With the weekend of the 26th and 27th July came truly balmy temperatures here in Norway and the long needed practice run for the TransAmericas. Little did I realise that by riding 467 kms I would be enacting the likely crossing of the Atacama Desert, with the mercury hitting 31 degs C most of the weekend.
Naturally, clad in black, this made stationary posing in front of the ladies at ferry stops rather unpleasant but fjord road riding was an absolute dream. It took 5 hours to gather all the essentials together and another 4 hours to ride 200kms to Sauda. The bike is a very different beast when kitted out with upto 40 kgs of essentials and subsequently has the breaking distance of large oil tanker! Note to self: do not use the front brake on gravel when fully loaded!
I was joined in my escapades by DSN's premier offshore geologist, Jamie Simpson. He'd collected his 2001 Kawasaki ZXR1200 in Oslo Saturday morning and so joined my parents and I on Saturday night by the shores of Sauda for a bbq and beers. I doubt for one minute that the real TransAmericas will be this easy but as a practice run it was perfect. I think I'm ready.
1 comment:
Nice one Stu. Does she wheelie when fully loaded??
Post a Comment