I had planned to do this trip this summer but that pesky work stuff got in the way so only managed Southern Europe. Anyway the general idea is to leave the UK and head for Nordkapp then drop down the far side of the Baltic through Estonia etc before heading back to the UK. The exact route isn't finalised and, if anyone is interested, could be varied to suit. Looks like around 5,400 miles so something like 5 weeks duration.

When planning these sort of trips I aim to ride 4 days then have a day off. I tend to travel at between 60 and 70 mph speed limits permitting and do around 200 miles/day to give time to have a look round places on route. Usually camp but sometimes have cheap(ish) hotel for days off. Again specifics will depend on when and where.

If anyone is interested for all or part then let me know. Currently planning to leave around 25th August 2012 returning around the end of September.

A couple of friends and I did a "Lap of the Baltic" in late June and most of July this year. Have a look here at our route and feel free to ask any questions you might have.
Rick

www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/rickmcd

This one could fit into my plan which looks like:

Up the Norwegian coastline (very scenic to Trondheim), then up to North Cape, then to Kirkenes and into Russia, then Murmansk - St. Petersburg and eventually flip over to Finland - Sweden - South Norway or the Baltic states and back via Germany.

I have yet to decide the exact time next year but I am very flexible and will undertake the tour, so it would be great to join.

Ridden lots of tours in demanding places both on and offroad, currently on a Tiger 800 XC and furthermore speak and comprehend all the Scandinavian languages, also manage enough Russian to survive on the road.

Cheers

I am interested in a "short" trip around the Baltic at the back end of August next year. Presently in Chile but heading North so keep me updated please. Ride safe.

__________________
Mike
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Mike is riding the twisty road in the sky

RickMcD - Will take a look at your stuff - thanks.

Bard - sounds like we might have some travelling in common. I too want to go to the Trondheim area after seeing picks of the great island hoping roads. Like the idea of Murmansk and St Petersburg. Follow that with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland etc and that would make a great circuit. Hadn't originally planned on Russia to avoid having to sort visas but no real problem.

Dates wise I have 11th June through to the 21st July or as originally stated around the 29th of August to mid October.

Hitting North Cape in September could (most likely) include the surprise of ice on the road, as the median temperature in the area is +5,5 centigrades at that time and below +4 you get ice on tarmac, the temperatures is normally max +9 deg C min -2 deg C. You will also miss the midnight sun which ends the 29th July at North Cape, However it's also a pretty dry month in the area so I could join you then as well, no prob.

The ideal would be June - July dates as temperatures is higher and also the midnight sun is up, so there is a lot of wow factor included. My hope was to do the the tour then either end it with the 5-8th July HU meet in Derbyshire, or do the tour right after, but as I state I am 100% flexible.

So if you are keen on the scenic route I can join whichever of the two date ranges fits you. It will be an awesome tour

Russia is not a big problem for Visa, you don't need a Carnet and if your insurance company issue a green card it's fully valid there. So it's actually not very hard. Visa a travel company does for you, just bring that, the green card and an IDP and go, it also makes the trip far more exiting as some places you travel 50 years back in time, furthermore experience excellent Russian hospitality. So Russia will add a lot of flair of adventure you would otherwise miss.

When you hit the Polar Circle (66,6 Degrees North)and think wow almost there, the shortest distance to North Cape (71,2 degrees North) is 1173km or about 729 miles (almost same as a ride from Eastbourne England to Thurso Scotland), and the scenic route is estimated 1524km or about 947 miles... As the name implies North Cape is really far North, further North than most imagine. A rough estimate for a nice scenic tour would be Derbyshire - North Cape 3000 miles, then another 3500 miles back when riding Baltic states. So roughly between 6000 - 7000 mile journey. You can as many do, skip all the scenic routes and just go for North Cape through Sweden then back via Finland to Poland and autobahn back, but that is go to get there and back, and that's it really and then I won't go.