Scandinavia Trip

[Simon Mac]

Hi Keith, good to see you today, hope the car felt good and you got home without any of the wheels falling off 

Now, how spooky was this? After tidying up in the garage I sat down and opened this month's EVO mag that had come through the post this morning....on the front cover there's an overhead shot of a new Merc on a great looking section of hairpin mountain pass. And where is this pass? NORWAY!

I don't know whether it's on your radar already but just in case it isn't have a look at a place called Trollstigen (Troll's Ladder). The road number is 63 and it's not far south from Kristiansund, so could well feature on your route.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Trollstigen,+6300+%C3%85ndalsnes,+Norway/@62.4573538,7.6773744,2569m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x46140e70c1e7a8af:0xcc14b0e753396f9e!6m1!1e1

 

The Trollstigen is great, but it is a little touristy (in the same way as Stelvio) so gets very busy with coaches and motorhomes making their way up and down and it's very narrow in places. 

 

I'd highly recommend getting their late evening or early morning to minimise traffic.

 

I'm sure it would be epic if like Evo or top gear you could get the road closed for a few clear runs without fear of something coming the other way at one of the blind hairpins

[kayj_prod]

Yes, Trollstigen is on my route. I will probably hit it before lunch, so hopefully not at peak time, Simon. It's just how it goes isn't it- i can't quite schedule everything for the best time. I am going to be in Preikestolen for first thing in the morning so hopefully I'll get to the peak before most people.

 

Off on August 19th. I need to concentrate on work for the next ten days, so thanks to Phil, I have got the car all ready to go. Even got my headlamp beam adjusters on ready. 

[Phil S1]

Off on August 19th. I need to concentrate on work for the next ten days, so thanks to Phil, I have got the car all ready to go. Even got my headlamp beam adjusters on ready. 

Glad I could be of help Keith, it was a pleasure to work on such a clean and well maintained car where everything came undone so readily.

Have a good trip and I'll look forward to seeing the photos 

[kayj_prod]

Cheers Phil!

Elsie is almost all packed up. I've been stuffing small things right into the corners of the boot (gaffer tape, cable ties, small selection of emergency tools, spare bulbs, odd bits of food) and my sleeping bag and tent have tucked up underneath the rear most 'ceiling' of the boot space. My warning triangle occupies that awkward indent space against the engine and means I can get to it easily. Camp stove is at the bottom along with pans and walking boots. 

 

Looking like a decent space left for clothes or my roll mat if I just stuff clothes around it.  I suspect that I'll have to have the roll mat in the passenger footwell if I want a very comfortable nights sleep!

 

Couple of days to squeeze in some work and then off!

[Simon Mac]

Great news Keith, look forward to the updates!

 

P.S. Dont forget the space down the side / behind the seats. You'll get loads of stuff in there too  My EU "travel kit" from Halfords came in a bag that is the perfect size to sit above the passenger footrest, it's such a good fit, it now lives there permanently!  I think carrying round a first aid kit is actually quite sensible even though it's not required by law.

[Phil S1]

Great news Keith, look forward to the updates!

 

P.S. Dont forget the space down the side / behind the seats. You'll get loads of stuff in there too  My EU "travel kit" from Halfords came in a bag that is the perfect size to sit above the passenger footrest, it's such a good fit, it now lives there permanently!  I think carrying round a first aid kit is actually quite sensible even though it's not required by law.

The space behind the driver's seat's a good one, depending on your leg length of course! I velcro'd my warning triangle into the recess on the back of my seat.

All the best for a great trip Keith, mind those hairpins 

[kayj_prod]

Great idea Phil, I forgot about that shape to the seat back. 

 

Couldn't agree more about the first aid kit, Simon. I have one in the car all the time anyway... though you have got me thinking... it's in there, but I'm not exactly sure which corner it is tucked in now!

 

I've been looking at weather forecasts and it looks like I'm going to have sunny weather until I get to Bergen next week. I don't mind it being wet in the city, but I hope it will have dried up by the end of the week as I'd rather hike up Prekestolen in the dry!

 

Quite excited to see that the Pride of Hull/Rotterdam loads through the side, not the stern. I don't know why that excites me, but it does!

[kayj_prod]

Sorry for the delay in updates. As I write, I'm in Lillehammer. Weather has been hot- too hot really with no AC. I could leave the roof off except I'll burn!

Elsie is running very well- temperatures holding at 82, even say in traffic after a couple of hours sat at 120kph!

Speed limits in Norway are lower, but this morning I've stayed off the E6 and have actually been going faster. Just have to watch out for occasionally nasty ridges in the road.

Economy wise, I'm averaging 49mpg over three tanks. Speed doesn't make as big a difference as does having the roof off.

Haven't seen another UK plate since Helsingborg in Sweden. Haven't seen another Lotus at all. One fact or the other is certainly attracting attention!

[Simon Mac]

Sorry for the delay in updates. As I write, I'm in Lillehammer. Weather has been hot- too hot really with no AC. I could leave the roof off except I'll burn!

Elsie is running very well- temperatures holding at 82, even say in traffic after a couple of hours sat at 120kph!

Speed limits in Norway are lower, but this morning I've stayed off the E6 and have actually been going faster. Just have to watch out for occasionally nasty ridges in the road.

Economy wise, I'm averaging 49mpg over three tanks. Speed doesn't make as big a difference as does having the roof off.

Haven't seen another UK plate since Helsingborg in Sweden. Haven't seen another Lotus at all. One fact or the other is certainly attracting attention!

 

 

49mpg wow!!

 

Yep Loti definitely draw attention in Sweden and Norway.

 

Hope you are having a good time in Lillehammer, shame it's hot or we could have all been watching your impression of Eddie the Eagle

 

Look forward to some photos!  (And maybe you should geotag them just incase you forget where you park )

[Phil S1]

49mpg! What other sports cars are there that can achieve that now, let alone 20 years ago! Look forward to more updates

[Simon Mac]

I Had an update from Keith, he couldn't get on to post it himself so relaying it on his behalf!

 

 

Just thought I'd check in as for some reason I can't access MLOC beyond the portal. No idea why. Waking up in Kristiansand this morning. First glitch yesterday morning- booked a hotel last minute as torrential rain Thursday night, but while I was all cosy, Elsie was out in it. She wouldn't start yesterday morning- just got too wet. So my plans for a morning hike up Prekestolen changed to a morning swimming while Elsie dried out. Otherwise, she has been amazing and has coped with some er, challenging roads. Seen some epic sites including drive between lakes with 'icebergs' floating in them. Off to Oslo today. 

[Phil S1]

Thanks for relaying the update Simon, I thought Keith had been a bit quiet, we'll have to wait for a full account when he returns...sounds like he's having fun in one form or another ;-)

[kayj_prod]

I'm back! Well, I got back mid-day on Saturday and then headed straight out for a gig at 3pm, so was quite a hectic day. A strange coincidence that the client happened to be Norwegian!

 

I spent yesterday editing about 500 photos down to the 190 I have kept on my computer and the 40 highlights I have posted to Facebook. Maybe just a select few here!

 

Elsie behaved perfectly and any problems were either predictable or mine. I had one morning where she wouldn't start, having been out in the rain... just left her to dry while I spent more time in the hotel pool. Then there was the extra 154 miles due to me leaving the fuel cap at a petrol station! Maybe things are rattling a little more, but considering some of the roads travelled up in the mountains, she has done fantastically well. 

My prediction of 3500 miles was almost spot on (well, I suppose if I hadn't have left the fuel cap behind, it would have been a little less). Fuel wise, my average over the whole trip looks like 50.5MPG! My best tank was 55.5. This was roof off but a steady 60MPH mainly, but also included 2nd 3rd gear sprints up hair pin mountain roads! My worst tank was 45.6 which correlates with my second worst tank; both through Germany doing 70+.  So 3544 miles on 319.2l is pretty damn good!

 

Elsie got lots of attention throughout the whole journey. Of course, the further north I went, the more surprised people were by my point of origin, but people were taking photos of the car on ferries, in car parks and all sorts. I could hear people asking each other 'what is it' and then recognising the badge. "Ahh, Lodus."

The most boring part of the journey had to be the section from Rotterdam up to Odense in Denmark. It is pretty featureless. I was also a little underwhelmed by the Oresund bridge... Maybe it would have been more exciting if I hadn't been over it in a train last year, but I thought the transition between the tunnel section and the bridge section would be a little more thrilling. 

The journey became more exhilarating once north of Lillehammer. Gradually the scenery became more and more stunning and I had to keep stopping to take in huge vistas.  I was also pretty blessed with the weather so I had to stop often for water. (I topped up Elsie once, though I think she was just at her normal level which seems to sit just above the minimum mark anyway.)

Trollstigen was blissfully quiet as I headed up. I would have loved to have heard the sound from the bottom as I headed up. I wasn't being too aggressive with the throttle and brakes considering the whole journey, but I certainly enjoyed the road! (Clearly other people with a lot more horse power than me enjoy leaving Ss all the way up!)  I met one HGV on another mountain section and I have no idea how we got past each other. I swear I had half a tyre left on the tarmac as there was too great a drop off on to the verge for me to leave the road. Must have been a couple of centimetres between the lorry and me and the lorry and the armco.

 

The Lærdal tunnel was a bizarre experience. 15 miles in a  tunnel does rather feel like a journey through the earth. I was actually able to see it from both directions as the next tunnel on my route to Bergen was closed. I will never ever complain about detours here again. The detour route took about an additional 3 hours... BUT allowed me to see another mountain pass where I was driving with snow on either side of the road and massive blocks of ice still floating in the water.

Two things I was very glad to have done to the car before this trip. Firstly, I had my seats refurbished with Probax design at Allon White. The seats felt firm but not hard and the shaping to the back really helped with hours behind the wheel day after day. I would really recommend any S1 owners with standard seats to get this done. Secondly, I fitted the VW really to be able to alter the intermittent wipe speed. There was a lot of fine drizzle at altitude so being able to put a slow wipe on was invaluable.

Three slightly hairy moments: One night after a particularly hot day I was struggling to find a camp site and was getting really tired, I did a U turn and forgot to drive on the right for 50 m or so! It took a worryingly long time for me to work out why the car coming towards me was on the 'wrong' side. Second hairy moment joining a main route from a slip road and a small car was completely invisible in all my mirrors and hidden by the rear shell 'buttress'. Fortunately the driver was alert and moved over. Third hairy moment was on the ferry returning to the UK where a Swedish 1950s Mercedes (that looked like it might weigh about 2 tonnes) began reversing towards me after we had been packed in. Suffice to say my horn sounds quite loud inside a ferry!

It was certainly the trip I had hoped for. I wouldn't have changed anything on my itinerary. I could have covered more miles per day, but this way I was able to stop and walk places. It was a shame I resorted to two extra hotel nights than I wanted due to a couple of days stormy weather, but the downside of an ultra small tent is that it just doesn't work if the weather is bad.

It would be possible to reduce the overall driving distance by getting a ferry from Kiel in Germany up to Oslo, but half the fun is the journey! Obviously doing it in a Lotus is going to be the ideal for all of us, but the trip was made by the outstanding scenery and that looks the same from any car window. Besides, we all know hire cars are the fastest cars. 

[Phil S1]

Welcome back Keith, some great scenery, I particularly like the tunnel shot, very surreal. More photos please :-)

[kayj_prod]

That's my attempt for the calendar!