Pre trip
PLEASE NOTE - THIS BLOG WAS WRITTEN FOR MEMBERS OF THE MORGAN THREE WHEELER CLUB AND SHOULD BE READ ACCORDINGLY
Here is the route
It has been attempted twice before. In 2013, a Morgan works team charged up the middle of Norway for charity, enduring 14 hour driving days in filthy weather. Of the three Morgans, it was the Three Wheeler that went phut. Two years later, the intrepid Richard Hardy, whose road trips have taken his M3W right across the USA and around New Zealand, did it on his own without a hitch. He, I suspect sensibly, chose a more relaxed route with almost as much time on ferries as at the wheel. We have gone for rather more hours in the cockpit to experience Norway's - and probably some of the World's - most scenic roads. My seventh decade lower back will not thank me. Let's hope The Toad gives me less pain.
(Which would be a triumph of hope over experience. Last time we tried a big overseas trip a suspension failure took me into a tree).
We are hoping for better luck this time, but there is a nagging thought of a malfunction in the middle of the Arctic, no phone signal to call for help, and being found weeks later, rigid in the cockpit. I have made a Will.
On 8 June, I will set off for the North Cape. And, if the fates smile on me, return back. Because we will be attempting this adventure in The Toad, a Morgan Three Wheeler.
Quite a thing. Not quite a car, not quite a bike. A two litre Harley-derived VTwin engine stuck onto a wooden tubbed, metal-skinned body.
Morgan started making these in 1909, and although the modern version no longer has British engines and its gearbox is from a Mazda MX5, the design and concept is not far off from its record-setting pre-War forerunners.
Decrepit and running out of puff (me, not The Toad), I got mine 18 months ago because it wakes me up like nothing else. There is not much better to get the endorphins going than blasting along in this thing, the wind in what's left of one's hair. But the adrenaline rush may have something to do with The Toad not being the safest, nor the most reliable thing on the road. Not everyone's first choice, then, for the best part of 10,000km, much of it through remote areas to which breakdown services are a stranger. And the tank's range is little more than 200 miles, so if any petrol stations in the middle of nowhere are closed things will get nervous.
Here is the route
It has been attempted twice before. In 2013, a Morgan works team charged up the middle of Norway for charity, enduring 14 hour driving days in filthy weather. Of the three Morgans, it was the Three Wheeler that went phut. Two years later, the intrepid Richard Hardy, whose road trips have taken his M3W right across the USA and around New Zealand, did it on his own without a hitch. He, I suspect sensibly, chose a more relaxed route with almost as much time on ferries as at the wheel. We have gone for rather more hours in the cockpit to experience Norway's - and probably some of the World's - most scenic roads. My seventh decade lower back will not thank me. Let's hope The Toad gives me less pain.
We are hoping for better luck this time, but there is a nagging thought of a malfunction in the middle of the Arctic, no phone signal to call for help, and being found weeks later, rigid in the cockpit. I have made a Will.
We are expecting rain in Fjordland - not pleasant when it's being fired into one's eyeballs at high speed - and anything from Summer heat in the south to 4-5 degrees north of Tromso. So goggles, waterproofs, helmet, thin and thick clothing will have to be crammed in. Plus golf clubs, because if the back holds up we are going to try a couple of midnight rounds (more of that later). And a hefty tool kit, more as an insurance against having to use it because even if something as trivial (in normal cars) as a tyre goes, in this thing it is tough to repair on the road.
Some of the routes we will be taking cut through Norway's most mountainous areas, and even in June late snowfalls can close roads and force last minute re-routing. So we have been watching the Norwegian Highways Authority's real time map daily in the hope that a cold snap does not add another 100 miles to what is already an ambitious objective.
But first, a little warm-up...
Some of the routes we will be taking cut through Norway's most mountainous areas, and even in June late snowfalls can close roads and force last minute re-routing. So we have been watching the Norwegian Highways Authority's real time map daily in the hope that a cold snap does not add another 100 miles to what is already an ambitious objective.
But first, a little warm-up...
I really hope your adventure lives up to expectations. I loved my Norway trip even though it was so wet. The weather is all part of the adventure though and it is the uncertainty that adds to the adventure. You could say the same about the car! My car has been very reliable on my long trips though I did tend to worry whenever there was a new noise or rattle. I ended up using noise-cancelling earphones and just not worrying about it.
ReplyDeleteI write my blog for myself so I can remember more of my trips. I don’t really care what anyone else thinks about it but you are the second person to contact me this week with their first blog entry for a 3-wheeler trip and both are travelling round Norway. It is nice to think that I have inspired others to really get out there and use their 3-wheeler. There really is no better way to travel!
Have you put a link on talkmorgan? I’m sure that I am not the only person who would like to follow your trip.
Keep in touch and take plenty of photos.....