Lapland

[Stichill_imp]

Fascinating local customs and traditions. I'm not a veteran sailor, but I have heard that salt in black coffee is common in navies.

The plates look incredible! Amazing cuisine and presentation.

[Olof_imp]

D+8 continued. We were on the road at 4 a.m., eager to get going to avoid the daytime heat, but stopped for a last picture. The beauty was unreal. The scenery was ok too.



We'd made up the plan during the last couple of days: first cover the 400 km to the coast, as it was said to be nice there. Stay overnight. Then head south and suffer for half a day on the dual carriageway down to Gävle before shifting to A- and B-roads a bit inland to avoid the Stockholm area (we're not keen on cities). Stay overnight in Nyköping, That leg would be the longest, 600 km. Then follow nice back roads down the coast until Valdermarsvik, before we yet again had to suffer main roads which would lead us to Borgholm for our overnight stay. An easy day, only 300 km. And then, finally, returning home to Råå after another 300 km. The full round trip, some 3000 km, would look like this.



The night was bright, traffic nil and the roads better than expected. We'd started on empty stomachs, relying on the 24/7 open gas station in Vilhelmina to serve us breakfast with, most importantly, hot and strong black coffee. Unfortunately the gas station was in reality closed, forcing us to do another couple of hours before we finally got our coffee in Solberg. This put a strain on our good mood but on the plus side still very little traffic and no animals (as a side note: we had the same for most of the trip - very few animals on or near the road. We had expected lots, and actually looked forward to being stopped by flocks of reindeer on the road, with bells clanking and hoofs clattering quaintly - most sites predicted (promised) this and strongly suggest tourist travellers to be very cautios as reindeer are supposed to be very stupid - but no. We only saw one measly reindeer, between Särna and Järpen going up and that was it. Very disappointing).

This was our scenery for most of the morning.



Apart from the coffee trauma the day was pretty uneventful. We rode, filled up the bikes every 180-220 km, had a snack and some drink at the same time and then rode again. We watched the landscape go softer as we got nearer the coast. More small lakes, more lush green, taller trees and more roads. By the time we reached the coast all felling of wilderness and being far up north had more or less disappeared. We found our place, checked in, had a few beers and slept well.

[peterbaron]

....getting jealous, great trip, pics and bike

[GoldOxide_imp]

RE Lack of strong black coffee: At least the bio breaks were less of an issue.

[Olof_imp]

D+9. A morning walk around Salsåker revealed this creative garage solution. Incidentally this is a Volvo Laplander, in military terms "Person/Cargo Terrain Vehicle 903". Volvo produced and delivered 8000 of these 1963-1964, which many of the components shared with the cars, for example the engine - the Volvo B-18. It turned to be very rugged. It served in the Swedish Armed Forces until 1974 when it was replaced by a larger platform. Many 903s were sold as surplus and have today a small but loyal following.



Back at the mansion we had breakfast by the Baltic before departing for the longest leg on the trip - 600 km. The first half would be boring dual carriageway. We hoped however to make good progress in the early hours, before the caravans and motor homes appeared. Then, for the second half after lunch, we thought we'd found a nice set of A- B-roads from Gävle for the second half down to Nyköping.




The plan worked well at first. The dual carriageway snaked through a hilly landscape, smooth and freee from traffic and law enforcement. We made quite swift progress and enjoyed every minute of it. The CB impressed, stable att all speeds and, as it turned out, pretty easy on the petrol too. Under five litres per 100 km is not bad att all considering the pace.

After Gävle however the roads turned out to be quite dull, with lots of heavy traffic and overcrowded petrol stations. The heat was getting to us as well. Pretty grim faces until the last 200 km, when everything improved. It even cooled down a bit. Lots of quaint villages and great roads, as made for motorbikes. We arrived in Nyköping tired byt happy.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Cool (or not).

[Stichill_imp]

It's so interesting to see and hear about such different places. I really enjoy the attractive and inviting colors of the buildings you've shown us: rich rust red, light yellow, ocre.

The Person/Cargo Terrain Vehicle 903 looks like it would be pretty fun to offroad with!

[Gone in 60]

Wow, what a fascinating trip. My wife and I are still ruminating over our last adventure a week and a half ago, even though it was in our own state in our own car. Last night, while taking a stroll through the neighborhood, she asked me where our next vacation should be.

I think I have a new destination to throw into the list! Thank you!

[Olof_imp]

@ GoldOxide, Stichill and Gone in 60: thanks for kind comments. This is a great forum and the trip reports are always inspiring and the great adventures people dive into often humbling. Our little ride does not really compare but I enjoy writing the report and if it's of any interest to anyone I"m glad.

Regarding the Volvo Laplander/903: I believe they are pretty capable offroad. I've never driven one but have some experience of its successor the six cylinder C303 which is said to bd comparable and even participated in Paris-Dakar. They do rust however, to the extent that the Swedish Armed Forces rather than repairing the fleet of C303s replaced every C303's bodywork with a complete brand new one. They are still in service.

From the Paris Dakar (photo Teknikens Värld)

[Cormanus]

Sounds like a great ride, Olof. I enjoyed reading it and looking at the pictures too. Thanks for getting out there and entertaining us.