Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict

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)