It's the end of January 2022, time to plan my vacation for the year. Since I still have nine days of vacation left from last year that have to be used up by the end of March, I have to think quickly. For a few years now, I've been watching a winter motorcycle meeting that I'd like to attend. Well, it’s not the crystal rally, which is very famous, which I couldn’t find any information anymore about, but anyway. So I had a look to their webpage and checked whether I can still register. The registration deadline was the beginning of December, what a bummer. Well, I can still ask how it looks, and as everybody knows, asking is for free. One day later, I already had the answer that registration is still possible.

Oops, now it could get stressful, I need to be ready and  off in a week and a half. Even though I've bought some great new winter motorcycle clothing, there are still a few other things that would be helpful. So I immediately started searching the Internet for heated underwear or something similar, since the expected temperatures could well be in the double-digit minus range and you might be out for more than two hours, which can happen for me even in the off-season, also known as winter among motorcyclists. I should also change the standard oil, but as time is in short supply, to get it changed. Something a little

more liquid for the cold temperatures, so that the engine lubrication works properly. And so the time went by in a flash. I should also perhaps apply for some vacation, and so the next morning first thing, I went to my boss right away.

To make matters worse, my front tyre, which I would have driven a few thousand kilometers on here, was no longer suitable for the expected road conditions in Norway. The BMW garage, I would normally go to, couldn't get one quickly enough, so I looked for alternatives. After a few phone calls, I found one. Since I had planned my first stopover with friends in Wolfsburg anyway, I was able to organize a tyre and fitting there, but I'll come back to that in more detail later.

07.02.2022 – Fehmarn to Kopenhagen „Oslo-ferry“ (206 km / 128 mls)

We then continued on together with seven motorcycles. It was still a bit windy, but the rain had given way to bright sunshine. The first destination was the ferry from Puttgarden to Rødby on the Danish side. Since the roads in Denmark are even more impressive and varied than the roads in northern Germany, we drove the 200 km or so on the motorway to the ferry that will take us to Oslo. The only excitement was when one of the passengers had to give up halfway through because of a leaky engine shaft seal and started the journey back, sad, but no other choice.

The other motorcyclists, as soon as they were on the ferry, started tinkering around with their motorcycles like crazy, changing wheels, screwing spikes into the tires and causing wild chaos. Since I had organized my spikes but won't get them until Norway, I just wobbled from one to the other with clever remarks and checked whether they were doing everything right. But that got boring after a while, so I grabbed my luggage and went to my cabin and took a warm shower. Later, at dinner together, I was able to hear the first stories from the last meetings; the excitement was building.

08.02.2022 – Oslo to Hamar (160 km / 99 mls)

We were greeted in Oslo with the best weather. The ferry docked shortly after 9 a.m. There were no checks for whatever reason, we got on the motorbike and off we went. After about 40 km, our paths separated for the time being. I had to go to Hamar, where I was supposed to get my spikes from BMW, the rest had already headed for the mountains. The first real challenge for me was the way into town to the BMW garage, snow clearing is only sporadic in Norway, so I had the first thick layer of ice under my wheels. Well, it could have worked, BMW didn't have the right spikes in stock despite having agreed on it. But the guys really put in the effort and after a few phone calls I was sent to a special tyre garage where they would help me. We quickly agreed that we were going to use the right spikes and the young garage employee sat down in front of my motorcycle with the cordless screwdriver and started screwing in the spikes - in the end, there were to be 256 spikes for both tires. A good hour later, I pulled out my credit card and left. I tried it out straight away and drove over the first icy meters outside the planned route. It was a cool thing. A few more kilometers back to the hotel and it was time to call it a day for today.

When I arrived at their hotel, the others were already getting on their bikes. One of the guys recommended that I lower the tyre pressure significantly, which I did, and then we were off. The highway had been cleared to perfection yesterday, but there wasn't much cleared for the first 50 km this morning, and the roads that had now been cleared were a single ice rink, but hey, what else are the spikes good for if not exactly that. We continued north quickly in the best weather. True to the motto, a little detour is always good. I'm always up for that. But the last detour was really tough. We left the icy road and continued on a packed snow cover. Still very fast at around 60-70 kmh. Well, the spikes are not ideal on snow, and so it happened as it had to. With a lot of momentum I hit a rut and slid 50 meters behind the motorcycle. Lying on my back like Karl the Beetle and fidgeting on all fours, the first two passengers were already there and helped me get the motorcycle back upright. OK, let's shift down a gear and move on. But it wouldn't be a challenge if the guide didn't come up with something special. A “fun” private path - deep snow. At this point, the spikes have lost all their effect, and the otherwise very good Heidenau tyres are no longer ideal. They can still handle sand and mud, but on dirt roads where you can't even begin to see what's under the wheels, it gets difficult. It went well for a few hundred meters, and then I was on my nose again. I picked myself up again, it's only 5 km until we're on ice again, not too bad. Well, the game of falling over was repeated every 800 to 1.000 meters or so, and it really took its toll. Even the team drivers with their sidecars had difficulty staying on the path, but they don't fall over and have a reverse gear. After about half-way, I was on my nose for the third time, and thank God Hartmut, one of the passengers in one of the teams, was able to take over my motorbike. But guess, he didn’t do it much better I did, and he also fell off every few hundred meters.

Shortly afterwards, however, there was another excitement. The clutch on the BMW sidecar was not working anymore. So Hans unpacked the tow rope and pulled the BMW to the next main road, while Hartmut and I continued to fight our way through the deep snow on two wheels, putting the machine back on its wheels every few meters.

So it takes a good hour to cover a 6 km stretch and you start to sweat a lot even in slightly below-zero temperatures.

With still 80 km to Savalen, we need to hurry up before it gets dark. In Tynset we caught up with Wolfgang and Heinrich, who had already driven ahead to have the clutch checked in a garage, while the rest of the group waited for Hartmut and me. A repair wasn't possible in a hurry, but it was OK until we got to the hotel, and the Norwegian mobile car service has announced that they will be coming tomorrow to check it out more closely. From Tynset it's another 20 km, the roads are clear, but the last 13 km are really tough. Steep sections with very icy switchbacks and it's slowly getting dark. But the crazy motorcyclist - me - didn't let himself get into trouble and arrived at the hotel just a little later as the rest of the group, without any more falls.

End of work - what a brilliant day.

12.02.2022 – Savalen to Alvdal and back (61 km / 38 mls as co-pilot in the sidecar)

Only a short trip to the Aukrust Museum was planned for today. This time I made myself comfortable on the toolbox in Wolfgang's sidecar. Now that's what I call a different perspective. But, as good as my new winter motorcycle clothes are, when you can no longer hide behind a windshield, as I do when driving myself, you notice that you might need a little different clothing for winter.

Back to Aukrust: A very well-known illustrator in Norway who did all sorts of stupid things as a youngster and also created more than he reported, as a war correspondent. In his later career he created very well-known comic characters that were later brought to life in various films. The type of filming is based on clay figures that were then moved millimeter by millimeter and photographed for the film, a game of patience.

Back at the hotel it was time to pack up for the journey home. In the evening we watched one of those Aukrust films together – Il Tempo Gigante, a hit and funny movie, even it was in Norwegian and I didn’t understand much of the dialogue.

Snow was forecast and it snowed. Kind of stupid, because I had spontaneously arranged a tour of the dairy, and for that I had to go back into the middle of the mountains. The way there was a bit strenuous, because there was snow on the icy road again and I couldn't see where there might be a deeper rut that could make me fall. But I arrived safely, even on time, and had a good chat, which of course wasn't just about the dairy and technology, but also quite clearly about riding a motorcycle in winter, and whether a snowmobile wouldn't be more practical. Shortly after 11 a.m. I arranged to meet Clemens and Christian again and we drove the remaining kilometers together through snow, sleet, rain and thick fog to Oslo, where we met the other participants in the hotel. In the hotel we then changed back to normal tyres without spikes, and I was sitting in the underground car park and screwed the 256 spikes out of the tyre.

Today the ferry goes back to Copenhagen. But not until 4:15 p.m. Since we have to leave the hotel, there is still time for a bit of culture. So we went to the museum island of Bygdøe. Some of us went to the Kon-Tiki Museum, where they showed how a few crazy people crossed the Atlantic on a raft made of balsa wood, others like me went to the Fram Museum, where the history and expeditions of Roald Amundsen were impressively presented, since the building was built around the original ship.

At some point we had to head towards the harbour and check-in. Since I still wanted to top-up my tyre pressure, I went looking for a gas station. And of course to fill up the tank, who would have thought that there would be a time when gas would be cheaper in Norway, where everything costs 50% more. Well, after not even one of the 7 gas stations that my sat nav had spat out was still in existence, I drove to the harbour without filling up the tank or topping up the tyre pressure and tied down my motorcycle properly, after all, a storm was forecast.

The night was restless. The next storm has already arrived over Germany. Hopefully it will calm down a bit before I have to drive on. Actually, the storm had calmed down considerably, but I still didn't dare drive through the Harz Mountains. A pine tree on my head would not have been a nice end to an otherwise wonderful holiday. So I drove the first 250km comfortably but sleepily on the motorway. The further south I went, the less gusts there were and finally I got off the motorway and had some real fun on dry and winding roads.