Dumb way round from Norway

TORMOD AMLIEN PHOTOES FOR THE TORONTO STAR

Tormod Amlien (left) and Klaus Livestad found the routes in the Far East, including this one in Mongolia, brutal on their antique Nimbus bikes.

Allan Johnson

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Going around the world by motorcycle is nothing new.

Since 1912, when Carl Stevens Clancy of New York did it on a new Henderson four-cylinder, thousands of adventure-loving motorcyclists have made the trip.

What's unique about each journey isn't the feat, it's the personalities who undertake it. So it is with two self-professed "idiot Norwegians" cruising the globe on 73-year-old antique Danish bikes.

When Tormod Amlien and Klaus Ulvestad travelled through Southern Ontario during the Christmas holidays, they were about 27,000 km through a planned 70,000-km global adventure.

They're doing it on 1937 Nimbus motorcycles. The large box sidecar on each motorcycle is loaded with tools and parts.

The only major modification to the bikes, apart from careful rebuilding and overhaul, has been the installation of an aftermarket four-speed gear cluster developed by a Danish Nimbus specialist.

The men sometimes refer to the trip as the "Dumb Way Round Tour." At other times, they call it by its more obtuse name: "King Croesus Contempt for Death Tour."

Croesus was a legendary Greek king who declared that there were aspects of life more important than wealth. Their entertaining web site (www.kccd.no) is named after Croesus, and Amlien and Ulvestad do seem to embrace the ascetic and eccentric way they're travelling.

The tour started in April in their homeland then headed east across Europe, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea and the U.S. After Christmas in Canada they were on their way back through the U.S., headed for Central and South America, then South Africa.

From there, they aim to head north through Africa and Europe, back toward Norway. The determined, husky, bearded bikers hope to be home by next Christmas. Both men are bachelors with no children and they've put their work life on hold to go around the world.

Amlien, 30, and Ulvestad, 43, have no support vehicles or backup crew. They have what they can carry on the bikes, and rely on the people they meet if help with language or finding camping grounds is needed.

Their trek ran into problems early, when the men discovered the first ferry they aimed to board had not been operating for two years. They later spent two weeks in South Korea hunting up a Norwegian cargo boat to ship their motorcycles across the Pacific.

The Mongolian part of the trip took its toll.

"The roads are pretty rough," says Amlien. Ulvestad adds, "My bike has head gasket problems as well. Lots of repairs."

In Russia, their cameras and computers were stolen. "Now someone has the only PC in Russia with a locked Norwegian keyboard. I offered to send them my finger so they could unlock it," says Amlien.

Without fairings or windshields, driving across the U.S. and Canada in December was arduous.

On Jan. 5, the two men reached Hartland, Vt., where they planned to stay for a while to do serious overhaul work before travelling south along the east coast. Amlien's bike was running on only two cylinders, had no clutch, was stuck in one gear and needed to be towed the last 200 metres.

Along with the rigours, however, there have also been many highlights for the Norwegians, including their drop-in visit to Erik Buell, who they convinced to help repair their motorcycles.

As for their trip through Ontario, the weather is what made an impression.

"We have handlebar muffs but my fingers suffer from the cold. We took 10 hours to do nearly 400 km," says Amlien.

Still, that's another 400 km of the world travelled. For two jovial men hell-bent on finishing what they've started, any discomfort is just part of the adventure.

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