Back again… Gargamel…

Back again… Gargamel… The Chalise of Wisdome and the art of getting lost…

Back again… Gargamel.. The Chalise of Wisdome and the art of getting lost…

Well,, long time nothing here from me… Not that I have been hybernating ,, but I have been fighting the demons in my head full time for some time…But that´s not the reason that I logged in again… I logged in to write something, and maybe.. if I´m doing it right bring a smile to the face of the reader….

As some might remember I took Vlad (thats my bike ) over to sunny old England last year.. And , indeed sunny it was… But during this trip i was fighting the fact that my engine oil was trying to put some efforts in to improving its CV… not only lubricating and transfer heat,, it was also extremely good at waterproofing my boots, my leathers, my rear fender .. well basicly everything that was at the side fo or behind my engine….

When I was on my way to England…. well.. you can read all about in previous post… short story… most of the oil.. left side of the engine… rocker cover gasket. replaced in Germany,, Head gasket Holland.(thank you Richard) Rocker cover bolt gasket.. England… ( thank you Trooper/Prez) … but still… when hot at higher revs … Oil all over the place….

So for a year now I have been using about the same amount of oil per ten kilometers as if it was a two stroke Briggs&Stratton between my legs…. Well To be honest a bit moore… around 10% and thats a bit moore than your average two stroke… The rear end of my rig will never rust thats for sure….

But as a cliffhanger I will now change the subject and tell you the story of The Art Of Getting Lost….

I have for years now been bragging that I´m to old to use a GPS..(on dry land) I can get lost the analog way… Eherrmmm… I was wrong… You see , about a month ago in the absence of our big veterans meeting some soldiers decided to hold a smaller gathering at one of lads place… and since this was whitin the recomendations , well under 50 people everything was fine… I was invited, short of cash but old compadres… they let me print som shirts and stickers for the gathering and I was loaded again…. ( yes the paid me to do so)

For you to fully understand this story, I have to tell you that my brother Wedman who intivited me to this gathering is by the graze of god and the king of sweden a panser officer… and yes… he gave me…. amr….(army map reference) sorry to say I had a computer crash… so your old signals Sgt kind of missed that…

So happily I kickstarted Vlad… knowing that Wedman lives to the east of me i drove to nearby Alingsås… picked up som munitions.. and gave him a call…. Hi Bro… I´m on my way… I´m in Alingsås…. And you are?…. ???? We are at XXXXX I told you? Well .. No problem… I got google maps…….

So i happily whent on my way… Destination a bit further south then I thought. But never mind… 170km later I was close.. another phone to my mate… – I´m almost there …where are you exactly??? I´m outside…XXXXXX – What the hell are you saying????????????? you are in Småland?????? We are in Värmland…. ???????

Ooooops….. Wedman then says… look on your phone…. messenger…. and yes… easy enough… just click on the link and google maps did tell me that XXXXX where they where was 240km away… the xxxx I had been aiming for was 2.800 meters away….

Well… a party is a party,,, a party with veterans is something else…. back on vlad and heading north… not a bad ride at all…. until I had about 30 km to my destination…. Then the rain started pouring down…. So Vlad thought it was a good idea to test my skills in finding the reason to why he all of a sudden descided to only run on one cylinder and backfire as soon as I opened the throttle…

So I stopped at a layby…. Checked the spark plugs… both wet… But wait… That rubber thingy that goes on to plug on the left cylinder felt strange…. come to think about… how come that a bike built in soviet union always break down on the left side???

Back to fault finding… yep… the cap over the plug was not ok… It might have been the kids who couldn´t resist to climb on to vlad when I was having a cooffee earlier on that might have kicked it a little… Well,, kids are kids I don´t blame em…

So what to do… no spares for this kind of problem… out with my trusty old leatherman… cut the cap in half… and yes it was broken… so stripped the cord… wrapped it around the spark plug secured it with a nut… Yihaaaa Vlad fired up…. Well sort of….

My McGyver solution got me about 900 meters and then Vlad was back to running one cylinder… But… Running… 28 km to go… pouring rain… sood it. I´m riding on…. Doing 60kmh is not to bad… oh dear… forgot about that hill ahead……… well….. just push it…. 30kmh…. but making progress….. but that RV (husbil/mobilehome) is very close now….. Hmmm ??? Maybe?? if I try nudge my make shift spark plug cap?? Could that help???

Nope… Note to self…. Dont touch sparkplugs, wires or anything connected to an ignition coil in pouring rain with a running engine wearing soaked gloves….

My acrobatics must have been something to see…. never mind… that RV held its distance after this…..

There is moore to tell you about… But to be honest.. almost 3 in the morning… I will continue tomorrow… Stay tuned…

Stefan

Yes… This post is way past its sell by date…

And there is nothing I can say to make this right… Guess that´s the way it is when the writer is a biker with a sailing-problem fighting the PTSD that has found a god home and a safe port in his brain?

I will try to get back to this later on.. But now I will try to get back to the end of my journey that I have been writing about…

Last picture showed a nice and tidy and very flat Holland… after that pic i rode on.. And after a few hours the sun went down and so did the temperature… I stopped to get som petrol and I also put my leathers one for the first time this trip..

Amazing isn´t… Sweden… England in late August and now on my back home in early September and for the first time I now felt the need to wear leather??

So there I was… In leathers… bike filled up… it was dark… and Chicago was not in sight and I wasn´t wearing sunglasses ( and no cigarettes)… Well… I decided to head for Germany and Kiel…

Kickstarted Vlad… and then the engine stalled… Another attempt.. And it stalled…. Strange? Well… next attempt i started and I could keep it running using the throttle… Aha idle is a bit low…??

To be honest it was more than a bit low… Right carb ok… left one… ?? Oh dear… the idle screw had left the housing… Time to go Mc Gyver… A leatherman and some plastic, a stainles screw and a stubborn Sgt .. Well after an hour my engine was just fine again….

That fix is still in operation today….

So off I went… crossed in to Germany in the dark… rode for an hour and then I hear thunder.. and after a few minutes the rain occured,, not much but still … rain…. feeling tired and and starting to realize that Kiel still is a couple of hours away i stopped at a rest area… Full with Lorries from east Europe.. Sad to myself.. If they can sleep here so can I…

And if The Polizei will find me and wake me up? The worst that would happen would be that they let me sleep in a nice and dry zell..??

So I found a nice bush with big branches and big leaves.. And beneath it was dry.. Rolled out my mattress and sleeping bag and soon I was fast asleep.. Mind you still in my leathers.. If I was to be arrested I thought it was better to go to PolizieStazion with my pants on…..

In the morning… No Polizei showed up and I was fit to hit the road…..



The rest of the journey to Kiel was a walk in the park.. Since I now was there a day before schedule I rode around town for a while thinking about finding a place for the night.. But then I remembered that I had a Flexi Ticket… Went to the Stena Terminal and walked in.. found my way to the third floor and sure… No problems… after a short while I was booked on the next ferry…

After boarding I found my cabin.. took a shower and before I know I was in bed… Guess that my brain was quite happy with impressions after this trip and it decided that I might as well get some sleep??

Next morning…. In Swedish waters… sailing in to Gothenburg.. Found Vlad sitting on cardeck… left the ferry.. and then on my way home… the rain pours… And this is the end of this story and my journey…

S.FF.S

Stefan

Will fill you in about PTSD in a later post…

Yes… You are absolutely right….

I have been neglecting you, not on purpose but I do feel that I have waited way to long to tell you about the last bit of my trip….

Well,, On Monday I woke up in Harwich, and yes.. I snoozed a bit… And then I packed my tent and gear in what must be my personal best time..

Vlad started on the first kick,, rode down to the ferry and checked in, and then I went on board the ship that was about to set sail for Holland… When I parked in the belly of the ship I realized that I had put my cloves on the sidecar..

And guess what… now I was one glove short.. and yes, it was my favorite gloves.. I told myself that on such a marvelous trip there must something not going my way.. So I strapped vlad to the floor and then found my way up to the lounge deck…

Found myself a cup of coffee and and empty chair and to be honest even with a lost glove in my mind I was a happy camper…

After a little while a good looking women in bikerleathers approached me… Excuse me she said.. You don´t happen do miss a glove do you??

I wish that I could have seen the look on my face,, there she stood.. an amazon in leathers… holding my missing glove in her hand.. She had spotted my glove riding on the ship and stopped to pick it up… Unbelievable.. My beloved gloves was now a pair again…

The crossing over to Hoek Van Holland when according to schedule and me and Vlad soon found out that we now was supposed to drive on the right… ( yes I made a slight mistake when I left the terminal)

Stopped at the side of the road and tried to make up some plans for the rest of my trip.. I had earlier on looked at campsite a couple of hours from Hoek Van Holland.. So I gave them a call but to my surprise they where closed for the season..

And since roads in Holland mostly are straight and flat I convinced myself that it could be a clever idea just to drive and see how far I could reach before I was a danger to myself and other people on the roads..

Oh dear… Now its late again… Well… I will be back…

S.F.F.S

Stefan

Well sometimes sooner is later….

And yes I do know that it has been more than a few days since I wrote that more will follow soon.. And to be honest. That is the way I am… Even if I got the will to tell you all about my journey my mind is not always on the same track..

As some of you know I got my diagnose and even if I am on my way to understand how my brain works, or not work for that matter.. I´m not always able to control my ability to sit down and produce those lines that I am so keen to share with you…

But now I´m sitting here and its time for me to tell you about the later part of this journey of mine..

On Sunday everyone was packing their tents and gear and even if I do know that all of us wished that this weekend would be a day longer it was time for us all to get our bikes started and head for the next destination… In my case this was either going back to the friendliest Pub in England (The Prince Of Wales) or try to find a place to put up my tent close to the ferry terminal in Harwich…

Since I was booked on a ferry at nine a clock Tuesday morning I decided to have a look at google maps and to my surprise this time I found a Pub with a campsite 15 minutes away from the Ferry.. Wonder why I didn´t find this place when i arrived in England.. If I had then I could have made a great entrance at The Spirits Agm when all the others was there instead of beeing caught with my hairy legs sticking out my tent and the rest of my body snoring inside….???

Never mind… My relation to the Spirits was by no means affected by their first impression of me…. ( guess I pulled my legs in before they could smell my feets??)

Oh Dear,, looks like a lost my track … back on track… Sunday.. In Rutland… Said Good Bye to all my new friends and fired up Vlad.. Since both Stow Maries (The Prince of Wales) and Harwich was in the same direction I didnt had to make my mind up right away…

Later in the afternoon it was time to make a decision .. Should I head for The Prince Of Wales where I now I was welcome to put up my tent for one more night or should I try the Pub close to the ferry???

Well… knowing myself and the punters and lovely staff at The Prince of Wales I didn´t see the odds of me being up at seven a clock the next morning being in my favour I settled for Harwich…

The ride down to Harwich was straight forward… Vlad performed well and in the afternoon I found the Pub with a campsite.. The last few yards was pretty slow due to fact that the road was crowded..The street was packed with people participating in a running contest.. Not a big problem as none of them where planning to spend the night in a tent.. But the line of people wating to get to the toilet was a bit of a sight…

Everyone that wasnt running needed to go… So I sat down at the Pub with a pint and looked at the show.. There was a few raised eyebrows when people in trainers all of a sudden found out that they where not the only ones that wanted to use the facilities …

But soon the competition was over and things went back to normal.. for me that meant buying a bottle of Coke and som crisps and I got back to my tent..

But now its getting late … time for me to get som sleep…

So stay tuned,,,

And the show goes on…

And even i missed the trip that all of the Cossacks did on Saturday I had a great day, The reason that I stayed at the camp was that I had I minor oil leak that I wanted to have a look at and It was also time to replace my clutch cable..

Replacing the cable was a straight forward job but the oil leak was i bit harder to get around.. Peter from the Cossacks gave some good advise and explained the lubrication system of the Dnepr engine and we both come to the conclusion that the oil leak could wait until I was back home in Sweden..

This since it probably was a leakage from the pushrodtubes and that was according to Peter something that I should wait to take apart until I was safely home again.. And I can assure you that Peter did his best to teach me about the secrets of my engine.. And I told him honestly.. I am still learning..

I cant say that I am a good mechanic, but I have learned a lot during the time that I have owned my Dnepr and I´m a little proud to say that I have been able to improvise, adapt and overcome the mechanicals issues that happens when you are stubborn enough to ride fairly long distances on a bike built in the former Soviet Union..

And talking about long distance… On Sunday the Cossacks summoned me to a small gathering at the campsite… And.. I am so proud to tell you that I was handed a prize for the longest distance…

This marvelous prize is casted by a man from the Cossack Owners Club and I cant thank you all enough.. I am so proud that I am lost for words…. Once again.. Thanks from a proud Swede…

And its a bit special that this prize was for this years longest distance.. After all it went to a Dnepr rider…. As you can see its the KMZ logotype in red… The top and bottom words says “Heavy Motorcycles” and the the rest says Kiev 1952… Thats the year the production of Dneprs started… Well… to be honest I am not sure which year the name Dnepr first occured.. But i do belive its a bit later then 1952… In that year they started to produce the 750 flathead for the army.. Thats the bike that now is known as the K750M…

And here is a very fine example of just that motorcycle.. In excellent condition and I must say that I do hope that I in my lifetime will get the opportunity to own a flathead….. To me this is the ultimate bike from the Soviet era…

And even i both me and Charlie rides bikes that are a mish mash of parts and both are rides are a bit of “ratbike” style.. No one at this rally rises an eyebrow.. Its just… You ride.. you are here … And you are just very welcome… At a cossacks rally every kind of rider and every kind of old soviet bike is more than welcome… And yes.. The bikes doesnt even have to be built in the Soviet era.. Newer russian made Urals are welcome..

And if you got another brand that has it origin behind the Iron Curtain,, Please bring them as well.. But the Izh and others are a bit rare.. but they are out there and most likely anyone that visits the next rally in 2020 will have a chance to see bikes that you might only heard about…

Next years rally.. Thats the big one… I do hope that I can go there.. So hopefully,, If God will and Tsar so allows .. I might be there…

So for now… Fair Winds…

(there will be more to read soon)

Stefan

Cossacks in Rutland….

As you all already might have guessed… I followed my friend Charlie to the CossackOwnersClub.. and we went to attend their AGM… And why should I break my habits… I was the first one to set up my tent and me and Charlie was the first bikes to arrive att the CossackOwners AGM…

Well almost… At the campsite there was a tent,, and a bike… to our astonishment it was a Harley parked next to the first tent in the site of the rally???

Mind… this picture is taken later… but the Harley and the tent behind was there when me an Charlie went round the corner…. We had a brief conversation… Do we really want to set up our tents next to a Harley???? Well, as I remembered I said I can set up my tent next to HD… ( this since I dont believe that they are contagious..?? )

Later we learned that the Sportster belonged to a very nice man who we had a lot of things to be grateful to… He is one of the brave souls who keeps the Cossack Owners Club up and running…

And now to the part of my story that I so wish that had more pictures of… Like the man who parked between me and the Harley seen above.. But you see.. Alan… He is a man that in many ways make you believe,, As for me I all of a sudden believed that it was more important to talk to my next brother, having a good time and enjoying myself… Rather than taking pictures…

Well back to Alan… A biker that rides a Ural Classic,, with a sidecar.. not a stock one ,, but a more modern one with i smaller tire on the car.. But still.. He rides a Ural sidecaroutfit… A biker amongst bikers… Long hair..scruffy beard.. waxed cottons.. just a plain old school biker… ?? Well, his collar was a bit different… A man of the Clergy… And a bloody nice biker.. !!!

Then sun went down.. All my new friends gathered around the red tent… a small fire was lit.. (Doc.. if you reading this… Yes its possible to have a small bonfire..) And we sat down and had a few beers and a good talk… But all a sudden a small plastic bottle emerges.. I saw a few taking a sip.. faces looking a bit surprised … Since your writer is a good listener… I had picked up a few words earlier..

When it was my turn I had swig.. and yes,, It was Slivo.. and good Slivo.. So I said “Vhala Draga,,, Dobro Sliwowica..”.. And then there was a few raised eyebrows… Cant really blame them.. How should they know that I have spent a couple of years at the Balkans during the war…??

The Lady who provided the bottle have lived in England for many years but she was born in Slovenia.. So even if my accent was off and my words not that many she still could perfectly understand what I was saying…

So before I finish this post.. Let me get back to Kharma… Well as far I am concerned.. Kharma has been around the whole trip…

More to thell…

Fair Winds

Stefan

Wednesday… The journey continues….

Its now the 28 of August.. The sun is shining and I decided to move on.. A bit reluctant to leave The Prince of wales , The friendliest Pub in the Uk , but there is more to see in sunny old England..

So packed my gear and started Vlad, now the course was set towards F2 MotorCycles, a company who sells parts for all old bikes from the Soviet Union.. And since I have heard a lot of good things about David Angel and his shop it was an easy choice to do so…

On this entire trip I have used my phone mounted on my handlebars, And yes I know… I have always said that I´m and old fart that likes to get lost the analog way … But I have to admit… Using Google Maps made this trip a lot easier…

So my Samsung and Google took me and Vlad over the lovely English backroads and I rode trough som spectacular villages and had a great time on the road and all of a sudden I find myself being very close to F2 MotorCycles… In fact I shot past the place and then managed to turn my rig around in a neighbouring lumberyard and then i rolled back a short distance and there it was….

First thing I saw was a man who was an ancestor to the folks that made Hadrianus build the wall…

On the picture above we see Charlie McIntyre and David Angel.. David runs F2 MotorCycles and Charlie rides a Ural.. Charlie and I had a talk when we waited for David to attend to his customers … The phone was ringing off the hook and I must say thats a good thing… A company like F2 deserves all its customers and as a Dnepr rider I´m glad that we got men like David who keep the parts that I need in stock…

Me and my new friend Charlie come to the conclusion that we both needed to visit Halfords.. This because F2 was out of the type of oil that both me and Charlie wanted for our bikes.. But I did got some gaskets and clutchwire.. And thats something you don´t find at Halfords..

After getting what we wanted Charlie told me that he had found a nearby Pub that also had a campsite… Great news.. So I gladly followed Charlie to the Rose And Crown.. and Yes, they had room for two moore campers..

By this time me and Charlie had come to the conclusion that we where kindred souls who shared the same passion for old bikes.. and we both where more than a little surprised when we had a look at each others numberplates…..

What are the odds for this??? His bike from Scotland and mine from Sweden…!!

So we sat up our tents and made ourselfs comfortable

Thursday morning I slept late and when I got out of my tent I had come to the conclusion that my planned trip to London and the Ace Cafe wasnt a must anymore… Heavy traffic and me and Vlad on English roads doesnt mate very well so when Charlie said that he planned to stay another night I was quite happy doing the same….

Friday morning I got out of bed in a fairly normal time and then it was time for breakfast… and indeed this was a breakfast to remember….

After this meal I wasnt teally sure about my plans… I was thinking about riding back to Harwich and maybe get on a earlier ferry to Holland… I was booked on monday morning but was thinking of maybe do some tourist stuff in Holland…

But… as soon I was back at my bike and tent I met a smiling Charlie… ” Guess What.. The CossackOwnersClub… Their AGM starts today in Rutland, Its an hour and a half from here… You want to come along???”

Hmm??? Let me see??? Holland..?? Well.. Holland will still be there for a while but a Cossack Owners Rally that is only once a year?? So it was time to pack our gear and off we went….

More will follow…

Stay tuned and fair winds…. Stefan

Another update…

But now I´m a few days back in my story,, you see even if there is millions of Urals and Dneprs built during the years they are still kind of rare to be seen on the roads in our modern society…

So when you set out on a journey crossing a couple of countries you must be prepared to meet a lot of nice people who wants to ask a few questions about you somewhat odd bike…

And ever so often they will take a few pictures.. and sometimes the even take my card and then uses my information to send me an e-mail with som pictures..

So did a very nice man … Guenter from Hamburg..

Oh dear… I might admit the man in that black leather jacket is actually me… And I promise… I´m really a nice man… even if the picture gives you a totally different impression….

And here is another picture of me.. By the way i look I must say that I´m probably taking a good look at my bike and trying to see if something has fell off…..

And here is me and the bike from another view …

And all those pictures comes from Guenter from Hamburg…

Many Thanks… Its always nice to get some good pictures…

Fair Winds

Stefan

Trying to catch up…

The day after the AGM… Kickstarted Vlad and went up to my home away from home… That´s Trooper Spirits garage.. You see, the club is after this weekend my extended family.. And when I have a slight problem with a minor oil leak and my brother lives close by and got a fine workshop.. Then you ride home and sit down with your brother and try to solve things…

Simple and quite natural don´t you think`?

And that is just the way it is… Bikers.. Friends … Family…

So we kind of sorted my problems… at least on oil leak… but there was more.. as always when you are on a bike bult in the Soviet Union… I will get back to this later…

After that I had a very nice cup of coffee together with Trooper and family I went back to Stow Maries and the Prince Of Wales…

And then again… back to the Club… when everyone was packing and tidying after the AGM Asbo told me that he had talked to the landlord and I was welcome to stay with my tent as long as I wished… To me this is heartwarming … a BikerClub… a Club that have made a such good impression that the landlord is letting a far away guest stay as long as he want?

Off course I rode back… Mind you ,,it would have been a bit silly to do otherwise since I had left my tent and gear in the field..??

Never the less… Back … Parked Vlad and went in to the Pub… Not so many guests.. But a good Pub is never about numbers… ( nor is a bike club) A few known faces smiled at me and I soon got a lovely pint in front of me…

And then someone asked… What did you think about… The Show… John Otway.. ??? Well… a bit confused I said… What..???

So what to do? Found my phone… Googled John Otway… And Yes… this man was a musician and entertainer in my taste… Shame I missed him?? Or did I?

You see next to me was a lovely women.. sorry to say I cant remember here name… But I can assure you her tits will remember my eyes… ( she had a nice cleaveage) She said, If you have any questions about John Otway… Ask him… You are sitting next to him….

Oh Dear… But no worries… John turned out to be a fantastic and laid back bloke… In fact.. if he rode a bike he would be a prospect…

Now I would call it the night…

But there is moore…

Fair Winds

Stefan

AGM…

Yes, this is the one and only reason that I filled my old Dnepr with campingear.. Surströmming.. Bullens Pilsnerkorv.. Pölsa… Spareparts,, tools.. first aid kit moore tools.. Did I mention spareparts? Doesnt matter,, more spareparts…

As you all allready know I made it to the place for the occasion and I set up base in a field behind a Pub… woke up at around 8.. decided to sleep a bit moore… then woke up realizing that the English sunshine had turned my tent in to a sauna.. No problem… just open up the tent and put two thirds of my body outside the tent and then back to sleep…

So then you might understand that the first The Sprits did see of my was my hairy legs, my butt and after that I woke up my very puzzled face… ???

And thats a good start of a friendship isnt it? And indeed in this case it was… The Spirits is bikerclub… formed by bikers in 1963… Its a club that is a true bikersclub.. its all about motorbikes and having a good time.. So me sleeping with the major part of my body outside my tent/sauna was just a good laugh..

And now to the AGM… There is enough to be said about these three days to write a novell… But.. I´m not about to do that… In fact.. I wont tell you very much at all….. Why?? Because the Spirits are what they are,,, Bikers.. Bikers who gets together , Bikers who invites friends and family to have a good time… And If you would like to get know the club,, I´m more than happy to invite you to join me.. Just grab your tent and sleepingbag and get on your bike and I will show you the way…

You see thats the way this Club has been for so many years.. And they wont change,, and why should they? In a world where so many live their life in the virtual reality its a fresh breath to go to a good old analog bikerparty!!!

And I can tell you this much.. We had a good time..This August bank holiday is a memory that will be mentioned in coming books of history.. The weather for one… Going back home from the UK in august with a sun tan… So much for my joke about “Sunny Old England” And the party itself… I´m a little surprised that we didnt leave a mark on the richterscale… but I do belive we where pretty close of doing that…

There is a few things I do would like to tell you about the AGM… “Surströmming” Yes everyone was absolutely clear in their opinion… It smells, and it smells a lot,,, and it smells awful…. And serving this to true bikers at a party? Well,, they ate it… And I am still welcome to the next AGM… I think that goes for proof of what kind of bikers we ar talking about??

But my trip aint over yet… got moore to tell you… and I promise… I will… and I do belive I got some pictures as well….

Until then

Fair Winds

Stefan