The annual meeting 2008 and the tour to the Norweigian fjordlandscape

View over Mjøsa in Starum.

The annual meeting 2008 took place in Norway on friday 27th to sunday 29th June, 2008. The place where the meeting was held was Sivilforsvarets kursgård at Starum. The facility lies in a beautiful area close to the lake Mjøsa, not far from Gjøvik and Lillehammer.

Friday 27 June:

The first guests arrived on the Thursday and during the Friday, the rest came. There were some 50 participants from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England and Scotland on 25 Vincent bikes. All bikes were driven to and from the meeting. We spent the evening dining and enjoyed the company of new and old friends. Nasty rumors say that a beer or two were consumed during the evening.

Friends with the same needs met.

Saturday 28 June:

Breakfast and excursion. The meeting general Carl Henrik had arranged a very enjoyable program with a visit on a smithy where skilled craftsmen showed us the secrets of metal crafting. We also had an activity with the local companies in Gjøvik. The driving to and from the activities were on very nice roads that were perfect for motorbikes, so the participants got an idea of how beautiful Norway can be. During the afternoon, there was as usual time for socializing and bike inspections. The customary SVC meeting was held on the evening. The night was finished off with a feast and prizes were given out. The pub was open this night as well.

Sunday 29 June:

After the breakfast, the meeting was finished and the participants said good bye to each other. We are all very thankful to Carl Henrik who arranged this meeting. Starum is a great place to have an event like this at.

Norway touring, arranged by club members independently from SVC

Geiranger.

Those who chose to continue on a few more days adventure in western Norway gathered for a joint review. The driving on the Sunday went to Geiranger, with its grand nature. There were 19 persons on 15 motor bikes as well as a car that drove to Geiranger. Two additional participants joined in Geiranger. We lay still four nights in the same camping place, this to be able to drive without packing as well as to gain flexibility for those who might want to go on their own activities. The participants came from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, England and Scotland and were between 12 and 77 years old.

Link to Geiranger

Monday 30 June

Calles Vincent.

Outing to Stryn mountain. The trip partly went on gravel roads and on roads in the same condition as they usually were 50 years ago. The weather was rainy, and on the way up on the meander roads we also ran into dense fog. There was skiing on the Stryn mountain this year as well, at the end of June. We made the choise to stay and have some coffee at the ski station, and while we sat there and dried ourselves, the fog and rain dissapeared. The sun came out and we had a fantastic tour on the old gravel road that stretches over the mountain. There was still much snow left, and some lakes even had ice on them. On the way home, we went up on a mountain called Dalsnibba (1500 meters above sea level) which offered a grand panorama and view over the fjord and the surrounding mountains. Back home on the evening we first had a very nice buffet on Hotel Union and afterwards got a display of the Hotels magnificent vintage cars from the twenties and thirties. They were seven seated cars that had been used to drive guests from cruisings up and down the mountain roads.

Link to Stryn

Tuesday 1 July

The SVC member Johan Steffen, who live less than 40 km from Geiranger arranged a day worth remebering that included a visit on a water power plant with a museum and driving on roads known only to the locals. He and his wife afterwards treated all 21 participants on an exquisite dinner at their place and showed us their own collection of vintage cars and vintage bikes. He had also invited interested friends of his who came with their own vintage vehicles, so we had a spontanious and very enjoyable meeting with cars and bikes. The day was finished off with a boat trip between Hellesylt and Geiranger. We had good weather this day with the temperature at about 25 degrees Celsius.

Wednesday 2 July:

Outing to Trollstigen (Troll path) via Örnvejen (Eagle Road). This became a very nice trip on meander roads with dramatic sceneries. We were fortunate with the weather this day as well, so the trip became an unforgettable experience. The dramatic nature cannot be captured on pictures, one simply has to experience it themselves. Despite this, the cameras were up almost all the time and the participants behaved like Japaneese charter tourists. We drove all the way to Trollstigen and back again. One of SVC's members once jumped from this cliff with a parachute, something that has since become illegal. Two of our German friends drove to Atlanthavsvegen (Atlantic road), but they were not home until 11 pm that evening.

Thursday 3 July - Saturday 5 July

On the morning of the Thursday, the group went separate ways. A couple of persons drove down to southern Sweden through the Norweigian west coast, with a few nights spent there. The roads and sceneries are fabulous through the whole Norweigian west coast. One amazing view comes after another.

All machines held together, and the only accidents that occured were a puncture and a clutch cable that broke. The machines were BMW 600 cc 1936, 6 Vincent 1000cc, Vincent Comet, 2 Norton Comando, Triumph, BMW R100, Laverda three cylinder, KTM and Ducati. Old bikes are certainly usable and reliable given the right driver and proper care.

If we assume that the 25 Vincents that participated in the meeting at Starum and Geiranger drove 1000 km on averege to and from the meeting, we get 25 000 km together. From what I'm told, the Vincents worked flawlessly. Two punctures occurred, one of them used a tube made in a country where the writer's preconceived opinion regarding quality were confirmed. The other issue was a repaired tube which gradually lost its air. The moral of the story: Use European quality tubes and change tubes if they are punctured.

Colin	Anne	Dalsnibba
On the way to Trollstigen.	"And I drove like crazy and just flew forth"	The meeting place.
Martin and Victor.	The gravel road over the Stryn mountain.	View over the Geiranger fjord.
Teun and Nel	Bridge over troubled water (Trollstigen)	Many muttonheads.
Victor and Martin.	Seven seated car.	Jan Steffen and his Auburn.
Calle, Victor, Colin and Robin.	Calle, Viktor and Kent.	Carl-Henrik.
Colin and Anne.	Rolf, Rudi, Johannes, Thomas, Andreas.	Hut from the 17th century.
Visiting the power plant.	Mats and Bo.	Waterfall.

The page was last modified October 28 2009 10:35:19.