HELGE IS A NORWEGIAN LIVING IN SEATTLE.
HE HAS DRIVEN A MOTORCYCLE AROUND THE WORLD OVER A TEN YEAR PERIOD OF TIME. HE TRAVELLED ON A BMW R80/GS AND IS A WELL KNOWN PHOTOJOURNALIST, HIS ARTICLES AND PHOTOS APPEARING IN LEADING MAGAZINES.
HELGE'S STORY: TEN YEARS ON TWO WHEELS
ANOTHER WEBSITE ALSO FEATURES HELGE:
http://www.isomedia.com/homes/cycoative/helge/
HELGE HAS JUST RETURNED FROM A SIBERIA-MONGOLIA-CHINA TRIP WHERE HE TOOK OVER 6000 SLIDES.
WE RECEIVED THIS POSTCARD FROM HIM ABOUT HIS RUSSIAN JOURNEY.
WE MADE IT FROM MAGADAN TO TYNDA, BAM, UST-KUT, ULAN UDE AND NOW MONGOLIA. WHAT A GREAT COUNTRY TO BIKE AND CAMP IN. NEXT WEEK WE ARE ON TO CHINA. WE HAD MANY MECHANICAL PROBLEMS BUT SO FAR WE ARE STILL GOING STRONG. WILL BE BACK IN OCTOBER.
HE RECENTLY WROTE TO US OF HIS TRIP:
I AM WRITING THIS FROM THE BUSINESS CENTER AT ULAANBAATER HOTEL. OUTSIDE THE RAIN IS PORING DOWN, BUT I AM HAPPY BECAUSE MY TRAVELINGMATE ANDY HAS USED HIS PLASTIC TO BUY US A NICE DINNER. MOST OF ALL THOUGH I AM VERY HAPPY BECAUSE OUR SPARE PARTS AND TIRES (4) ARRIVED WITH DHL TODAY. ANDY IS RECOVERING FROM A BRIEF FEVER AND THINGS ARE LOOKING PRETTY GOOD.
OUR RIDE TO ALASKA WAS VERY COLD, BUT BEAUTIFUL AND WE HAD GOOD COMPANY FROM TOMMY RYSER WHICH MADE THE TRIP EVEN BETTER. WE FLEW WITH THE RUSSIAN AEROFLOT TU154 FROM ANCHORAGE TO MAGADAN SIBERIA.
MOSQUITOS, BAD ROADS, RIVER CROSSING, MECHANICAL PROBLEMS, WELDING, BEAUTIFUL NATURE AND JUST WONDERFUL FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL PEOPLE WAS THE INGREDIENTS FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEKS. THE HARDESS PART OF THE TRIP WAS WHEN WE FOLLOWED THE BAM RAILROAD PASSING ON THE NORTHERN SHORES OF LAKE BAIKAL. THIS WAS JUST A SERVICE ROAD FOR THE RAILROAD AND SEVERAL TIMES WE HAD TO USE THE RAILROAD BRIDGES TO CROSS. THIS LASTED FOR A WEEK OR SO AND WE WORKED VERY HARD THOSE DAYS AND SO DID THE BIKES. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ENJOY THE MECHANICS OF THE BMW I CAN TELL YOU THAT BOTH ANDY AND I HAVE HAD OUR IGNITION-TRIGGERBOX FAIL. WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT THE RIVETS HOLDING THE MAGNETIC-ELECTRONIC PICKUP CAME LOOSE AND AS A RESULT THE MAGNETO EVENTUALLY WAS BROKEN LOOSE BY THE ROTATING DEVICE.
IT REALLY MADE A MESS OF ANDYS AND WE SPENT A WHOLE DAY CAMPING IN THE DITCH SUPERGLUEING AND LATER JB WELDING THE PUZZLE TOGETHER. BY NOW WE HAVE DONE THIS TWICE ON ANDYS AND ONCE ON MINE. QUITE A JOB BUT THAT IS HISTORY BECAUSE NEW ONES CAME IN THE PARCEL TODAY.
CAMPING AT THE SHORE OF LAKE BAIKAL AND SWIMMING IN THE COLD WATER MADE FOR A NICE PHOTO SESSION AND GOOD MEMORIES. TO PASS INTO MONGOLIA FROM RUSSIA WAS ANOTHER INTEREST STORY. A LOT OF FRUSTRATION AND UNCERTAINTIES, BUT EVENTUALLY WE FIGURED OUT THAT WE NEEDED TO RENT A TRAIN-BOXCAR WHERE THE BIKES AND ANDY AND I HAS TO PASS THE BOARDER. THE OTHER ROAD BOARDER, 30 KM AWAY, WAS NOT ALLOWED TO BE USED BY TOURIST. BEATS ME! THE BOXCAR COSTS US ABOUT $13.00, AND WE SPENT A WHOLE DAY WAITING INSIDE IT UNTIL A LOCOMOTIVE CAME AND PICKED US UP IN THE EVENING. BUT IT WAS NOT BEFORE 2 A.M. THAT WE STARTED TO MOVE IN THE DARK. A FEW KILOMETERS AWAY, PITCH DARK, DOGS AND SOLDIERS WERE SEARCHING THE LONG BOXCAR-CARGO TRAIN AND EVENTUALLY THEY FOUND US. PASSPORTS WERE STAMPED AND WE WENT TO SLEEP AGAIN, ON THE FLOOR. TRAIN MOVED ON A FEW KILOMETERS AND THIS TIME WE WERE DISCOVERED BY MONGOLIAN SOLDIERS AND WE WERE STAMPED INTO MONGOLIA. LATER THE NEXT TOWN THE BIKES WERE UNLOADED AND OUR CONTACT PERSON HAD FOUND US. HE HELPED US THROUGH THE PAPERWORK WITH THE CUSTOMS AND LATER REGISTRATION OF THE BIKES.
FROM THE FEW HUNDRED KILOMETERS WE HAVE BEEN RIDING DOWN TO THE CAPITOL OF MONGOLIA IS QUITE A CHANGE FROM RUSSIA, WE LOVE IT. ROLLING GREEN HILLS LOOK LIKE A HUGE GOLFCOURSE WHERE PEOPLE ARE SCATTERED IN THEIR JURTS, THE TYPICAL MONGOLIAN TENT. HUNDREDS OF HORSES, NEVER HAVE I SEEN AS MANY AS THIS.
IN THE CAPITOL WE HAVE BEEN GETTING OUR PERMISSION TO TRAVEL AROUND THE COUNTRY WHICH WE WILL START TO DO THIS SATURDAY, 7-27. BECAUSE OF UNFORTUNATE PROBLEMS WITH THE MONGOLIAN-CHINESE BORDER THAT WE WERE SUPPOSE TO PASS NOW IS CLOSING AUGUST 10, WE ARE AT THE MOMENT DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET AHOLD OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE HELPING US IN THIS PLANNING. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL ALL WORK OUT.
HELGE PEDERSEN
HELGE IS OFF TO NORWAY UNTIL 1997 AND WHEN HE RETURNS WE HOPE TO GET FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HIS TRIP. FOR SUCH GO TO
*
HELGE GIVES A FABULOUS SLIDE SHOW. AND HE HAS A BOOK IN NORWEGIAN, SOON TO BE IN ENGLISH. GO TO RESOURCES PAGE FOR INTERNATIONAL MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURERS, @ http://www.rio.com/~tynda
17 Nov 96