Alain De Carolis

In the summer of 2006 i did a solo motorbike trip from Italy to the Nordkapp and back.
Not only I consider it as the most wonderful trip I ever did, but also as the most wondeful thing I have ever done in my life.
I wasn't a biker at all before I did it. In facts, before my dad and I bought a used Kawasaki ER-5 in April 2006 I never rode anything bigger than my 50cc scooter.
I wasn't allowed to drive the bike until July when I finally got my biker's driving licence.
I knew more or less nothing about how such a long trip had to be organized but fortunately, with less than 20 days of driving practice I did great. And I loved it!

Why Nordkapp?
I might write about the beauty of the places you see, the spectacular landscapes, the wilderness of Scandinavian nature... but you wouldn't really know until you discover it for yourself. You really have to go there. By motorbike!

The bike
My bike was a Kawasaki ER-5. I bought It used with my dad for 2200 Euro and after the trip I nicknamed it "la poderosa" like Che Guevara and his friend did with their Norton 500.
I never had a trouble except a chain drive tension regulation I had to do near Oslo and an electrical failure of the emergency stop button that happened after 450 km of heavy rain. The chain tension was regulated in less than 10 minutes for free by a local mechanic found along the road while the emergency button unlocked after the water dried and a few punches.

The equipment
The day before I left I bought a pair of booths, a rain coat, two pairs of gloves and a bike dress. A little earlier I got a tent, an inflatable bed and a sleep bag.
The bike was revisioned and the mechanic was warned about the fact that I was going to drive it for 10.000 Km non-stop. He also installed a rear cabinet and a magnetic bag for the fuel tank. I did not ask for side bags and was crazy enought to ask him to remove the tiny ER-5 windshield since I didn't like the way it looked on my bike. I had plenty of time to regret this silly choice.

The path
On the way up I drove trought Italy, Austria and Germany only to reach by ferry the Trelleborg port in Sweden.
Once there, following the suggestions of other bikers, I preferred going up via Stockolm and the Gulf of Bothnia.
The ride went quite smooth until when in the city of Uppsala the highway finished under a red light. I was still toushands of km's away from the Nordkapp and for the first time I doubted I was going to reach it. Fortunately in the same day I met Massimo and Angela, a couple of bikers from Genova with two BMW's. Toghether with them I continued the trip trought Finland and finally we arrived at destination the morning of August 15th 2006.
It was a sunny day and I coulnd't believe my eyes. We spent there just a few hours and it was already time to start thinking about the way back home.
Unfortunately we had to split and I had to take another decision: come down trought Finland and its infinitely straight highways or trought Norway and its extremely curved E6 road?
At first I tought that Finland was easier but everyone up there instead suggested to see the E6 road describing it as one of the best biking experiences in the world.
After 2700 Km of curves and my rear tyre become almost slick I realized they were absolutely right. Norway is fantastic! I will always remember it.

Some numbers
9400 Km total drive
650 Km under the rain
8 countries
15 days
51 fuel tank refills
38 to 7 Celsius degrees
42.8 to 71.3 Latitude degrees

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