Lucie's wedding in Morzine was beautiful. We were with my close friend Denis, Brigitte and their children Gaelle and Lucas where eve, lucie and jessica were going in  vacation in Arcachon every summers. Lorraine and Jessica and I are now riding to Florence. We visited Milano (very fashion) where jessica's lived for 2 years.

Jessica arrived yesterday in Geneva and Lorraine and Milou arrived this morning.

All is well finally. Tomorrow is Lucie's wedding at Morzine.

Yesterday morning, Lorraine was in transit in New York City on her way to Geneva when she had a kidney stone crisis. I was able to talk to her just as she was dropping milou at her church to take care of herself. She called 911 to go to the hospital. Jean-Louis was home, he went directly to the NY hospital on E68 st. Her minister Javier went to the hospital also. Jessica spend the day on the phone managing the crisis from California.

At the end of the day, they let her go and she went to Jean-Louis' house. She was still under drug but the stone was gone and she was feeling ok. Now, she is supposed to take a plane to Geneva on Thursday. Jessica is flying today from San Francisco and will be here tomorrow.

What a day !!!

In 1981 Giorgio, Vincent and me, each of us bought a Sidecar Cross EML/Yamaha to do the Paris-Dakar. We went to France to have dinner with this group of friends. On our way back to Geneva early this morning, Giorgio and I had a coffee in a little village of France. We saw 3 MZ motorcycle (1980) passing by and waving at us. They stopped and came to us, Fabrice said "Hello Hubert you don't know me but I follow you on your web site and my daughter Melody 8 y love to look at your updates". My answer was "can i use your cell phone?", "Thanks, what is your home phone number... Hello Melody, I am Hubert...".
Melany was very sweet, I was very excited to talk to her !!!

To read the full article from the New York Times on why you should wear the "Hubert round glasses", click here

I love passing by Geneva and witness the Marcel Pagnol lifestyle of Giorgio and his friends.

It is so weird, being in Geneva, I understand everything people say around me and for the first time since a long time, I don't have to eat what people want to give me (because I don't know how to order) but what I really want to eat.
Giorgio is as usual, it's nice to see him again.

I am flying to Geneva tomorrow for my daughter Lucie's religious wedding that will be in Morzine, France. After that, I will  go to Florence Italie with Lorraine and Jessica at the begining. I will be back in Ekaterinburg begining of July and will to to Kazakstan and Mongolia from there.

Don't miss the last video I just put online. I was an interview with TV4 - Ekaterinburg. I put the integral traduction at the end of the interview before the credit.

I will go back to the Ural factory of Irbit Thursday because when I was there last week it was a holiday. Ekaterinburg is a big city of 1.4 million people where 700 factories were moved there from Moscow during WWII.

I went to the Ural factory at Irbit.

It was a weird feeling for me to be in this historic place where 30 years ago 10.000 employees were producing 450 sidecar per day and today, 200 employees are producing 2000 sidecars per Year going half in Europe and the other half in the USA. The factory was closed today but the management were very nice with me showing me all the places and machinery. If it is possible, I would like to go back next week when the workers will be there.

This is what happened since i left Moscow.

My route from Moscow to Ekaterinburg:

Moscow, Suzdal, Mourmon, New Novograd - M7 - Kazan, Ariek, Malmiuz, Kilmez, Botkinsk, Tchakoisky, Osa - P142 - Kuntup, Krasnooufinsk, Ekaterinburg.

Day 1: Leaving Moscow was easier than i thought it would be. I followed a strtaight road and after a few miles, and was out of the suburb, simple. I found my way to Suzdal with no major problem, just asking once in a while but i had a good map of this area so no problem. Suzdal was the capital of the "golden ring" (the old russia). Beautiful village with over 30 churches. a major tourist attraction today. I slept in a guest house that i saw from the street.

Day 2: I went south to Mourmon being suposely a beautiful small town with churches that you can see from the river, "a russian jewlery" say the book.  The ride was ok and the town was not interesting at all, i could not find anything. After 2 hours of turning in circle i decided to cross the river by the small ferry to view the city from the other side of the river at dust. I met Vadim while waiting for the ferry. He invited me to his parents house that he is visiting. Amazing Russian hospitality you will see in the photo story.

Day 3: As I wake up, Vadim is cleaning my sidecar !!! we change the rear tires, took a tea and on the road. Vadim made me meet one of his friend Vladimir at the entrance of the next big city 100km from there so he could help me go through.

I decided to use the main road M7 to go to Kazan because i could not found small alternative road like i did the last 2 days. I was not fun at all. I don't mind the trucks, but the police is everywhere with their radar gun. I stopped in a truck parking motel. The cashier of the restaurant wanted me to buy her a chocolate bar, the woman seating there wanted to go up in the bedroom with me and even the cleaning lady  wanted to give me a massage, they all get desapointed and needless to say that there were no internet.

Day 4: I struggle on that M7 road. Stopping many times to review the map for alternative. Little by little i developped a small route layout starting at Kazan that was 100km away from my motel. I was cold that morning and decided to stop and get dressed. I was finally comfortable. I think it was a sunday and there were still a lot of traffic. I was stopped by a police with his radar gun being at 50mph. How stupid of me, i did not even know it was a 25mph section due to construction site (not operating that day). I was shaking. it was slightly raining. It took 5 minutes the policeman went to see his boss waiting in the car and came back to me giving me back my passeport saying someking of have a good day ! Thank you to this nice guy. Later on that M7 the rain become storm of hail. On the outside of Kazan the girls are waiting for clients on the side of the road by group of 3 evey 1/2 mile.

I drove up to a little town that I spotted on my map named Apiek. It was sunday pm, a deserted town. with all the small food stores open. No internet on sunday night. I found a "gaystinitza" (a place to sleep). where the lady who run it had the charm of a jail gardian. I eat nuts in my bedroom and slept like a charm for $8 that night.

Day 5: The little town is well alive and i am determined to find place with internet. After an hour of running in circle, a young boy took me to the post office where i could only connect with my guestbook on my computer. I went on the road, it was divine, little country road but I was troubled because it was dirt road, and i did not expect it . I thought i made a mistake and went back a couple of time and decided to push it on the dirt road. It was a dead end on a river. But a couple of car were there on the side. They told me that it was the ferry and i would leave at 5 pm (3 hours from now) to go to the road for Quilmes. As the people came they all came to me we discuss a lot of things. I gave them my digital translator so they could write words in Russian. It's amazing how much we can communicate with just a few words. On the other side of the river the off road continue. As I was taking photos on the side of the road they stopped one by one to say good by to me an other time. Great people.

By now i had a blue sky for the first time since i left moscow. I was time to sleep outside. As you see on the photo below, just heaven.

Day 6: beautiful weather, I am now on the asphalt, but in bad condition, a lot of pot hole. Finding my way from villages to villages was almost easy even if it required work. The signalisation is quite good after you learn how to interprete the signs. I slept in an open field. I wake up with the sound of an animal that had to be some kind of tube system, with a big aspiration sound...

I arrived in Ekaterinburg at the end of the day. I called Oleg who rent Ural sidecar for European tourist. He reserved me a hostel in the center of town. Finding it was very easy, just asking 3 or 4 times my way. A woman told me to follow her in her car and there was Oleg waiting for me. We had dinner together an I slept 12 hours after a needed shower. Being back on internet is very nice but being without internet for a week was very nice too.

Conclusion: I will go to the Ural factory at Irbit (150 miles) tomorrow friday where they are waiting for me. The sidecar is running like a switzerland watch.

I learned how to read and interpret Russian maps and signs. The Cyrillic alphabet has not more mistery for me (but i am slow). Ural factory will renew my visa expiring end of november for an other year. That will leave me all the time needed to go in and out of Mongolia. I want to go to Magadan and Vladivostock also.

What i love in Russia beside the natural kindness and hospitality of the people is the feeling of riding an open country. there are no barbe wire, you can go anywhere you want (as long as you don't get stuck in mud). An i rode the dense area of Russia because from here will start Siberai with no population at all by compare.

I just arrived in Ekateringburg that is 2 hours away from Irbit, the Ural factory.

Russia is an open country very pleasant to travel and the people are very hospitable. I started sleeping outside  2 nights ago, it is fantastic.

I will tell much more later tonight, i am with Oleg who rent Ural sidecar here. We go to have dinner together.

I am packed and going East.

I am still in Moscow with Benito but I should take the road Thursday morning going East.

I spend the whole weekend with Benito and Tanja visiting Moscow and going to their Datcha an hour away. We spend a lot of time in front of the Russian map. Moscow is great because you feel secure in the street as well as in the subway but it is no match to St Petersburg for the charm.

I am working my website today and I will start riding Est tomorrow.

I arrived at my in Moscow at my friend Benito that I met in Patagonia 2 years ago. I did memorize the map and arrived to his appartement directly without any mistake. The ride from St Petersbourg was interesting. The 500 miles between the 2 biggest cities of Russia is quite busy and the police is everywhere. I was stopped on regular control 2 times but no problem. The kindness of the Russian people were the same on that road than in St Petersburg.

Benito who lives in Moscow for the last 2 years has travelled, prior to that, by motorcycle during 6 years around the world including 3 years with his wife Tanja who is Russian. He went 2 times round trip from Europe to Vladivostock by motorcycle. I have a lot to learn from him on my map.

11:00am: I loaded the sidecar, I am on my way south.

Yesterday, I wanted to go to the Arctic/Antarctic museum of all the Polar Russian Expedition. It is located in the St Nicolas Cathedrale but i went to the wrong St Nicholas (the other did not have an h). I walk fearviously to the other side of town and it was not open on Tuesday. I went after that to a Russian Ballet at the Marinsky Theater, it was great.

I go today to the Arctic/Antarctic Museum and i will leave St Petersburg for Moscow tomorrow morning.

I worked very late last night to do my 4 stories on St Petersburg. I get a ticket for the Marinsky theather tonight. It's a ballet but I did not understood any details. I am learning the cyrillic alphabet, I was working a sign in the street this afternoon and after a couple of minutes, i get the world "toilet" and above it was written WC... it will take time, but it's definitely coming.

Tomorrow I will leave St Petersburg for Moscow. I will go to Benito's house. I met him in Patagonia 2 years ago. I hope to be on the Red Square for the May 9 celebration.

I spend the whole Sunday at the Ermitage Museum. It is part of the Russian culture to take your children to the museums. I was surprised to see a lot of teenagers by themselves spending the day there. The Ermitage is as impressive as I imagined it. I am still wondering how they were heating the place in winter by 0ºF outside.

I am thinking of getting on the road tomorrow in direction of Moscow.

Yesterday, the city was overcrowded with this 3 days weekend. The line was too long to enter the Ermitage Museum. I went to the Russian Marble museum and the Blockade museum of Leningrad between 1941 and 1944.

I went to have dinner at Yulia and her mom Elena's appartment. The idea was to eat the little fishes eperlins that you only have during a few weeks at spring. Because I told Yulia that I love fish, her mom had also 2 kinds of saulmons and a herring. It was the Russian hospitality at it's best. We had long talk about the before and after the opening of Russia in the world... I ate  more that I needed but it was extremely good. Then they decided that I could not go back to my hostel in subway and they drove me in their car while visiting the city. People of St Petersburg are very proud of their city and you can sense a strong competitionwith Moscow. It is nice also to see how much Russians love their country.

Thank you again Yulia and Elena.

I met Yulia yesterday. She is a friend of Peter that I met on his bycicle in Patagonia 2 years ago. They met together in Tibet in 2005. Yulia is from St Petersburg and I learned a lot on the city history and the people of St Petersburg.
We walked the whole day and took the subway to came back downtown.

Mai 1st is also a Russian holiday but it was not as crowded as I thought it would be. We went to watch "Swan Lake". The Ermitage theater is a small theater made of marble that they bring from finland. It was such a nice feeling, reminding me of the Opera of Manaus. Being so far from all your reference and suddently immerged in the athmosphere that could be any where in the world.
Yulia was the first one of her family to travel abroad in 1995. She met Simone, an Italian, a couple of years ago, she now speak fluently Italina, they are getting married this summer in Italy. The world is getting smaller and smaller.

Today i go visit the Ermitage museum, and tonight I go eat fish with Yulia family in their house.

I love Russia.

So far, I have been walking and walking in the streets of St Petersburg. By the way Leningrad and St Petersburg is the same city, I must have been looking by the window that day at school. This morning I get up at 6 am to benefit from the sunrise over the canals. This city has an exceptional beauty. I get the ticket for "Swan Lake" at the Ermitage theater.

Police and uniform people have a real authority, i can see easely how i could be in trouble driving in a city like that, they would caught me at my first mistake.

Early am: I am astonished to see how nice the Russian people are. They are friendly and nice. It is pleasant to stop anybody to ask them a question, they makes a lot of effort to be helpful. I walk to a big subway plazza yesterday morning and i stayed there for a couple of hour just looking at the people. They are quite beautiful people also. Of course I am in the historic center of St Petersburg but still they are not fat and their faces are quite attractive.

Then I walked for hours along the many canals bordered with Haussmanian achitectural building all very well maintained. The landmark building are exceptionals also each are breathtaking. I love this city. I needed to rest at the end of the afternoon and took a one hour boat tour on the canals for one hour.

I am going to try to buy a ticket for the Opera of the Russian ballet at the Ermitage theater of the Marinsky.

12:00pm: I am packed and leaving this minute to St Petersburg.

1:00am wednesday: What a great day I had. The border passing was friendly, peaceful and fast (like about 1 hour). Russian are extremely friendly and open.

I get lost on the road because I miss read the visual of the drawing. I had the name right but did not understand the arrow sign. So I started asking to people. They are very nice and i don't know why, it was easy to understand the gestuel.

I arrived in St Petersbourg at 10:30 pm. Then it took me 2 hours to get to my Hostel in the historic downtown that was 15 miles from the entrance of the city.

I came quite quickly to the center. I forgot to print the detail map from google with the hostel but I remember the visual. I started to ask and the first guy explained me  where to go and gave me a mini map of the historic downtown with a big smile. With that map in hand I went straight to where I thought It should be but it was just a regular building. I went further ask 2 other guys who downloaded a map from their cell phone but put the wrong street name on their system and send me in the wrong direction. Later an other guy looking at me checking my map asked me if he could help me, he spend 10 minutes on his cell phone and send me back exactly where I firts stop thinking it was wrong. It was inside one of the building, the hostel is on the 3 and 4th floor.

I love being in Russia, people are really great, it's going to be a lot of fun.

It is quite late during the night, i just finished my last 2 stories.

I will leave early tuesday morning to Narva at the Russian border. I should arrive in St Petersburg Wednesday where I will stay for the May 1st weekend to visit one the most beautiful city in the world.

Last night, I slept 15 hours !

It feels good but I am a little drowsy by the theraflu.

I stay home today and I will start working on the sidecar tomorrow with Nicholas.

Need to change the studded tires, change my oil and troubel shoot the heated grip that stoped working.

I just arrived at Tallin, Estonia to my friends Nicholas and Kriss.
Coming back from Eve's wedding, my stop in Paris was succesful. I was able to buy the wheels bearings - that i wanted to have with me as spares.

I have a cold an running on theraflu. I feel drosy and sleepy.

Hopefully tomorrow I will get my sidecar from Tiit the Ural dealer who was changing the rear shaft bearing.

Eve and Peter get married yesterday. It is a nice feeling for me to see her happy to accomplish her dream.

Peter's dad knew he was in terminal phase of his cancer since a couple of weeks. On friday afternoon he was hospitalized and went into unconsciousness that evening. His desire was that Eve and Peter get married no matter of what was going to happens. He stayed peacefully unconscient until 2 pm today when he passed away. All my thought are going to his wife Doreen and his 2 sons Peter and Simon.

I am ready for my daughter Eve wedding.

I am ready for my daughter Eve wedding.

I arrived in Jersey this morning. Lucie was already there. We did a church rehearsal for tomorrow. The island is beautiful on this sunny spring day.

My visit in Paris was very successful. I finalized my French retirement and the total income between my USA and French retirement is $2470/month. This is huge, I never expected more than a few hundreds dollars.

I did some book shopping - Russia and Mongolia Lonely Planet guide and conversation books. I did not visit the motorcycle shop because I don't need anything for my sidecar.

I fly tomorrow to Jersey for Eve's wedding.

I arrived in Paris this afternoon for the wedding of my daughter Eve (samedi a Jersey between UK and France). What a contraste from Honningsvag to the frozen roads of Finland and the city of Tallin Estonia.

Everything is closed and I thought it was because of Monday but then I realise that we are Easter Monday !!! Happy Easter everybody.

I ride through Helsinki to find the ferry for Tallin, Estonia. Being good friday, the city was quite empty. The huge ferry - 2000 people - was packed of Finish people who go to Estonia for the weekend to drink and buy alcool.

I am with my friend Nicholas and his wife Kriss. I emptied the sidecar and I am going to sort out everything that I can bring back to Paris either because it will not be -40ºF anymore or I don't really need or use some of the stuff that I have.

I am now 60 miles away from Helsinki where tomorrow, I will take a 2 hours ferry to go to Tallinn, Estonia. I will visit my friend Nicholas that I met with his wife Kriss in Patagonia 2 years ago. They were riding a heavy 1150GS on that time, since, he bought a Ural to prepare for long range ride.

Last week I had a call from my daughter Eve who was supposed to be married in Italy in September "Dad, I am getting married on April 18 in Jersey - between UK and France - can you be there ?" "Of course I will be there."

So monday, I take a plane to go to Paris to be at Eve's wedding and I will be back in Tallinn on April 21 to enter Russia and then Mongolia.

I went to the Russian border of Vartsila to resolve the problem of the insurance of the sidecar for when I will be entering Russia. It took me quite some time on the phone with my insurance company in France and the solution at the end is simply to buy the insurance locally close to the border before entering.

9:00am: As i am riding South, the ice and snow is melting more and more on the roads. I am riding along the Russian border. The road are deserted with only a few local people and the tree industry working. I find gaz here and there, it is not a problem. I have sun and blue sky all day long, the temperature is between 30ºF and 34ºF.

6:00pm: I found the white, I rode on ice and snow the whole day. I stop to sleep in a farm, they do sheeps and cows.

I am going back on my littles roads of ice.

I watch the qualification of the F1 Grand Prix of Sepang and let me explain you the perfect set up that I experienced for the first time.

I have a live visual on the Deutch channel

I have a live audio on the French radio RMC that I get on internet

I have live telemetry on my screen from the FIA web site.

Now you think that the driver is busy but it's nothing compare to me !!!

The only glitch is that first I have the telemetrie from the FIA updated every secondes, 4 secondes later I have the visual on TV and 105 secondes later I have the audio coming !

I just put a new video online about the passing of the Arctic  Circle in Finland.

I found the solution to ride the right road in Finland. On my map i can ride the smallest dotted line road, they are white iced immaculate, bordered with pines trees, very well maintain, nobody on these roads, a house here and there every few kilometers or dozen of kilometers and they are by section 100 to 200 miles long. Riding these road is really amazing it is so pure and beautiful, a very special feeling. I will put a video online about that tomorrow.

I found a hotel on a remote road where i am the only client. They have Wifi, and F1 race of Sepang this weekend on TV. I stay there to watch it. I am very close to the Russian border and the temperature is down to 5ºF.

As i was riding south through Lapland i was thinking how glad I am to be doing what I am doing. Riding a Ural, spending 3 weeks at Honningsvag NordKapp, going to Mongolia. What a thrill, sometimes I just stop on the side of the road and i look at the sidecar to sort of pinch myself "No, no hubert you are not dreaming!"

I left the main road earlier today to be on more remote road but even there i did not find the oportunity to escape and put my tent somewhere. The way to escape the roads here is to ride a snowmobile. April will be a very busy month for Finish tourist. They came to Lapland and go snowmobile all over.

9:00am: The sidecar is packed, I go on the road !

6:00pm: I ride 250 miles going south. I am in Lapland, Finland and it has no more charm than it had on the west side of it. Most of the road does not have snow on it anymore. The bike is running good and it feels good to be back on the road.

I took a day off and I feel great. I slept a lot today and I relaxed.

Last September , I was leaving Geneva to go to Lucie's wedding in Paris. My only pair of pants I had was the Gaucho pants that I bought in Argentina, i loved them but they were really dead. So I went to the C&A from Geneva and I bouth a pair of pants that I have been wearing everyday since. Today I realized that they are dead totally teared up. I went to buy a new pair of pants today, that was my big acheivement of the day.

Tomorrow, I leave the comfort of Honningsvag.

12:00pm: I could not watch the F1 of Melbourn on TV, so  I watch it on internet.

I like the way the season started. I am still cleaning here and there on my english and french web site but I am done with the remodeling. I did my laundry this morning and I will hit the road tomorrow morning going South through Lapland, Finland to Helsinky, Estonia and then Russia. That is the idea.

2:30pm: I have been in my room non stop since the pary, I just completed the french version of my web site. I start putting it online now, it will take several hours.

I am going to investigate if i can see the F1 Grand Prix of Melbourne on TV Sunday morning ?

9:00pm: The french web site is online.

I am glad that I was there at the party. The fisherman are amazing people.

Basically the fishing season is always limited so time is of the essence. A boat cannot came back at shore until it's filled with fish... what ever it takes !!!

These people work very hard in harsh condition for many many hours.
Odd told me "If a man worked on a fishing boat for one year, you can be sure this man know what it take to get things done!"

When I was a teenager at school, I loved the year we started "Math Area Geometry". I was pationately spending my night resolving problems and for the first time I was better than average in my class. My problem solving was always more complicated than it was necessary but most of the time, I was showing the correct answer to the teacher in the morning. The next year, started the "Volume Geometry" That was one dimention too many for me and I get lost very quickly and returned to the back of the class.

The web site coding is comparable to "Math Area". This is only" horizontal liasons" and I am amazed to see the intrigacy that I can master on my web site.

I am finishing the french version, I will be on the road before the weekend.

Today weather cleared, we have a very strong wind with a sunny sky.

I completed the update of my web site from the loby of the other hotel last night (they did not like me too much). I came back to my fish factory hotel at 11:00pm throuhg a blizzard snow. I was never in danger because my maximum distance to a house if I got stack was less than 1 mile but it was ready to walk. Difficult to pass all the snowdrifts and no visibility at all.

As I arrived, I was attracted by a boat looking that looked strangely like the Captain Haddock's boat (Tintin et Milou). I spend an hour inside the factory looking at the night crew watching the capelins. When I came back at the hotel Odd called me "Would you like a piece of fresh codd ?". It ended very late in the night with 5 of his friend who just camed for today's conference and his biggest Japonese buyer, a very funny man like I know them from the Paradis Latin.

By the way, the road to the main land is closed !

12:30pm: I just completed on my computer the changes I started to do on my web site for the English version. It was amazingly complex but it works great, i am very happy the way it works not. Thank you Sebastien from Geneva who took me to a higher level on my web site. I went to the lobby of the expensive hotel to download all these new and modified pages - all the pages from the past had some level of modification or was done new. I am going to be here for a few hours for sure.  I am starting the download at 6:30 am New York time.

I worked on my web site since friday lunch time. going to sleep very very late and never missing the hotel breakfast at 8:00am. I spend a lot of time checking my files but please write me if you have a broken link somewhere.
What is happing outside is also interesting. A major snow storm is on us as we speak. Driving the 3 km from one hotel to the other was hazardous. I had to manover with 2WD front and rear 2 times. Even if i wanted to, I would not take the road going south in these conditions, I would be stack somewhere on the side of the road.
Odd, the owner of the hotel where I stay and the Capelin factory next to it invited me tomorrow a a big party he organized for the Capelin fishing industry. 50 to 70 people will attend the 5 hours conferences -all in english- and the huge buffet party of the evening.

I feel so fortunate to be in Honningsvag doing my things, life is pretty good.

I will post here the time - New York - at witch the download of the english web site will completed because until then of course there are a lot of broken link.

I am working on my website, it's going slowly but it's going  very well, I am happy with the result.

In my enthusiasm I started an other level of update on my web site. I did not realize how involved it was. It is very complicated for me, I get lost very quickly, it required me to concentrate a lot !

So I am feeding my soul with fresh cod and by going everyday a few hours in one fishing village or the other, then when I came back at the hotel, I am feeding my brain with my website story. I did not get in trouble with the sidecar today, but it was an other stormy day, and I am very cautious in my maneuver

I spend the whole morning with Odd, the owner of the Capelins factory and the hotel. He is very interesting being involved in the industrial fishing industrie in Perou, Chili and North America. I learned a lot about Norwegean through him. On the 24, there is a big fiesta at the factory involving the fisherman, the local authorities, the political and the business people. I might be still there for the party!

I finished the revamp of my web site last night for the English and the French version. The weather in Honningsvag change constantly. This morning, we went from a sunny sky to heavy snow with very poor visibility a dozen time already. Two days ago, it was not snowing, it was raining. I am going to pack and within a day or two, I will be on the road again !

6:00pm: I went to spend a few hours at the fishing village of Nordvagen, it was very windy and snowy all the afternoon. I did not realize that I was in trouble to came back to my hotel. It snowed 10" since last night but with the blizzard wind condition we have now, the snowdrift on the road are huge. I had to use my 2WD several times as well as my rear gear. The hardest part was the side road to access my hotel. I finally made it but it was close !!!

8:30pm: Suddently, the wind stoped and it does not snow anymore.

Yesterday I went to visit Lars and his wife to show them the "Fresh Cod" video. Their son who lives 500 miles away saw it on the web the they don't have internet at home. Then I revamped the "Who is Hubert ?" that I put online. But most importantly, I updated the Q&A. Not that I really changed, but since 2005, the questions are a little bit differents.

It's getting warmer everyday outside, I don't like it.

Sunday, everything is closed and just my fish factory was working.

Lars (the fresh cod guy) was out of town since I was there, I will go tomorrow to his house to show him the "Fresh Cod" video because he does not have internet.

Saturday night for the first time the thermometer went above 32ºF for a few hours, may be that was a sign for me to go soon ?

By now, many people know me in the fishing village of Henningsvag (population 2700). No matter where I go, people are saying, "I know you, you are travelling for 10 years" or somthing like that. Every nights I go to Café Corner and I eat a plate of "Cod's Tongue". It is a real treat, a delicate and tender white meat that is  very delicious. Look at the video I just put online about it in a Cod factory that I visited yesterday.

The day I arrived in my "fish factory hotel" I asked to visit the factory but it was not possible. Today Rami asked me "I wonder what you are going to put on your web site about us ? Would you be interested to visit our Caplin fish factory ?".

It was very interesting, I am sure that I will do a story about it.

Yesteday, I relaxed in my hotel. I did 2 stories on my web site and I put online the video about "Fresh Cod". I have one more story to do today.

At the end of the day, I went to "Corner Cafe" eat a plate of " Tongue of Cod".

The tongis are white meat and extremely tender. I loved it.

Life is pretty good.

It was a sunny day. I went to a small (70 people) fishing village between Honningsvag and North Cap. At lunch time, I met Lars, a fisherman. He invited me in his house for a coffee. After an hour, he suddently ask me "weren't you on TV with your red glasses ? I saw you...

Later, I asked him where could I go to eat "fresh cod". The best place I know is here  in my house tonight. My fishing boat is coming back at 5pm, the fish will have been catch 6 hours before we eat it. It's as fresh as it can be, how does that sound to you ? Later his wife who works in a spa of Honningsvag came back home and we kept chatting about New York and North Cap until 5 O'clock when his boat arrived. We went to pick-up our fresh cod and his wife cook it. It was delicious. I have nice footage that i will put together. I am back in my fish factory hotel ready for digestive night.

Hanningsvag is a high sea fishing harbor with a huge amount of charm. The Cap North is 20 miles North from here. The only way to get there is to take the tourist bus at 11:45am and make the tour like all the others touristes. I found a cheap hotel so i will stay here tonight.

3:30pm: The bus ride and the visit of North Cap was worth it. It's always a great feeling to be at such historical point on earth. I moved to the cheapest hotel I had since I arrived in Oslo. It is the building for the fish factory people. It's clean, it has a view on the village, it has wifi in my room. The best fish restaurant in town is "Corner". They have fresh cod and a full plate of "tongue cod". I spotted a couple of little fishing villages away from the tourist track that I will go visit. May be I can go fish some cod with them?

March 9, 2005, I arrived at Eagle Plains on the Dempster Highway,

21 km South of te Arctic Circle after being blown by the blizzard.

Today, I arrived at Honningsvag, 13km South to the official North Cap.

I went through the windy Lapland but it was nothing with the 30/40mph

wind I had today. Lapland was surprising by it's lack of charm in the villages

I went through. I slept in a cabane last night, but I still could not find a way

to sleep outside. A 2WD sidecar with studded tires is not a moto neige.

I did not find a way to go out of the main road.

I feel very good and as always I really think that my trip is starting today !!!

8:00am: Karesuando has a population of 300 people and has 1 hotel of 60 rooms

where I was the only client for the night.

I am at the right spot. I did not see any wild animals on my way here, but I keep

my eyes open,I will let you know.

Today, I am going deeper in Lapland!

4:30pm: I arrived in Kautokeino. This place is known to be the coldest place in

Lapland. Today the temperature is 15ºF. The village doesn't have too much charm

by itself. It's aweird village where people livelike in a remote area at the end of

a huge no man's land!
I saw some reindeer on the side of the road, but nothing like in the movies.

No more traffic on the road I took to came to this remote area.

But this road will take me Norht, I am at the border with Finland.

It feels quite cold because of the constant wind but the temperature is around 10ºF.

The ride with my studded tires is a whole new world. Before when I was loosing

it, I had to slow down and deal with the new trajectory. Now it might swing a little

left and right but I can keep the same trajectory. Very pleasant feeling.

I have now my front and rear wheel mounted with studs and I did my oil change.

I am putting the NRK-TV interview from Norway online in the video page.

Tomorrow I go inside Lapland.

I arrived this afternoon at Kiruna, Sweden. We are at the door of Lapland. All the cheap hotels are booked but i was able to have a room. Michael is going to mount the ice studs on my front and rear tire tomorrow morning. I will also do a oil change on engine, gearbox and final drive. Then I will be ready to go through the heart of Lapland to North Cap. I feel reallty great!

8:00am: Hotels on the side of the road are very expensive in Norway. I slept late again working on the French version of the new structure of the web site. It is a beautiful sunny day, I go on the road.

6:30pm: It was a bright blue sky the whole day. I left the main road E6 for small road snaking around remote fjord. What a beauty, what a great feeling. Tomorrow, I leave the warmth of the Norvegean coast due to the Gulf Stream, I will be in no time in Lapland.

PS: If you are a Google fan, don't miss the "Google me Hubert on 3/3/09" on the little map of "Where is Hubert ? "

Web site last Updates: In the page "Where is Hubert" and just below Where is Hubert, there is a tiny line with the info of the last updates for the Blablablog and the Videos that were previously indicated on the left column.
It is 10:20am, I will be on the road in an hour.

8:00pm: What a difference the Arctic Circle makes!

There are 2 Norway, one South of the Arctic Circle where people think that they live on the French Riviera but in fact they live like in Paris. Then Thre is the other Norway North of the Arctic Circle, where people are much more open and friendly. People wave me on the road by dozen.
I met Lars from the TV-NRK at Fauske, we spend ther afternoon doing all kind of shooting on the road and on the side of the road, telling stories. It's suppose to be online tuesday night at a 7:00pm (about).

I went back on the road and stopped for the night may be 60km north of Fauske.
My new boots rated -70ºF (it's printed on the sticker) are very comfortable and don't bother me to drive.

9:45am: I am not moving from here today. It feels too good to be here. I sleep the window open and I am really enjoying myself.
I did an experiment yesterday, I went to the sidecar with my little shoes not socks, my pants and my blue jacket with no tshirt. I then had the idear to dismount the windshield to change the sticker that is too small. The temperature was 10ºF and the wind was very strong. I guess I stayed outside for 15 minutes to bring the windshield in my bedroom. At the end, I could not feel my finger anymore, I had to watch them to control what I was doing. This is what I like, the cold will not kill you instantly, it takes some times. It's like iceberg, they don't jump at you last minute. You have time to see it coming if you keep your eyes open. Unfortunatly I put my new sticker crooked on the windshield, I totally forgot to use water and soap to put it on and that makes me feel very stupid.

6:00 pm: Look GIorgio, I installed the small camera inside the headlight housing. I went on a test road this afternoon and so far it works pretty good.
May be I should remove the protective grid, what do you think?