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Me in front of Preikestolen with my tiny Kawasaki Vulcan 750…

Preikestolen is said to be the result of icebergs melting about 10.000 years ago. It’s a famous Norwegian tourist attraction and more than 130.000 tourists visit this cliff every year.

Me and my girlfriend took the trip, for the first time,  last Friday. I didn’t ride my motorcycle this time, so it’s a bit unusual to blog about a car trip (“cage” trip)… but this is such a famous attraction that not mention it here on this blog would be letting you out on something spectacular.

You can’t drive/ride all the way to Preikestolen. You have to park 334 metres below and walk 1-2 hours uphill to reach it. It’s quite a tough climb, but we saw Italian and Russian tourists taking on the hike in their thongs (as in sandals, not as in something you would wear in Brazil…) and some even in clogs(!). Please, if you’re going to Prekestolen, bring good footwear! There will be steep hills, rocks, mud, water – oh and not to mention a 604 meters above sea-level cliff on your trip.

I’m told that the view from the top of the cliff is absolutely amazing, but we climbed the hill on a rainy day with a lot of haze, so we didn’t see the view from the top, but we did see the amazing cliff itself which was well worth the trip – it really is hard to explain the feeling of seeing this cliff in real life (…and you thought it looked amazing in the photos, hah!). Definitely a “must-do” in anyone’s book.

Preikestolen (left), My über awesome Vulcan 750 die-cast – the only MC on top of Preikestolen! (right)

Crazy tourists sitting on the edge (left), The horizon on the way down (right)

 
Nice view! (left), The rocky trail on the way down (right)

Me next to Per Morten’s Honda CBR 600F, boy is that different to mine! :)

The weather was perfect last Sunday, not taking the bike out for a spin would be a shame! I was called up by an old friend from school and we hit the road together. He’s a proud owner of a Honda CBR 600F, quite a beauty! We switched bikes for a few kilometers and boy was it a different feeling riding that sort of a bike after riding a cruiser for 3 years… You can’t really say that riding one or the other is a better feeling as the experiences of riding these two bikes are totally different. One is built for speed and the other is built for cruising. Each for their own particular use I guess – but we rode 209 kilometres together and it was a lot of fun. Definitely something to repeat sometime soon.

We ended up stopping at a small town called Evje. If you’re ever up there be sure to grab a burger at the local fast food joint! It’s a small town, you’ll find the one I’m talking about…

 
Per Morten on my bike (left), My Kawasaki VN900 Classic next to a Honda CBR 600F (right)

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My good friend, and former colleague, Dagfinn invited me to stay at his place for the weekend and catch up, talk nerdy-tech-talk ;) and drink heaps of cheap and excellent beer in Aalborg, Denmark. Us Norwegians just loooove to travel to our neighboring countries. Our tax system is such that tobacco, alcohol and meat are very expensive, and some of these goods are wayyyyy cheaper in Sweden and Denmark, so a lot of people are willing to travel abroad and bring these goods home. And others, like me, prefer to indulge in over-eating and sometimes over-drinking… in excellent – but cheap! – restaurants in Denmark. Writing this paragraph makes me realize that those of you who are not Norwegian must think that we are crazy for doing these things… but I guess we just like a bargain just like everyone else :)

To get to Denmark from my home town, Kristiansand in Norway, your best alternative is to take a ferry to Hirtshals in Northern Denmark. Currently there are 2 ferry companies sailing these waters, Fjord Line and Color Line. Fjord Line’s ferry does the trip in 2hrs 15min and Color Line’s ferry takes 3hrs 15min. Fjord Line is usually cheaper and much faster, but smaller than Color Line’s ferry. Departing times are very different though, so that’ll usually be a big weigh-in on which ferry you’ll choose. At this particular trip, I had to travel with Color Line as the other ferry was chock-a-block with passengers and there were no tickets left.

The road to Aalborg from Hirtshals is, for us bikers, boring… VERY boring… It’s a wide and straight, flat road. I was in a hurry so I took this road both ways. next time I’ll definitely be planning my trip a little better so that I can take the scenic route, which I’ve heard is actually quite nice. But whatever route you take be prepared for a massive amount of bugs flying towards you… let’s just say it’s a good idea to wear a full-helmet! Denmark is flat, incredibly flat; actually it is said that the name Denmark once meant “flat land”. A long time ago the entire country rose up from the ocean, and since the ocean bed was flat, Denmark is flat as well. Denmark’s highest point (you can’t call it a mountain because it’s probably just dirt) is 170m above sea level.

Aalborg is a fantastic city, full of life and happenings all the time. Many big artists come here to perform. AC/DC had just been in town and next up was Kiss. Restaurant prices are fair and the quality of the food is usually very good. A highly recommended stop-over if you’re travelling around Europe!

Old houses in the city centre (left), BikerThomas, on the left, with friends drinking Guinness! (right)

Harley Davidson V-Rod inside a glass cage in the pub! (left), “Beer is healthy, a lot of beer is very healthy” (right)

Tourist information: www.visitaalborg.com
Fjord Line: www.fjordline.com
Color Line: www.colorline.com

A bridge over Kilefjorden.

I’ve started my 4th motorcycle season! :) I got my bike out about a month ago and have been doing a few local trips just to warm up for a longer ride this summer (Maybe I should go see the fjords in Western Norway?).

The local trip today went to Oggevann and Kilefjorden. Oggevann is a popular place for canoeing and kayaking. Tourists also enjoy the Elk safaris up there. Kilefjorden wasn’t exactly a “biggie” but there was a nice cafè there and a great opportunity for a break half-way. Oh, and there are small cabins next to the cafè that you cant rent if you want to stay there overnight or longer (you can go fishing!).

There was the usual gravel and the occasional plank-in-the-f**king-middle-of-the-road, but that’s normal this time of year after the snow melts. Make sure you take note of that if you’re ever to ride in Norway. Agriculture is popular in-land and dirt, sand, gravel, firewood, horseshit! (slippery…) and the likes can pop up anywhere, especially in a turn with an intersection leading to a farm (some of the farmers don’t secure their tractor loads very well, so stuff falls all over the roads). So drive safely – and enjoy! :)

Oh, by the way, the map below includes a short trip to my family in Lillesand :) The most beautiful little town in Norway which you should include in any visit to Norway :) (thank you mayor, I’ll take my $100 now thanks!).

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The Hildebrand & Wolfmüller motorcycle is the first-ever motorcycle to be put into production in 1894. The very first one ever produced was found in a barn the United States and has been there for ages but is now sold at an auction in London for £86,200 (US $131.000). It will now be returning to its’ country of origin, Germany, where it’s simply called “motorrad” (“motorcycle”… keep it simple, right?).

Check out the video below for a similar motorcycle produced only 2 years later, in 1896:

Bikesureblog, an insurance company initiative, have made a simple printable 1-page checklist for everyone to download. About time these companies give something back to the man, eh!?

It’s a great little checklist to have. Be sure to check your bike before you put it on the road!

Click here to download the checklist (free!)

Now here’s something new… Reevu’s MSX1 helmet features a built-in rear-view mirror! Reevu calls this the “Vision System”. The helmet relies on an entirely mechanical mechanism rather than rear-view cameras. There’s a small mirror in the front resting just outside the rider’s line of sight.

Oh, and according to WebBikeWorld.com the helmet is also really good at protecting your head… ;)

Click here for full review.

Check out the video below!