems en route to the venue, only running on one cylinder. And just before we arrived, my T5 also cut one cylinder. Mine had a run-down spark plug, so it was easily replaced and fixed, while Knut's was baked in salty slush making the electricity on the bike go bananas. A small wash-down on site, and it was running properly again.

At the rally, the organizers Sandefjord MCC was pretty happy as they set a new attendance record with a stunning 25 bikes. This, of course, called for a proper celebration, which took due Friday night and all Saturday, and with proper fireworks included.

A good start of riding season 2012!

Herman pumping up the paraffin lamp.

Johannes of Sandefjord MCC. Merry as always.

Ulf showing Sandefjord MCC's colours.

Jon Arne is pondering the eternal question: Where's the coffee?

Knut's Guzzi Le Mans, with my T5 as backdrop.

Arne (left) preparing some breakfast, while Ulf quenches his thirst. Both are from Sandefjord MCC

Some of the attendees are bolder than others, riding to and fro on two wheels on the icey roads. This is Jon Arne's Africa Twin.

These guys brought all they needed for a weekend out on their KTMs,
tent and oven included.

Tore's Honda. Is it an XL600?

A pretty common winter ride in Norway: A Jawa 350 with a Velorex sidecar.

A Yamaha XT 600 with a Velorex sidecar.

Frank's Dnepr. He commutes with it every day, claiming it hasn't missed a beat ever. Or at least not since he installed the electronic ignition a couple of months ago.

The League of Extraordinary Guzzimen

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:35:00 +0000

As last year, we headed with our Guzzis for the forest of Finnskogen. And as last year, the day was saved by the extraordinary Guzzi gentlemen in the party.

From left: Lars, Knut and Ivar. The League of Extraordinary Guzzimen.

There were four of us this year too. Lars on his 950 cc T5, Knut on his Le Mans 4, Ivar on his California, and me on my standard T5. All with sidecars. Since last year, the Guzzi Christmas Party in the Finnskogen forest has become a tradition, at least for me. You know: Once - a novelty. Twice - a tradition.

On the morning of Saturday 3 December it was pouring down. Literally. It was raining so hard it was difficult for the strong wind to find space to blow. This is pretty unusual for being Norway. The keen reader of this blog might remember that at last year's Christmas Party we saw -22 C and pretty much snow. This year: Mild temps hovering just over 0 C, strong winds - and rain. I had to send Knut an SMS just to check if we were really heading into the forest in this weather. "Absolutely", was his resolute response. As expected. So I geared up and left home for Knut's place to meet the others.

Did I say it was wet? It was. Very. I arrived at Knut's place, where his brother Ivar had arrived just a couple of minutes ahead of me. He stood in the hallway of Knut's home and dripped a pool of water. I joined in. Knut prepared us a cup of cappuccino each - a sensational cuppa! Knut knows his way around any espresso machine, as he knows his way with food and bikes alike.

The fourth team mate, Lars, called and said he'd be late so the three of us headed for Kongsvinger where we'd meet up with him and do some foodstuff shopping. Or rather: Just replenish some beer and dry clothes for Ivar. It was raining - I said it was, didn't I? - and Ivar's old once-upon-a-time rain proofs wasn't rain proof anymore. Just before reaching Kongsvinger he had to pull over in the sleet and save what was left of dry clothes. At Kongsvinger, he bought some new clothes while I bought some peanuts and beer, knowing that Knut as usual had made proper plans for the pre-Christmas dinner in the woods. And Ivar had plans for breakfast. You can't go wrong with these guys, I assure you. The only trouble I'm getting a bit spoilt, as Lars also worried about himself.

As Lars also joined the team, the weather started to clear up. We hit the nice gravel roads of Finnskogen in pretty good weather, and the last leg was very joyful. These guys are racer riders, and know how to handle their sidecar rigs too, so I just wringed the neck out of the 850 engine of my old T5 in hope of being able to keep up. I barely did, but we arrived at the small log cabin at Fjørsjøen just before the dusk set in at about 15.30 hrs. We prepared our camp for the night, and started the feast. Christmas lamb chops, prepared in a particular Norwegian manner, with all the bits and bobs that goes along with the dish. Delicious! And as last year, Knut was the chef.

Sunday morning came with what must be close to a perfect weather. Just below 0 C, clear sky - just magnificent. Ivar prepared breakfast for us - a proper egg, bacon & beans meal - so we wouldn't continue our ride on empty stomaches. As this place is close to the border of Sweden, we chose to set our return course through Sweden. Which we did. We set off at noon. The guys ahead, me tailing them. After a small hour's riding, I suddenly felt like I hit ice. But the ground was dry, even if gravelled. I knew what had happened. The rear tyre was flat. I've had two flat tyres in all my days of riding. The first came at the Guzzi Christmas Party last year. And now it happened again. Even if I changed both tyres and tubes to make sure it wouldn't happen again.

A familiar sight. Knut is fixing the tyre, Lars document it all, while Ivar is giving moral support. I wasn't just fooling around myself either - I did help getting the tyre changed, of course.

I pulled over and started to take off the left muffler while waiting for the crew to come back for me. They did. I had brought an extra tube (just in case, you never know) so with Knut's extraordinary craftmanship - he has done this a billion times before, it seemed - Ivar's air pump, gloves and remedies from Lars, we got my T5 going after only a short half an hour. The heavy duty tube I had put in the tyre just before we left for this trip, was thick - but it was teared at the air vent. It couldn't withstand the extreme torque and mighty forces of the 67 hp of my T5, it seemed...

The rest of the trip went smooth. We did some shopping in Eda in Sweden before heading home, arriving at 18.00 hrs. Lars and I started talking about it being a bit short with a trip from Saturday to Sunday - maybe we should prolong it from Friday to Sunday next year?

At least I can testify that it's really, really good to be out there, riding and feasting with these extraordinary gentlemen. We are looking at perhaps doing another winter trip in January - but for sheer Christmas mood & food, nothing beats the Finnskogen excursions with these guys.

It's just in a small log cabin in the middle of the forest somewhere,
but it's mighty moody!

My T5, with Knut's Le Mans 4 rig in the immediate background.

Lars' T5 with a modified 950 cc engine (left) and Ivar's Cali-based rig.

Lars (right) gets the outdoor bonfire going, while Knut gets the coffee going.

Ivar demonstrates male Flamenco...

Unusual without the snow, but still very, very nice scenery.

Trying to light up the Petromax lamp. (Photo: Lars)

Les Chefs, Knut and Ivar, with yours truly (far left) indulging in the food.
(Photo: Lars)

Ivar (left) and Knut - Les Chefs. (Photo: Lars)

Regular exercise is important. Last time I did Tyre Pumping was a year ago...
(Photo: Lars)

Camp Fjørsjøen. (Photo: Lars)

A Fair Deal

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:40:00 +0000

I visited the EICMA motorcycle exhibition in Milano 9-13 November 2011 to have a glimpse of what the motorcycle manufacturers are cooking up for us riders for 2012.

The Guzzi V7 Racer X prototype with fairing and drum brakes.

Milano is a nice city, and with the EICMA exhibition in town it's even nicer. I went there with a band of riders, organized by Askim MC, who is the workshop I use whenever I don't understand what is wrong with the bike. And then some.

The bike press has already shown you all the goodies, so I guess this will not be breaking news. The Guzzi stand displayed their new small block engine, which may be a heads-up for a design shift even with the big block twin. Also, Guzzi displayed a prototype of a V7 Racer X, including a fairing and drum brakes! Besides these novelties (?) there was only a Guzzi customized sidecar rig at their stand which was something out of the ordinary. No 1400 California nor scramblers.

Ducati had their Panigale as their main attraction, MV Agusta their new F3 triple sports bike, and Borile was there showing off their beautiful hand made small-displaced bikes. The most interesting Cagiva was their 900 Elefant Paris-Dakar contender from 1992...

The electric arena was pretty interesting though. With 180 km range per charge for Zero's bikes, it's starting to look good. The off-road selection is nice, and would be cool to try out. The future is electric! Or at least something else than fossil fuels.

Two days at the fair was pretty tiresome, but fun. I'll try to get there next year as well. Oh, and I got a couple of Guzzi T-shirts and a sweater, so I'm happy.

The new Guzzi small block engine - a glimpse also of the big block future?

A custom Guzzi sidecar build. Overdone and bling-bling'is, but still nice.

A stack of Guzzi Norges, used for the PR trip to North Cape last summer.

New Griso paint.

Griso, customized by German Stein Dinse parts.

Another customized Guzzi, this one by Millepercento.

Yet another custom build, this time using a 750 Nevada small block Guzzi as basis. It IS possible!

Magnificent Borile 450 Scrambler.

MV Agusta's new supersport contender, the F3 triple.

Zero's bike with their new battery pack, giving a range of some 180 kms per charge. Now it's starting to look pretty serious.

Not Italian, but still awesome: The prototype Husqvarna Moab.

Race duty

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:35:00 +0000

I'm readying the classic race bike for the 2012 season. Finally. Or hopefully.

1979 Guzzi SP 1000

I think I've been tinkering with this classic race series bike since two years ago. At least. Now I've decided to take the racing license myself, so I definitely need to get the SP1000 racer going before the racing season starts in April/May. You might think that it's plenty of time, but remember - I've already spent two years fiddeling with this bike... Anyway: This weekend I've set up the ignition, put on the carbs, fixed the brakes, put on some basic instruments, plus done some brush-up on the bike. It should be ready for a test run within a couple of weekends.

Still a 1979 Guzzi SP 1000

Catching up

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:25:00 +0000

Well, people - it's been a while. I haven't updated my wesite since I returned from the Dragon Rally in February. Sorry 'bout that, but that's what happens when you have too much fun and gets a bit lazy... A lot has happened since February, so here's my photo catch-up cavalcade.

I was supposed to go to the Primus winter rally the last weekend of February. My mate Alf even came down from Averøy to join me, but due to heavy rain (!) we chose to cancel our attendance. Seriously: A winter rally should be cold and snowy - not rainy! Our friend Anne came by to wave us goodbye and have a look at her Yamaha FZ6S which spent the winter season in my garage.

Anne came by my garage to check on her bike.

Just after the Dragon Rally in February I attended a NMCU conference at Gardermoen just north of Oslo. NMCU is, as you may know, THE riders' rights organisation in Norway. Our trustees had a seminar on how to tackle new rules and regulations. These people really know what they're doing!

NMCU trustees at a Gardermoen meeting.

I got to show you this pic (below) of my Guzzi mate Asle. He has probably the most exquisite, perfect Guzzi bar in Northern Europe. He has made his cellar into a Guzzi worship cavern, comprising everything from miniature Guzzi models to an extended range of Guzzi mugs, jars and glasses to be used for Guzzi communion...

Guzzi mate Asle behind the counter in his Guzzi shrine.

In March we had the bi-annual Norwegian Motorcycle Fair at Lillestrøm north of Oslo. Many great bikes, but first and foremost an opportunity to meet up with biker friends from most of Norway as they tend to ease the riding craving by visiting this fair.

The Norwegian Moto Guzzi Club had a booth at the fair, displaying
racing tech guru Eskil's classic racing bike.

Around-the-world rider Tormod (left) and NMCU Secretary General Morten.

And of course, the band had to sample the brew while being together at the fair.

In April, I again went to Averøy to meet the great riders and friends there. We joined the Kristiansund MCEK at their spring party in their recently renovated club house. Needless to say, it was truly an inspiring evening.

Still early evening, and people are behaving.

My brit friend Jon, who practically lives in Kristiansund. Women, you know...

No visit to Averøya without the traditional get-together at Alf's place!

The last weekend of April sees the coming of the Evje spring rally. It's concidered to be the conclusive rally for the winter season, and the opening rally for the summer season. I meet the nicest people at this rally (too), and - strangely enough - the weather has been absolutely ace! At least at the rallies I've been to ;-)

A band of guzzisti with a sidecar rig to drool over at the Evje spring rally.

As always at Evje: Perfect spring weather!

In early May I had a small get-together at my place. People turned up from here and there, and we had a fine evening, enjoying the tingling anticipation of the early riding season as well at the tingling sensation of Italian wine and food.

A fellow Guzzisti, Per Anders, turned up to show his newly built sidecar rig.

My sister Kari tests the ride height of Berit's Ducati Monster. Kari has never been a rider, except for owning a Gilera 50 cc back in the mid-70's.

In June, I broke a promise and achieved Nirvana! I have once stated that a Guzzi shall never leave my garage. Well, I part-exchanged the Guzzi Griso for a brand new Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX! I picked it up on my way to the Rally Norway, which was held in Steinkjer north of Trondheim. What a sweet piece of riding machine this Stelvio is! More to come about that in later postings. I can assure you of that!

The Griso is being part-exchanged for the Stelvio at Haugen Motor in Hornindal.

What a magnificent machine! Nirvana!

Strangely enough I do not have any pictures from the Rally Norway in Steinkjer, but it was a really nice rally with lots of attendance and astonishing weather! Later in June, Alf, Evy and myself went for another type of rally called "Wings and Wheels". It's a rally comprising bikes, cars and even planes. It was ok to have been there, but it's not my kind of rally. I prefer the straight bike ones.

Evy and Alf sampling the local goods at the Wings and Wheels rally in Telemark.

Guzzisti at the Wing and Wheels rally.

While at the W&W rally, this pic beeped in on my iPhone. It was Jon sending me an update from my mates in Bingham & District MCC. From the left: Dave, Jon, Julian (standing) and Tom. Hi guys! :-)

On the way back from the W&W rally, Alf rear-ended a van that braked while he was a bit unattentive. The old Yamaha ThunderAce was wrecked, but he got away with it with a few bruises - especially in his pride.

Alf getting a hospital check after his mishap. He's now the proud owner of a Triumph 955i Sprint ST, so maybe the wrecking of the Yamaha was for the better after all.

The first week of July the whole family went to Mandello in Italy. Of course. We went by car as I also brought two of my daughter's friends along. Italy is all about the sweet life, so you can imagine for yourselves how it is spending a week in and around Lago di Como.

A small dinner celebrating Tor and Berit's 60th birthdays at Isola di Comacina. Also in the pic: Henry, Kirsti and my daughter Oda.

Mandello is all about Guzzis. These where displayed in the public park:
A Stelvio 1200 and a V7 racer.

Coming back from Italy, I had an incredible itch for going on an extended bike trip in Norway - especially up north. The weather was crap, though, so my buddies Alf, Jon and I opted for a trip eastbound towards the border to Sweden. Including the mandatory trip to Averøy and Kristiansund to pick up the lads, I was away for a week. The others even went to a rally in Sweden as we parted ways not far from Røros. A great road trip with the lads!

Before me leaving for Averøy, another biker friend of mine, Jørn, and I had a little wrap-up summer meeting over a nice whisky and a couple of beers.

Jon and I en route to Røros, where we would meet up with Alf. We found a few nice gravel roads and decided to check them out next year with more suitable shoes on our bikes.

From the left: Alf with his Triumph Sprint 955i ST, yours truly with the Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX, and Jon with his new Triumph XC800.

Alf and Jon showing colours.

I arrived back home from my road trip on Friday 22 July to learn of the horrible events that took place at Utøya and downtown Oslo. A maniac whose name shall be forgotten forever shot and killed 69 youth and wounded 66. He also blasted a bomb downtown Oslo before heading out to Utøya, killing seven people. The Norwegians gathered in front of the Oslo Cathedral to mourn. Alf and I went there to pay our respect. A tragedy which left no-one untouched.

Alf in front of one of the flower gates after the 22 July killings.

Later in July I had decided that my trusty Guzzi Quota would rarely see the roads after I bought the Stelvio. Their use would be too similar, both being large travel enduros. So I would sell off the Quota to a worthy buyer. This worthy buyer would be my Guzzi buddy Lars. 29 July he picked up the Quota, and as far as he's told me he is very satisfied with his Desert Queen.

Lars is picking up the Quota 1000. A sad day in a way, but I know she's come to a very good home with a caring owner.

I now turned my attention to my Guzzi 850 T5 sidecar rig, to prepare it for the winter season. It needed a small overhaul, and I also decided to change the T5 policia fairing for a SP1000 touring screen, which I got when I bought the SP1000 I'm (still) rebuilding for classic racing duty. I think it came off quite ok, and I have at the time of writing had my winter debut with it. It still needs a paint job, but I'll leave it until spring.

The T5 rig up and ready for a small overhaul, preparing it for winter duty.

Peeling off the dashboard and fairing, I found this can of beer! (Kidding, of course.)

I used beer can ends to cover the holes where the clock and the voltmeter used to be, e.g. where the engine start button now sits, and far to the right on the dash.

Here she is with her new fairing. I think it came off well.
I'll paint the fairing next spring. At least that's the plan.

August saw us at the annual Italian Motorcycles' Autumn Rally, this time held at Utne camping near Sarpsborg an hours' ride from my home. The weather was totally crap, but nevertheless some 100 riders came to join the party. We had a splendid weekend even if the shower hardly had a break. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Discussing the pros and pros of a Guzzi California
at the Italian Motorcycles' Autumn Rally.

Asle popped by on his Guzzi 1200 Norge

In October I attended the Kristiansund MCEK Oktoberfest at their club house. Naturally I had a proper visit to neighbouring Averøy and my friend Alf before we went to the Oktoberfest. Another mate of ours, Ole, knew of a guy who owned an example of the famous MV Agusta 750 America. After some negotiation with this rather eccentric guy, we were allowed to visit him to take a closer look at the gem. It was placed in a garage within the garage, and it was rather crampy so I couldn't get decent pics of the bike. But it was quite an eye opener. What a bike!

MV Agusta 750 America

From the Oktoberfest. Alf (left) and Egil Ove in a proper Bavarian outfit.

14 October is the first winter day in Norway. As tradition has it, the first whole weekend after the first winter day sees some of us riders at the Woodgatherer Rally, which marks the beginning of the winter riding season. I've attended four times, and we're usually the same lot turning up at the rally venue. This year, however, I made a new acquaintance in Frank. He's a seasoned winter rider, but for some reason this was his first appearance at the Woodgatherer. It's true what they say: Riders you don't know is just a friend you haven't met yet.

Frank, a Dnepr and Yamaha rider whom I met at the Woodgatherer.

I've been bit by the classic bike bug, so one Saturday in October I went to have a look at a Classic Enduro "race" taking place just a 20 minutes ride from where I live. Even here I met fellow Guzzisti. Geir lives in Bergen but had turned up on his 1970's Laverda 250 Chott Enduro to compete against some 60 riders of classic enduro bikes. I don't know what place he came in, but the bike sure looks good!

Geir and his Laverda 250 Chott.

Another acquaintance of mine, Trygve, making way through the mud with his '70s Yamaha 250. It broke down en route, though. Not Italian build quality, in other words.

A riding friend of Geir, Bjarne, attending his Honda SL 350 half way
through the enduro trail.

Guzzi's going GRANDE!

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Moto Guzzi today unveiled a V7 Scrambler - which is a beauty - and a 1400 cc California. Even if they're prototypes as we speak: That's what I call a GREAT Tuesday!

Scrambler left, cruiser right. In case you wondered.

Photo: Moto Guzzi/Piaggio

The 750 powered V7 series has grown through V7 Classic and V7 Cafe Racer to this new beauty of a V7 Scrambler (left in the pic). It has all the features of a classic scrambler, with pulled-up single side exhaust and - at least appearance-wise - coarser tyres to go. Now Guzzi only lacks a V7 Travel Enduro to match the set-up...

More ground breaking is probably the new 1400 California, which is - if it goes to production, which it seems it will - a new all time high with regard to sheer cubic numbers of the engine. Well informed M/C magazines have speculated in this 1400 version of the Guzzi classic. Cruisers are normally not my cup of tea, but Guzzi knows how to make them classy and very distinct Italian, so I tend to like them.

We'll be waiting in eager anticipation!

The 1400 cc Moto Guzzi California prototipo.

Photo: Moto Guzzi/Piaggio

The Quota goes racer!

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:16:00 +0000

The engine rebuild of the Quota has been halted. Instead, it'll get a proper Guzzi Le Mans 1000 engine with 40 mm carbs.

A mail from Pete at Reboot Guzzi Spares got me thinking. He had a Le Mans 1000 engine with 40 mm carbs and lightened flywheel laying around. I had planned for the Quota to have a full engine rebuild with new cams and stuff - but the engine from Pete was cheaper than all the parts I would have needed for the rebuild. Given the convenience of an engine switch rather than a full rebuild - the choice became obvious.

I'm curious on how the Quota will behave with a racing engine (well, the Guzzi equivalent, anyway)...?

The 50th Dragon Rally

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:21:00 +0000

I've just finished the necessary preparations for me to go to the 50th Dragon Rally in Wales. Yay!!! And I'll be riding a Ural with a sidecar...

Greg Scott getting a helping hand up those slippery slopes
at last year's Dragon Rally

I debuted at the Dragon Rally last year, at the 49th Edition. As the keen reader may remember it was quite an ordeal to get there and back - but we made it. What a trip that one was! One to remember, for sure!

When Jon passed me the word that there might be an opening for me to get a ticket to go this year as well, I didn't hesitate one moment. I haven't seen the lads in Bingham & District (BAD) MCC since last year, so it's about time to get the party rollin' again because these lads know how to throw a party for strangers, that's for sure!

Again I'll lean on BAD boy Julian's kindness - he's lending me his Ural sidecar outfit. Last year I borrowed his old BMW that turned sour along the way, but still - it was a blast just to get there.

So in just a few weeks I'll meet them all again; Julian, Tom, Dave, Chris, Paul, Carl, Mick, Jon - and also a couple of Norwegians, like Jon's girlfriend Hilde, and Baard and his crew who are riding all the way from Norway to Wales (I'm cheating by flying over and lending Julian's Ural).

Keep a watchful eye for reports on these pages soon!

Swingin' Xmas Guzzi party in the woods!

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:33:00 +0000

The weekend of 11-12 December, three other Guzzisti and myself wanted to have a small Christmas party in the deep forest of Finnskogen. A terrific party, but a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere led us into a state of despair. But only for a short while. Because we had Knut and Lars with us...

Lars (right) and Knut savouring a Xmas beer while waiting for the dinner to get ready. We're inside a log cabin, trying to get the warmth going. We never succeeded, but it didn't matter.

It's been a while since my last trip winter motorcycle trip. It was actually way back in October, at the winter riding season initiation rally - the Woodgatherer Rally. So it was about time to get rolling again. Fellow guzzisti Knut, Lars, Asle and myself loaded our sidecar Guzzi rigs - Asle riding in the boot this time - and set out for Finnskogen.

Finnskogen is near the border to Sweden and is some sort of mythic in all its splendour. We had decided to have our Guzzi winter Christmas party in a small log cabin deep into the forest, nearby the lake Fjørsjøen. The temperature wasn't too bad when we set out on Saturday, only some -10 C. Asle and I went to meet Knut and Lars at Knut's place a small hour's ride from my place. We set course for Finnskogen, but my near-slick rear tyre ment that the pace was rather slow. I hardly had any grip left on the tyre, which makes things interesting when the boot is fully laden and the road is somewhat icey.

Asle reporting back "All is well" on his mobile phone.

But we made it there in one piece. Knut had prepared pork roast for us, while I had brought the traditional Aquavit dram to chase the food and beers. The log cabin is not insulated nor is it completely tight, so it was necessary for us to light a fire in the oven Knut had brought. Even that didn't help much, but we kept the temp around 0 C so it was - if not warm, so at least cosy. We chatted, ate and drank into the wee hours, all alone in the forest, before finally succumbing to the sweet lure of the sleeping bags.

Sunday morning saw the temperature hovering well under -20C. It was cold! But with a bonfire and a few cups of warm coffee we got our bodies working. We cleaned up and got ready to go at noon. We had anticipated some starting issues in the deep cold, so Knut had brought a couple of extra batteries just in case. And it was needed. Neither Lars' nor mine Guzzi would start on its own. But after some small fiddling and extra juice from the spare batteries, both Guzzis fired up (of course...) and we got ready to go at about 14.00 hrs.

Knut and Lars had far better traction on their bikes than mine had, so I let them ride ahead. After a few hundred metres I felt the bike sliding increasingly to the right. I suspected it was only too slippery, but when we needed to push the steed up a steep hill, Asle pointed out what had happened: The rear tyre was flat.

Dang. Deep into the forest, flat tyre, only a couple of hours of daylight left - what do we do now? While waiting for Knut and Lars to realise we weren't following and turn to come back for us, Asle and I wondered if we should just leave the bike, hitch a ride with Lars and Knut, get the car and trailer and get it back home that way.

But when all seemed lost, Knut and Lars came to the rescue. Being seasoned winter riders and mechanics, Knut got ready to change the tyre. Lars had a spare tube, so within only an hour the rear tyre was fixed, refilled with air and ready to go.

Fantastic! Yet again Ye Old Guzzi got back on its own, thanks to Knut and Lars. Never leave home without them!

Remember to check out the video from the trip!

Knut melting some clean snow to prepare coffee on Sunday morning.

Ye Old Guzzi in the -22 C morning...

Lars admiring the view of the frozen lake Fjørsjøen on the blistering cold Sunday morning.

Asle strolling around Knut's Guzzi rig.

Knut's rig, comprising a Guzzi classic racing engine...

Nice, eh?