Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict

I've been there before - but the Wood Gatherer is always something special. It marks the start of the winter riding season, and this year I brought a buddy from the UK.

This is Knut's photo of a Lambretta with a very functional sidecar I'd say.

I'm still not sure how to characterize the Wood Gatherer. Riders are just turning up at this place - which is the same as the Primus Winter Rally is at - every first whole weekend after 14 October, which is the first winter day in Norway. It's never announced anywhere and is technically not a rally either. It was just a couple of blokes who started to come here nearly 40 years ago to prepare some firewood for the Primus winter rally, which had had its debut in February the same year. Since then it has turned into what it is today.

It is many years since they actually gathered firewood at this rally. Nowadays a local motorcycle club sells firewood to the riders for a small sum. "From motorcyclists, to motorcyclists" says their poster.

Yous truly (left) and Jon from the UK. Photo: Knut Ottesen

This year, though, somebody had chopped down nearly all the trees in the area close to the road which we camp along. This fact forced the Lega Italia to move quarters from its origin, the small hill of La Grigna, to a new site which didn't even get baptised. We needed to move because several of the Guzzisti needs to have trees to which they can tie their tarp. They don't use tents - just tarps. It isn't barely cold enough for these guys to use tents yet. 

Jon, my buddy from the UK, turned up at the site with a sleeping bag rated for +6 C. Which is fine for October in, say, Sicily - but hardly warm enough for Norway at the onset of winter. Even though there where no snow, the temperature dropped to a comfy -5 C the night to Saturday, and Jon was cold. Even if he tried to smooth it over with "I'll just put on some more fleece" we all were a bit worried about him because they had forecasted even colder temperatures the following night. 

"Firewood for sale. From M/C Friends to M/C Friends". A great deal!

Jon was, however, touched by a Saving Angel. One of the ladies of the local club went back home to pick up a proper winter sleeping bag for Jon to borrow. He knew, he told me, the minute he got inside it that the night would be warm and toasty. Which it did.

Jon rode as passenger in the sidecar of my Guzzi T5 rig. His debut as a "sidecar slave", and he said he enjoyed it. He made some footage that I hope I'll get hold on to these pages to present you to his views of the rally. My own video you'll find here.

 
Håvard's BMW R25 (with 12.8 HP, according to the owner) and Jon.

The other guys in La Lega Italia this year were Lars, Knut, Ivar, Håvard (even if he rod a BMW R25 this time) Eigil and his son Øyvind (in a Nimbus sidecar rig, but Eigil is a Dane so he's forgiven). With Jon and I joining forces we became a proper Italian camp in the middle of nowhere. It strikes you, you know, when you start thinking of what gets grown ups like ourselves to ride our bikes into the midst of nowhere, light a bonfire, cook some food, drink, laugh and enjoy ourselves: What on earth is the point? And that's exactly it. There's no point. We just do it anyway. Why must everything be so bloody rational? The Wood Gatherer is probably one of the rallies we go to just to counter rationality.

A KTM 950 Adv had decided to quit working. The owner had to call for road assistance from the middle of nowhere. I think he got it sorted though.

We had great weather, as always, even if the ground was somewhat soaky after some squalls of rain night to Friday. But nothing to worry about. Jon and I struggled a bit to put up my new cheap lavvo but got it up after a while. With NATO cots, reindeer skin and - eventually for Jon's sake - proper sleeping bags, the nights where very comfy even if it dropped to -10 C on the night to Sunday.

We were not many riders there this year. Perhaps 50-60 at the most. But that doesn't dampen the feel good atmosphere of the Wood Gatherer. It's one of those rallies I just have to attend to get the winter season off and flying.

Maybe we'll see you there next year?

From left: Lars, Knut (or his twin brother Ivar - I can't tell the difference between them) and the guy who started it all, Arne Paulsen.

 
Håvard (left) and Lars. Doesn't look like winter has started, does it?

 
Jon (right) and I sampling some home made stout all the way from Scotland.
It was really, really good stuff!

 
Håvard (closest) and Jon seems like they're enjoying themselves.

 
Eigil with a firm grip around his glass of Aquavit.

 
Eigil's son Øyvind. Despite him only being 18 he's a veteran Wood Gatherer Rally attendee (thanks to Eigil himself) and a keen fisherman.

 
Outside my lavvo with the misty lake in the backdrop one early morning.

 
Jon preparing some sognemorr sausage for the bonfire.

 
From the camp.

 
A sample of the Red Army.

 
From the Russian Bikes Riders' camp - also known as the Kola Peninsula.

 
The dog of a Dnepr rider meeting a proper Guzzi...

 
Knut and Ivar in front of their tarp bivouac.