RideNorway is counting down to Winter Solstice with trip planning tips and trivia!
8 December: Top 3 Winter Rallies
Norwegian riders rides in the winter too. Where there are riders, there are rallies. These are RideNorway’s Top 3 Winter Rallies:
The Primus Rally. Sometimes snowy, sometimes just downright cold. (Image: RideNorway.com)
1. The Primus Rally
Probably the most know of them all on these shores. This quintessential winter rally has been going on for some 50 years. No-one seems to know exactly when it was organized – or rather: Not organized – for the first time, but it was sometime in the very early 1970s. It is the Norwegian winter rally that attracts the most foreign riders too. It’s always in the last full weekend of February – book your ferry tickets now! Check out YouTube for videos from the rally, or have a look at this one, from 1980. The funny thing is that it looks more or less the same today as it did 40 years ago.
The Woodgatherer Rally is always in the 1st full weekend after the 1st winter day, which is 14 October. (Image: RideNorway.com)
2. The Woodgatherer Rally
Even though this rally is held in October, and not nearly as cold as the Primus, it is technically still a winter rally. It is always held at the 1st full weekend after the 1st winter day, which is 14 October. It is also held at the same place as the Primus Rally, at Fjorda in Bjoneroa. A wonderful rally!
The New Year’s Rally is a fantastic blend of bikes and fireworks. And snow. (Image: RideNorway.com)
3. The New Year’s Rally
In the first full weekend of January – sometimes the second full weekend – the ladies and gentlemen of Sandefjord MCC throws a New Year’s Rally at Trollsvann in Vestfold. People show up with their bikes, tents, cooking gear and – above all – fireworks at a parking in the deep forest, celebrating the New Year as only winter riders can. Highly recommended!
For more information on winter rallies, visit this page. For tips on winter riding, read here. And if you disagree with this list, let us hear in the comments below!
