friendship and camaraderie of life on the road. Now, what will they do together next year?
After leaving Dave Hand in Scandinavia, Brian Rix and Shirley Hardy-Rix headed to Russia and are now making their way through Central Asia with their next goal in sight: Vladivostok. Read more about them on their webpage,
www.aussiesoverland.com.au or on Facebook, “Aussies Overland.”
Trondheim.
at a wayside point inside to put on our wets. Dave admitted this was some really hard riding, and he used to race motorcycles. We were all struggling, and there was an unspo- ken fear that we would be blown off the road. We finally got to Skarsvag, the town clos-
est to Nordkapp, where we were spending two nights, hoping for a break in the weather to get to the top. Shirley admitted she’d been pushed well past her comfort zone, but after a hot shower and in some dry clothes, things didn’t look quite so bad. On Friday, June 12, the weather hadn’t
changed. It was raining, windy and cold. We were closer to the North Pole than we were to Oslo, the capital of Norway, and Nord- kapp was just under eight miles (12k) away. It was hard to believe, but riding that short distance the weather got even bleaker, colder and windier. Waiting to pay our entrance fee at the
ticket booth, we nearly got blown off the bikes. We parked the bikes beside a motorhome, using the bigger vehicle as a wind break. There was a monument to mark the northern most point of Europe, and walking out there was difficult with the high winds swirling up the cliff face from the water, which was 330 yards (307 metres) below us. Dave and Brian had to hold Shir- ley down so she didn’t get blown off her feet, and the wind literally took our breath away. It was hard to hear each other speak over the roar of the wind, but we all knew
September 2015 BMW OWNERS NEWS 67
how we were feeling. This was quite an achievement. We had
made it to the top of Europe. We shouldn’t underestimate what we have done, riding in biting winds, snow, hail and rain through snowfields, mountain passes and alongside fjords. We had seen beauty that is hard to put
into words, and photos don’t do it justice. But most importantly we had done it
together. Brian Rix, Shirley Hardy-Rix and Dave Hand had shared something incredi- bly special, bound together by the
Below, A break in Nordkapp. Right, Dave Hand, Brian Rix and Shirley Hardy-Rix pose for a photo.
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