The CB1100 Community Forum

I promised to post a proper report of my recent ride, and here it is!

Many months ago, a bunch of us bought tickets to see Einstürzende Neubauten in Copenhagen. Getting all of them to agree on anything has been a nightmare, but in the back of my mind I always had this idea that I should take the bike, so I sneakily didn't assist too much in the planning phase.
They got their plane tickets, I packed my Hepco Beckers.

We are meant to meet in Copenhagen on Thursday evening, so I left on Tuesday, thinking that I'll just cruise across the border to Sweden and find a place to sleep there before finding a road I've heard rumours about.
It's cold. Single digits. And it's wet.



As soon as I stopped (or fully closed my visor), I saw nothing. It was MISERABLE! Cold, wet, foggy, my back hurt like a mf, not the best day on the bike. But it's a day out on the Honda, so it's still better than most days, know what I mean?



I got to a ski resort kind of town up in those cold, wet mountains, and found a traveller's lodge, happy to be done for the day but with many many miles to go.



The next bit was more fun. I rode for an hour or so on roads like this in the forest.



But then I talked to a local guy and was told to go back a few km, and there, after a left turn at Tännäs, I hit some of the best riding I have ever experienced! I didn't take any pictures there, I just couldn't stop. About 100 km of twisting, turning, undulating roads through the Swedish mountains, all alone, I almost cried it was so gorgeous. If you're ever in those areas, take 311 from Tännäs to Särna. It is some of the best riding anywhere!

The rest of the day I rode south through Dalarna, past the start of Vasaloppet (it's sort of the New York Marathon for cross country skis), past a bunch of charming little towns and villages, past Malung, where I sat and thought "what is it that I associate with Malung, Sweden?" - until I took off my jacket. The inside says HALVARSSONS - MALUNG, SWEDEN, so that's where they make the best riding gear. I tried to find the factory outlet but failed and pushed on. Awesome roads!
Slept in Karlstad. Took zero pictures.

Karlstad - Copenhagen was highways. FAST!!! but stressful and life force drainingly boring at the same time.

In Copenhagen I found the Airbnb and was there about one hour before my friends. Oh, yes: stellar timing.

Three days in CPH - we ate good food, drank good drink, smoked good smoke, had a brilliant time:


Concert was great! If you know, you know. Redukt!

(To be continued)
PART 2:

I bought my CB1100RS in February of 2020, and since then the borders have been closed, so crossing into Sweden and then Denmark felt HUGE and I loved this moment so much, my friends, it was SO AWESOME to arrive in Copenhagen after two seasons of great, but still restricted riding.



After the others left for the airport, I slept one more night in Copenhagen, then I drove a full day on fast highways.
From Copenhagen across Skjælland (Zealand), over the Storebælt bridge to Fyn, across Fyn (couldn't even see a glimpse of Odense from the highway), Lillebælt bridge to Jylland (Jutland), and finally all the way to Hirtshals. Nothing but highway. I rode fast, and found that the little Samurider screen I mounted works quite well, but if there are other winds besides what I make myself it isn't the most fun to ride very fast for very long. Also, with the top box mounted I don't completely trust the aerodynamics of the whole thing, I got a slight wobble once or twice at >140kph, which is a bit scary.

I got on a ferry in Hirtshals, and disembarked in Kristiansand two hours and fifteen minutes later. Fast!
Three hours more on highways, and I'm at my buddy's in Oslo, ready for another concert.

Nick Mason, drummer in Pink Floyd, is on tour playing old Floyd songs for us oldies, and I thought that would be a good excuse to take some magic mushrooms (welcome to the "drugs" bit of my story), and I'm not going to elaborate beyond saying that I was on a massive, full on, magnificently visual and delightfully anxiety free psychedelic trip as they played Atom Heart Mother, If, and Echoes, as if they *knew me* and it was made for me personally and I just wish you could have seen it! The lights! The colours! The sound! So weird to see things that you can point at but it turns out it's all in your head.
I haven't done a lot of drugs in my life (weed doesn't count), but if you're wondering about trying psychedelics, I recommend a Pink Floyd gig.
Then, after a couple of hours it was all over, both the drugs and the rock'n'roll. So it goes.



Homeward again I took a right turn at Ringebu to go across the Rondane Mountains at Venabygd, and I know you want to come here and get to ride this spot:



You can see the same peaks in the back here, a couple of hours later...



I know I promised some sex, but nah. Drugs and rock'n'roll will have to do.

Happy trønder:




End.

Oh, one or two more things:
I mounted Daytona Heated grips, and I loved it. I've never had heated grips, but what can be better than holding a warm stick when you're cold and miserable? Also, I bought a new pair of gloves, with "flippable" inner lining (you can choose between "grip" and "warm" when you put them on). They have fused two and two fingers, so when you try to flip a bird you look like Spock instead, which is probably good.
The trip from Trondheim to Copenhagen was 1408 km, and the total was 2811, so two entirely different routes yielded almost the exact same distance!!

I had just seen 24,000 and done the service before my trip, now it's over 27,000.

Ah ya, very nice excursion. I wish I was there.

No worries about the missing sex, afterall, this is a family Forum. Besides, how many people go at it after digesting some mushroom tea?

Saw Roger Waters and, of course, he covers a lot of Floyd material. He still has it - just, and he continue to tour.

Thank you, Hovmod. Great report of a great trip.

I saw Pink Floyd in 92 and 94, I saw Waters do The Wall, and I’ve seen David Gilmour, but all of these shows were stadium sized monster gigs. This show was in a smaller venue that seats about 1000 people, and I so prefer that to the stadium gigs. I like Sentrum Scene in Oslo, I’ve seen some excellent bands there.
Edit: also, this was entirely *old* Pink Floyd, pre Dark Side, and that is some of my favourite music ever. Echoes is easily the best song ever recorded, of course, but there’s a lot of great music there that I discovered and listened to religiously from when I was about 11-12 years old.
Good thing I didn’t try mushrooms then.

Great ride report Hovmod! I've never heard of most of these places so I'm going to have to dig a map out and check them out.

And I agree, although those days are long gone for me the only way to truly appreciate a Pink Floyd concert is while doing psychedelics.

Thanks for sharing your trip. Must admit I'm surprised that Einstürzende Neubauten is still around and more surprised that I found out on this forum. I had just broken my leg in a very stupid motorcycle accident when they played on a barge anchored near a Seattle park. That was 1986 I think.

Great adventure, Hovmod. Thank you!

You had a great trip!!

OK, i fell for the click-bait title, but still enjoyed the great report. I've had some cold, wet rides before, too, and they're no fun. I like to say I ride for fun, not for transportation, but what the hey, into some rides a bit of uncomfortable conditions must fall, or something like that. I saw Pink Floyd at the Hollywood Bowl in SoCal in '72. The Bowl is outdoors, so there was a huge light show with fireworks and all kinds of pyrotechnics and a lot "enhancements" to the experience. While playing "Echoes", Gilmour broke a string. He signaled the band, they went into a noodling mode, a tech brought out a new string, Gilmour changed it right there, tuned up, nodded to the band, and BOOM, they were right back in it. Best concert ever!

Very cool.