A dream come true

Katia Miele and her partner took on the ultimate trip from Italy to Norway’s North Cape on their Harley-Davidson^® motorcycles

For more than 10 years, my partner, Claudio, and I have been on voluntary missions, mainly in Ethiopia, in our roles as a paediatrician and nurse respectively. When we’re home in Italy, we love to explore on our Harley-Davidson^® motorcycles as proud members of Forvm Roma Chapter, which we’ve been doing for eight years. This summer, we set off on an epic adventure – a three-week trip from Rome to North Cape in Norway, covering more than 6,700 miles (10,800km).

On 9 June, our bikes – my Sport Glide 107 and Claudio’s Street Glide 114 – were packed up and ready to go with around 14kg of luggage on the sissy bars and essentials such as rain gear in the saddlebags.

The first rain was waiting for us at the West Chianti service area near Florence: sand-laden drops that made the bikes look like we were on our way home and not at the start of our journey.

After stopping near Baden-Baden and Hamburg in Germany, we reached the Port of Hirtshals in Denmark on 12 June, where we boarded a ferry to Bergen, Norway, arriving around noon the next day.

Our first thrill was arriving in time to visit the fish market and enjoy a tasty lunch while looking out at the North Sea.

Once we left Bergen, we rode past coniferous forests and fjords, taking in the beautiful and imposing landscape. The fjords in particular were truly spectacular – carved out by glaciers, they had sheer cliffs from which you could see snow-capped peaks and icy waterfalls tumbling into the waters below.

In the distance, we spotted farms seemingly clinging to the cliffs, and small villages with their typical pastel-coloured wooden houses built on stilts. We took a ferry for about 20km along the Geirangerfjord, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Continuing upwards, we arrived at the popular Trollstigen (troll path). After navigating 11 hairpin bends, we were rewarded with stunning views at the top. In the evening, we arrived at Molde, famous for its roses, where there was a beer festival in the square with jazz and soul music playing at the harbour.

On 16 June, we travelled along the Atlantic Road, a stretch about five miles (eight kilometres) long where islets and skerries are connected by causeways, viaducts, eight bridges and an underwater tunnel. It’s considered to be one of the most beautiful stretches of road in the world.

Evening saw us arrive in Trondheim, one of Norway’s most photographed cities, with its colourful warehouses, waterways and characteristic houses on stilts.

A couple of days later we arrived at the Arctic Circle, which was such a thrill. We stopped to take the photos and buy souvenirs before setting off for Bodø, a colourful town full of murals and one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2024. Next stop was Lofoten.

We’d spent a lot of time reading articles and watching documentaries about Lofoten. All we really wanted to do was to admire the islands from the seat of our bikes, but unfortunately we were greeted by an almighty downpour as we disembarked from the boat, with high winds and squalls that made our surroundings barely visible.

There are hundreds of wooden racks scattered all around the islands, used by fishermen to dry stockfish. This is the main source of income for the local population, and Italy is its largest importer. We sampled the local delicacies at Anita’s Seafood, where dozens of stockfish were on display, with their gaping mouths full of sharp teeth.

Two days of relentless rain followed, so we and we left Lofoten with sodden bike seats and heavy hearts, wondering if we’d get a second chance to visit this heavenly corner of the world.

Despite the rain and bitter cold, we enjoyed our ride to Narvik on beautiful roads through stunning scenery. We warmed up in a café and polished off more delicious seafood before heading to our hotel.

Next up was North Cape. The scenery began to change bit by bit. The forests became more scattered, there were fewer farms and the occasional sprinkling of snow. The last stretch of the road to North Cape is part of the E69 and involves travelling through five tunnels, including one 212 metres below sea level.

After the port of Honningsvåg, we started riding with our heads literally in the clouds – low, dense clouds that prevented us from seeing more than a foot ahead of us. But we got there. We parked and hurried to the entrance. We hugged and patted each other on the back – we’d made it to our final destination.

Nervous, tired and happy, we went to see the famous iron globe atop a 307-metre-high cliff that dives directly down to where the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans meet. Not too far away, there’s a series of sculptures representing the Children of the Earth, seven stone medallions with drawings by children from seven different nations, symbolising cooperation, friendship, hope and joy across all borders.

Next to them stands a sculpture of a mother holding the hand of her child, who points to the Children of the Earth monument.

We climbed back on our bikes and resumed our journey, arriving in the Finnish village of Inari exhausted. The weather finally started to change, and we encountered mostly clear skies and milder temperatures. We continued our descent and found the road to Rovaniemi full of reindeer, who would leave the woods that line the route to take to the road, to the amazement of the tourists and disappointment of the Finns, who honked their horns for us to go faster.

We stayed in Rovaniemi for two nights. As well as being renowned as the culinary capital of the North, it’s also famous for Santa Claus Village, where we went to meet the great man himself.

Between Luleå and Umeå in Sweden, the Sport Glide wouldn’t restart after we’d stopped. We changed the transponder battery, tried to restart it with the booster, we even had advice from a German and a Swedish truck driver, both of whom pushed, swore and gave their diagnoses, but the bike was having none of it. Then, as if by magic, it suddenly started up and there were huge smiles all round.

We tried to get the bike into the H-D^® dealership in Umeå the next day, but the only available slot was later in the day, and as we still had just over 400 miles (700km) to go, we decided to chance it. The engine warning light stayed on for the rest of the way home, but luckily we didn’t have any further issues.

On the route back through Denmark we made a point of seeing the striking Øresund Bridge and Great Belt Bridge, and in Germany we visited Würzburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber before staying overnight in Füssen. We rode the stretch from Füssen to Bassano del Grappa, Italy, in pouring rain. We finally had some respite on the last day, and our arrival in Rome was accompanied by weather that warmed our bones and our hearts because, let’s be honest, it’s exciting to travel abroad, but the beauty of our home country is unbeatable, even when seen from its longest motorway. The trip wasn’t cheap. Our budget was around £3,500 (€4,000) and we spent all of it. But no money is better spent than on travelling, exploring, learning about new places and enjoying new experiences. We urge all bikers that are able to take this trip. Life’s too short not to give it some gas!

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