Motorcycle trip – with Honda to the North Cape

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Motorcycle trip - with Honda to the North Cape
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Motorcycle trip – with Honda to the North Cape

Motorcycle trip – with Honda to the North Cape
Makes a dream

Go to the northernmost point of Europe once – the longing dream of many motorcycle travelers. Honda fulfilled it for us: with the Africa Twin to the North Cape.

Johannes Muller

09/14/2017

Some moments in life are so beautiful that they seem untrue. Fake. It then feels like half asleep, the strange limbo between being awake and dreaming. The perception of space and time changes. The ego disappears completely absorbed by existence. It is then as if the universe is watching itself dance. Now is such a moment.

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Makes a dream

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Location: A remote campsite in the already remote Lofoten Islands. The clock shows 1.30, but north of the Arctic Circle the midsummer sun does not think of setting at this hour during that longest week of the year. Instead, the maddened star only sinks briefly, kisses the ocean on the horizon and rises again. Keep heating the beach to a comfortable 25 degrees, bathing Indian tents, forty Africa Twins and their tired riders in deep golden romantic light from the bedroom wallpaper. A beacon blazes near the surf, two enchanting Norwegians deliver the right soundtrack with guitar and violin. Drivers from all over the world share the stories of a long, eventful day. English, Spaniards, French, Italians, Germans, Belgians, Poles, Czechs, Portuguese, Japanese, Indonesians. Babylonian muddle of tongues, but what is important is said wordlessly anyway. Shining eyes, smiling faces, inspired people. Behind it, the eternal sound of the sea as an echo of infinity.

What happened before: We packed our suitcases with Adventure-Gore-Tex, waterproof gloves, lots of thermal and rain gear, luggage roll, sleeping bag, mosquito spray, camera, flashlight, multitool, safety vest and everything else that you think of as adventure gear need to. We flew to Oslo full of anticipation, sniffed the other journalists, bloggers and actors, and shook hands with Paulo Gonçalves. We chose a Tricolore-Africa Twin with DSG and suitcases, stowed the bag and pack in it – or at least made it look like this – and secretly put the luggage in the support vehicle. We were amazed: Forty drivers, plus tour guides, marshalls, mechanics, film crew, photographers, doctor, cook – a mammoth undertaking. We rubbed our eyes when it wasn’t getting dark any more at night near Oslo. We drove off in front of the cameras, a little proud to be part of something so huge, always following the arrow in our digital road book that directed us a long way towards Alta on every long day.

After only an hour we soaked up the sheer emptiness, the endless tranquility of this beautiful Norway, ate reindeer soup. And drove on: through forests, fjords, tunnels, on ferries up and out again. Geiranger and Trollstigen, then along the Atlantic Road and over the famous Storseisund Bridge. We stopped in the evening with tender meat, and it was good. We started anew every morning, rolled through wooded, rocky, white-yellow-blue-purple blooming landscapes, through sun, rain, sleet, snow and hail. Most of the time we meticulously adhered to the speed limits. We have overtaken a lot of RVs.

We were amazed, paused at waterfalls, marveled even more together, then took photos, filmed, changed memory cards, gave interviews. Hashed, shared, liked, commented, made a digital wave. We joked when the first drone crashed and clapped at the second. In the evening we reviewed the day together and laughed tears over a 10 euro hotel beer. We have come to love the Africa Twin as a formidable mileage eater tool and put forward the thesis that the DSG is like Maggi: you love it or you hate it. One of them drove off with a full topcase and arrived without one, we still wonder where it has gone? We paired Bluetooth headsets with each other and chatted persistently under our helmets. We just rolled north for hours and had a lot of time to think about our own thoughts. We have reached deep meditative states and wondered how the hell you can convey all of this to those who stayed at home. At some point it dawned on us that with so many drivers and so much perfect organization in the background, the adventure would inevitably fall by the wayside. We learned to see this venture for what it is: a carefully organized trip. We got to know and love the Norwegians, their level-headed, balanced manner, in which the tranquility of nature is reflected in a strange way. We wondered what it would be like to live here for a few years. The Indonesians saw their first snow, and the next moment they experienced their first snowball fight: grown men in childlike ecstasy. We visited a glacier and were sad because it won’t be there in twenty years. We poured a lot of gasoline into tanks. Sometimes we have asked ourselves about the deeper meaning of this undertaking: Are we just vicarious agents of a perfectly oiled media machine, carted in to rub off some of the magic of the great adventure on an industrial product, on which it becomes a little more adventurous and still a little more sell better? Of course, Honda also knows about the power of a dream. Then we decided to be less cynical and just enjoy this amazing journey. We drove off as strangers, experienced something together, let the road weld us together as a group. We made friends and rode a lot of motorcycles

All of that would be far more than enough, but then there was still the little thing with the actual goal. After a total of eight days and around 3500 unforgettable kilometers, we have reached the (almost) northernmost point of Europe. And one more of those unreal, elusive moments. But admittedly: What we have experienced only represents part of the great longing journey: Those who drive up here from the center of Germany (and back home!) Easily cover twice the distance, can easily be on the road twice as long. And then make the real North Cape dream come true.

So: It wasn’t an adventure, but a fantastic journey. The Africa Twin was flawless. But it didn’t really need that: it didn’t need a 21-inch front wheel, no DSG, no escort, no electronic road book, no GPS tracker. What it takes: a motorcycle and the will to get going. The best thing to do is try it out yourself!

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