Travels with Orange: the honeymoon.

[moilami]

Hello friends!

Tomorrow (or today as it seems to be now AM at night), I am going to do a Honeymoon with Orange. She is a fully stock Skyteam ST 250, except one mod: I removed a rubber thingy of the gear lever because it annoyed me.

I am notorious in doing pre-honeymoons with my girls, and Orange is no exception. However since Orange is "different", and she has been perfect in places where I have taken "ordinary" girls, I am going to challenge both me and her this time. I am going to travel with Orange to the Northermost part of Europe and swim in Barents Sea, which is part of Arctic Ocean. This I do because it is kind of tradition in Finland, to get rid of "winter fur" by swimming for the first time in the current year when the water is still cold. It is also tradition to travel to Norway and swim in Barents Sea, always referred as Arctic Ocean. The Latter Tradition seems to be known by exchange students in Finland, I have heard many times Polish and German women wanting to travel to Norway through Finland and swim in Arctic Ocean, and actually doing it. I am not sure if they have heard of it in Finland or is it a common tradition. I bet they have heard it from Finlanders and then just thought and said "okay" xD Amazing ladies they were.

So much introduction, lets see what Google maps suggests as a route from Mikkeli to Nordkapp.

Click for the Google map. (Could not embed the map for some reason directly on this page and have no time to troubleshoot why sorry.)

Hmm, ok, I bet I wont go that route. Anyway it says it is 1357 km from Mikkeli to Nordkapp. Almost 1337 km! Who can find better? I can't. That makes me happy enough to accept I can't go to Kola Peninsula for a honeymoon.

I tried to plan the route with Google maps and got 100 km done before I shrugged and realized I really want to observe, plan, and navigate with paper maps. Ask yourself what Rommel would had done? I really don't know, but I would lol at him if he used Google maps and made a detailed route plan. Travelling is like war in some ways; you never know what happens and thus all detailed plans can be wasted. I have also heard that god laughs at the plans what the people do. I don't want to get laughed at by a god! So I keep my plan as simple as possible, which is still a plan and thus subject to go "wrong". A honeymoon trip from Mikkeli to Nordkapp. Need to get something to start up with

One thing I almost forgot. I talked with her doctor:

- Good evening, it is Mikko Moilanen who calls, I had the Skyteam 'duro.
- Hello!
- I need to go get rid of the winter fur in Arctic Ocean during the midsummer. Is it possible to get the valves adjusted before that?
- Do you hear any strange sounds?
- Hmm, can't say so but I am not experienced with four strokes.
- Just go then.
- Ok.
- How much you have driven now?
- 1900 km.
- Change the oils before you go.
- Ok.
- You know how to do it.
- Yeah.
- Ok then, just go and bye for now.
- Bye and good midsummer.
- Oh yeah!

This must be the first time in my life I wish someone wishes me good luck. For the first time in my life I think I really need it.

I don't take computers with me so I wont post photos during the trip, unless I can do it convenietly somewhere, which I doubt since I know no people in the Northern Finland. After finishing the trip I am going to do some kind of summary of it.

Fellas, drive safely.