Bucket List Part 5 – Cold and rain in the Arctic Circle

Bucket list part 5

–> Cold and rain in the Arctic Circle

–> A wild ride from Norway to Sweden

–> Breakdown with the Road Glide ST!

My adventure trip on the Road Glide ST to Norway is now coming to an end and I'm heading back south from the Lofoten. My route goes from the Lofoten Islands via Narvik to the northernmost Harley-Davidson dealer in North Norway in Ballangen.

Afterwards I will continue directly towards Sweden and I will cross the Arctic Circle again. Before we start, I'll have a good breakfast Best Western Hotel Milwaukee Eight that gets off to a good start in the morning. The hotel from the Signature Collection also received a 5 star recommendation from me.

A good breakfast in the morning – refueling before the journey!

The journey from Lofoten to Narvik

Challenged by cold and rain: The return journey on the Road Glide ST 117

The return journey on Road Glide ST 117 begins at the Best Western Signature Collection Hotel in Sandtorg, a picturesque corner of Lofoten. This trip, which is certainly a dream for many motorcyclists, has developed into a small personal odyssey that takes me through the changing landscapes of Scandinavia and really challenges me with low temperatures and heavy rain.

The raw beauty of Lofoten in the rearview mirror

The ST's Heavy Breather air filter sucked in the air powerfully and unmistakably when it started again. I'm now leaving the Lofoten Islands, whose raw beauty is reflected like a painting in my rearview mirror. My route winds along the Norwegian coast, past majestic mountains and deep fjords.

I'm driving through the Norwegian city of Narvik , the port city used to be an important transport port for iron ore from Sweden, which is why we Germans were here in the 1940s.

Past Narvik harbor and over the Hålogaland Bridge

H å logaland bridge in Narvik

The Halogaland Bridge in Narvik is 1,533 meters long and has a span of 1,145 meters, making it the second longest suspension bridge in Norway. The bridges and tunnels in Norway are generally really awesome, but the tunnel journeys in particular can get really tiring after a while, luckily there aren't too many of them in this region.

Chinese company is commissioned to build Norway's second-longest suspension bridge

The construction of the Halogaland Bridge began in 2013 and it was already possible to drive over the bridge in December 2018. The Norwegians commissioned a company from China to build the suspension bridge, and BER should have thought about it 😆 .

Off to the northernmost Harley-Davidson dealer in Ballangen

Past the harbor and the large ships lying at anchor, my next mission is the northernmost Harley-Davidson dealer in Ballangen . The place is 40 kilometers west of Narvik and the way there leads along the E6 on the coast of the Ofotfjord, over which the wind from the Norwegian Sea hits me directly with a lot of pressure and makes it clear to me that I am traveling in the rough and arctic northern Norway.

A stop at the Harley-Davidson Nord-Norge dealer is a must for me, I think the back print on the dealer shirt is so awesome. It's clear, I have more than one of these, it's like an addiction 😎 . I just can't get past the store without buying something...

Break at the HD Dealer: T-shirts and coffee

Here, surrounded by like-minded people, my t-shirts and I add one or two, or maybe even three, very special and unique HD Nord-Norge t-shirts to my collection.

I just can't let it go! Now I enjoy a much-needed coffee to warm myself up again. After a small talk with the dealer I have to move on, I still have a long way to go and the weather doesn't look particularly good.

The rough landscape captivates me

First of all, I'm drawn down the E6, it's one of the most beautiful roads in Europe and I'm always fascinated by the unique surroundings, even when the weather isn't really good. On this route there is the YX Saltdal gas station , I always stop there when I pass here.

At the Arctic Circle the landscape changes noticeably

This region is particularly impressive because about 50 kilometers further south nature begins to change noticeably. This is the perfect time to stop and fully absorb the moment. On a tour like this you should keep your eyes and ears open and enjoy nature from time to time.

If I were to continue on the E6 on the Norwegian side, it is not far to the Arctic Circle, where the Arctic Circle Center (Polarsirkelsenteret) is, on the Swedish side there is no such center in this region.

The Arctic Circle Center exists in this region, only on the Norwegian side.

Route 77 to Sweden turns out to be a challenge that shows me the unbridled nature of this region. It's cold, wet and there's still snow on the side of the road even in July.

This time my tour goes back via Sweden and I turn off shortly after the gas station to cross the Swedish border on the E77. I'm still above the Arctic Circle and just stop, it's somehow tingling, you can't describe it, but just a few kilometers further comes the Arctic Circle border and then everything changes again.

The moment I cross the Arctic Circle is surreal. Despite the lashing rain and stormy winds, I feel an indescribable euphoria. Route 95 to Sweden turns out to be a challenge that shows me the unbridled nature of this region.

Stopover in Arjeplog – Sweden | The relentless rain and low temperatures of 7-8 degrees force me to make an unplanned stop in Arjeplog. The small, welcoming hotel offers me a refuge from the stormy weather and a chance to collect my thoughts. Because now I'm faced with another problem that I thought I could solve with fat. Like on the North Cape tour, my boots got soaked with water again.

I definitely won't be wearing these boots on my longer tours again. Cold fingers and cold feet are your enemy in these weather conditions. The problem urgently needs to be solved at home. I still have a Norwegian beer can in my luggage, it will be destroyed and then it will go “off to stock”, as we northern Germans say.

Rainy trip to Söderhamn - a detour through Sweden's nature

The journey to Söderhamn – The next morning, still accompanied by the rain, I continue my journey. I had actually chosen Stockholm as the day's route, but in this weather that won't work. Above all, I have to make sure that I can find a hotel on the way during business hours; they don't always have reception staffed around the clock. So I'll drive about 680 kilometers that day.

My new destination for the day is Söderhamn. Unfortunately the trip will probably be in very bad weather, but well, you always have to expect that. In my mind I still have the sunny days on the Lofoten, which was very unusually beautiful. I decide to drive on side roads so I can see more of nature and you shouldn't go quickly in Sweden anyway, that can be expensive.

The last stage through Sweden

Road 363, which is beautiful to drive on clear days, now presents itself as a foggy, mystical landscape. I was hoping to see a moose or two on my trip, but they seemed to be hiding in the woods.

Surprisingly, I met reindeer instead, who were actually traveling very far south of Sweden. Until then I had assumed that these were only found in the northern regions.

A fuel stop in Adak – on the way in the heart of Lapland

According to my app, there is a gas station on this route. My 22.7 liter tank is still a quarter full, it's about time to fill the tank again. There aren't that many gas stations on this route, so I'm once again traveling somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

I come to the very small town of Adak, which is in the province of Lapland. The small town has an incredible 123 inhabitants, a small shop and a single gas pump in the center of the village. But one is completely enough for me! In the shop there is a quick coffee, which I take out and what do I see, there is an old Audi 80L in the parking lot in front of the shop. Great, this thing is from the 70s and they use it to go shopping here.

Warm up in Lycksele – A gas station break with coffee

The rain has let up and the road is drying out again, but it is terribly cold. The thermometer doesn't reach 10 degrees, so the plan is to warm up at a gas station in the next larger town, Lycksele. After another 110 kilometers, I reached Lycksele and even found a K-gas station. That's perfect because I still have Dirk's K coffee mug from when I stopped at his place near Lillehammer.

Coffee mug misunderstanding at the Swedish gas station

I went straight into the gas station and went to the coffee machine to fill the coffee cup. Hunger should also be satisfied, so place an order for a small snack at the checkout. I didn't really place the K coffee mug in the checkout area and just ordered something to eat. Now there was some instruction from the friendly Swede at the checkout! I wouldn't be in Norway anymore, but this time she would turn a blind eye.

Yes, that's a thing: you can only use the cup at Norwegian Circle K gas stations to refill coffee for free. Of course I didn't know that.

In any case, attention was immediately drawn to the gas station, there are certain differences between the Norwegians and Swedes, a few Swedish construction workers called out to me and it wasn't just the different coffee cups 8-). And just like that we were talking, really nice guys from the “Earthmoving Business”, as they themselves said. In German, it was the excavator drivers who pulled the new road through the forest with the large CAT excavators and construction machines.

Secrets in the forest and the mystery of old Harley

They told me about a novel that was about this forest, where a strange person and loner who didn't fit into the social mold used to buy an old Harley in order to use it to drive wood out of the forest. The story sounded pretty scary. The novel told about a highly unusual forest dweller, the question for me afterwards was what kind of Harley the person in question could have bought.

The WLA was only produced from 1940 and the novel was about the period from 1920 to 1940. Then of course it could have been a Flathead. He must have somehow gotten hold of the thing in Sweden without today's internet, so it was almost certainly something from the military.

The novel is based on a true story

As I understood, this true story is based on the solidarity of a family; the actual loner had probably decided to live with his family in the forest. The Harley was definitely a leftover from the war, which he used for his forest work. I'm interested to know what was really going on, the story certainly sounded a bit more strange than now suggested. But unfortunately the book is only available in Swedish. –> Link

We laughed a lot, the very good entertainment just doesn't really fit into my schedule. However, I think it's great when you get to know new people from the countries you're visiting and have some kind of conversation with them.

Through Sweden's forests to Sollefteå - a journey away from the big city

We continue on highway 365, which eventually turns into 90. I'm driving through the middle of beautiful Sweden, there are lots of forests and hardly any towns to be seen. My next planned fuel stop is Sollefteå, which is about 230 kilometers away and will take me about three hours.

Sollefteå is a small town where young people meet near the gas station. It's no surprise, they drive old cars in this town too, when I was filling up they were checking out an old US car. The young Swedes live differently; they feel like they have even more gasoline than Playstation in their blood.

From Timrå to Söderhamn – A wet and cold challenge

I'll continue on, I'll drive another 100 kilometers overland to Timrå and then it'll go a little faster, on the E4 150 kilometers to my destination for the day in Söderhamn. On the E4 the bad weather starts again, it is still cold and now unfortunately it is getting wet again around the nose. I only booked the hotel shortly before my destination, when I could estimate that I would still have to drive that far that day.

When I arrived in Söderhamn, I felt the exhaustion, but also the deep satisfaction that such an adventure brings. The last 100 kilometers were really bad, it would have been better to at least ride to Copenhagen the next day, but it was just too cold and wet for a ride like that, in a case like that you have to know your limits.

The final sprint, today I have to cover 1000 kilometers: From Söderhamn my route takes me via Stockholm to Denmark. The weather doesn't look good again, but you get used to it; when you start out straight away in your rain gear, it doesn't seem half as bad. Today I have to cover kilometers, so I'm taking the E4 towards Denmark. My goal today is my base in Germany, I want to go home and I have 1000 kilometers ahead of me.

On a direct course to Denmark via the Øresund Bridge

I've been to Stockholm several times, so I'm driving past the beautiful city. I decided to cross over the Øresund Bridge to Denmark. The ferry ride to Denmark, from Helsingborg to Helsingør, would offer a welcome break from the road, but I'm a little faster over the Øresund Bridge.

Stormy journey through Denmark on the way to the ferry

I'm just going through Denmark, I've already got most of it behind me, it's only 160 kilometers from the Øresund Bridge to Rødby, I don't want to refuel until I'm in Germany, this idea turns out to be a big bad decision. I figured that if I drove through quickly, I could make a precision landing and go straight to the ferry without waiting. The Scandlines ferries run 45 times a day and only take 45 minutes for the 21 kilometer crossing.

It is typical for Denmark that a strong wind blows here, I felt a little like I was traveling in a moving telephone booth, the Road Glide ST is not exactly an aerodynamic wonder and pushes against the strong one with its 105 hp Wind sweeping across the land. The closer I get to the sea, the stormier it gets. I should have stopped at the last gas station.

A Dutch rescuer in Denmark

You can imagine what happened! 2 kilometers before the ferry I get stranded on the E4 due to a lack of fuel, what a bummer. I could almost see the ferry pier, now that's a real problem. Hardly any traffic on the road, I stopped the first car I saw, a young couple from France, they wanted to get to the ferry and didn't have time for me, then the next car comes, I wave again and stand on the two-lane, hoping he stops.

The car stopped and a young guy was sitting in it, he immediately invited me into the car and off we went. There is a gas station in Rødby Sogn, just 1.5 kilometers from where I broke down, Job told me. I left the Road Glide with the hazard lights on and set off with it. Job comes from the Netherlands and works on the new Fehmarnbelt Tunnel.

A happy coincidence and a helpful savior

That was purely a coincidence because Job had to return from his accommodation because he had forgotten his key in the office. He got two empty bottles from the office and drove me to the gas station; he had to go back and offered me a lift again. You have to be so lucky first, Job is a really cool guy, briefly filled up and then he drove me back to the Road Glide. Thank you again Job, helping me in this situation is not a given.

The Road Glide starts up again straight away, the sun is slowly setting, now off we go, again to the gas station in Rødby Sogn, but this time together with the Road Glide ST. I filled the E4 with a liter earlier and at the petrol station I got another 22.33 liters of petrol refilled into the tank. Today I'm not taking any more risks.

Returning home after an adventure

Now we move on to the ferry that will take me to Puttgarden, on the island of Fehmarn. I don't have to wait long and I can catch the next ferry straight away. From the island of Fehmarn we continue towards home, a route that unfolds its own charm in the darkness. A full moon through the forests here means that you have to be particularly careful about wildlife crossing. After 1000 kilometers and lots of excitement again, I arrived home safely and happily.

Conclusion: This trip was more than just a tour; it was another one of my adventures that I was able to experience. I was only away for 10 days and was able to tick off an important item on my bucket list on this trip! Now that it's quiet late in the evening without the Milwaukee-Eight engine in the background, I let that sense of accomplishment sink in before the next chapter of my travels begins.

Text and image credits: Harleysite Volker Wolf