March 30, 2010
By GEOFFREY STOUTE
BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO REPLACE A HEAD GASKET?
At first glance, passersby would think it was two men whose motorcycles had broken down in Berwick and others had stopped to offer assistance.
There’s Tormod Amlien, who sat on the ground fixing his motorbike on a sunny, comfortably cool Monday afternoon, while his friend, Klaus Ulvestad stood nearby talking to curious onlookers and motorcycle enthusiasts gathered around in the Berwick convenience store/gas station parking lot.
But once these two begin talking, it’s apparent they’re not your “average bikers.”
Both are from Norway and currently on a five-continent journey to explore the world, meet people and get away from their jobs.
“It’s a scientific expedition to find the best place in the world to replace a head gasket,” Amlien joked of his current plight, as he takes a break from fixing the blown head gasket on his 1937 Nimbus, a Denmark motorbike.
Almost daily, Amlien said, he has to fix the gasket on his bike and the latest incident occurred while crossing the Atchafalaya River from Morgan City into Berwick.
Luckily, though, Amlien has local connections.
A few days ago when the gasket blew in New Orleans, he found out about local machine shop owner Scott Tudury ( apexcnc.com )through an acquaintance in New York.
He brought the bike to St. Mary Parish and Scott Tudury assisted him in repairing it. And now, just days later, the pesky gasket has blown again, and he called Tudury for help again — this time in the Berwick gas station parking lot.
“It’s very predictable because it breaks almost every day,” Amlien said of his bike.
Amlien, along with Ulvestad, who is riding a 1938 Nimbus, have traveled through Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, South Korea and entered the United States in Seattle. They’ve also made a stop in Canada.
They have traveled from Seattle to New York and then down south where they made the pit stop Monday evening in Berwick. They plan to continue west to Los Angeles and then travel south to Buenos Aires before crossing the Atlantic and returning to South Africa and riding up the east African coast before concluding the journey in Norway.
They have been traveling since April 2009 and hope to conclude the journey this December. “But (it) probably will take some more time,” Amlien said.
Along their travel, they have made friends, too.
At a motor show in New York, they met Eddie Hollander of Brooklyn, who is traveling with them across the United States.
And through Adventure Rider motorcycle forum, they met Ritchie Labat of Thibodaux, who has shown them a glimpse of Cajun country and is riding with them through Louisiana.
While Amlien had been considering this journey for a few years and had been saving money and supplies for it, both he and Ulvestad had to make sacrifices.
When they saw how long the journey was, they were forced to choose whether the journey was more important than their jobs.
They chose the journey, meaning Ulvestad gave up his job as a gas station manager, while Amlien quit his job as a mechanical engineer in the oil field industry.
Throughout the journey, the group has found lodging through word of mouth — literally. People they stay with along the way are calling ahead and informing others of travel plans. Always, they are accommodated.
In fact, someone in the small Louisiana community of Kramer offered their houseboat for the group to stay if they stop in Austin, Texas. “Americans have been very helpful,” Amlien said. When they can’t find a place to stay, they find a place to camp out.Ulvestad said that appears what the group would do Monday, which was Ulvestad’s 44th birthday.
So far, the group has traveled 18,000 miles. On an average day, they travel 200 miles. However, it all depends on the conditions of the roads.
While the trip is long, it’s been worth it for the two Norwegians and those accompanying them.
“It’s one of those things where, if you have to ask why, you just don’t get it,” Hollander said.
More information about the duo and their trip can be found at www.kccd.no.
Daily Review Newspaper March 2010
