Drifting Norge-ward (and what Gatebil is really like)

[AB car pix]

Dec 9, 2015 12:48:42 GMT surprisingskoda said:

Dec 9, 2015 12:06:39 GMT AB car pix said:

The night partying really is on another level and scale from any equivalent in the UK, but also so is all of the track action, the spec of the cars and quality of the event.

Another enduring memory I came away with was that the standard of the cars was generally not as good as the UK. Sure, there was a Viper engined Volvo 240 (244?), but as with most show reports and I am equally as guilty of it, the good stuff gets pictured and the dross filtered out. I took some 800-900 photos overall, and at Retro Rides I take twice that.
The epic cars are seriously epic. The rest are sub-par.

I honestly did not expect that. I did not expect what I found. Hotwire mentions Gatebils reputation above, and yet in all the years Jonny told me about it, linked me to on-board youtube videos, picture albums, show reports and their own website, I never once came across what we saw in reality. None of us did, unfortunately it was just me that was unpleasantly surprised, with them being keen to try it out, although by the end of it they were all a bit fed up of the never-ending rave music and no sleep as well.
Don't write me off completely, I actually have a pretty large collection of ATB and PVD type trance music, I can enjoy that still, and used to drink like a fish, so don't get on my high horse now just because I got off it, but getting rocks thrown at your tent at 3am by a drunken Swede who even his friends have forgotten his name, with the express purpose of trying to hit you, before passing out and falling in the bushes, while someone else rides their bmx, in a stupor, in pitch darkness, into the back of your rental, while two, three or more competing stereo systems are banging out awful, awful rave music while you realise that yes, you do need to get some sun lotion and you're never going to get any sleep until you leave here - is not my idea of a good time.
Looks like I've popped off on one again but yeah, had I known, I would have avoided. Staying elsewhere and travelling in for the daytime part might have worked. But whereas I expected a relaxed, scandinavian version of RRG, I walked into the middle of a yobbo freak-out. If getting smashed is what you like to do, then this is the place for you.
However Norway itself... delightful.
I missed out several stories from the other part of the trip, like the deep conversation I had with Jurgen, the owner of a Militaria store just down the way from the hostel, about politics, gun control, medieval armoury, Irish hospitality (he'd been to Belfast and Dublin), or when we skilfully avoided the BBQ police by driving up a forest path which was actually someones drive and making dinner surrounded by pine trees and woodland silence. I would do Norway again, in a different way. I would not feel like I was missing something if I never went back to Gatebil though.

Not sure if "Drifting Norge-ward (and what Gatebil is really like)" is an entirely accurate title, maybe "Gatebil really isn't my bag" instead?
It is quite well known what events like this are like, and Gatebil is pretty much the version that's fully turned up to 11.
Pretty sure I'd have quite a downer on something like a weekend trip to a teetotal tractor & folk festival when I know I'd much rather be around bass and drifting

[Frankenhealey]

Dec 9, 2015 10:26:50 GMT retrocarsdan said:

I'd like to go for the experience - but couldn't hack the noisy camping! I'd def have to stay elsewhere!

What a great story and I second that motion! RRG needs three camping fields, one for the noisy drinkers, one for the families and a small but perfectly formed one, well away from the rest, for me and the other Radio 4 listeners

[skinnylew]

Brilliant, honest report, very interesting to read about the reality behind the pictures that crop up year on year. Scenic tour next time

[`state]

This is the best thread on here for ages! I havent laughed so much at the internet in a long time. Although not as `epic` as other write up`s on here at the mo, i found it more `real`.
Theres nothing i hate more than rave music, loud music late at night and drifting. I gave up camping at car shows years ago due to knob heads having to play wibblepoo music at 3am all the time.
By the sounds of it I'm just as miserable as you are lol.
That volvo tho!!

[bgt]

It sounds like you were stuck next to some curse word people. To me, festivals are pretty much only fun if you meet strangers whose company you enjoy and whose interests you share. And if you're big into cars (in the Retro Rides sense of the word) then Gatebil is not really the place for you. It is attended primarily by yobbos. Personally, I have never been and I don't want to go. Because of the people who attend.

It is a "råner" festival. Your typical råner is a youth from the countryside. They have few options for hobbies and they have to drive to get anywhere so cars become their hobby by default. They hang out at gas stations/parking lots where they socialize with other råners. There's a strong culture around it. And a strong stigma from people who are not in the culture (most of society). The råner embraces their outcast status with provocative/outlandish modifications and behaviour. And they drink themselves stupid. And listen to awful music.

It's pretty sad because I think it's embarrassing to describe myself as a car enthusiast. The go-to impression people jump to when people hear it is the råner. And that is not a culture in which I want to partake.

In my opinion, the "retro rides"-type Norwegian car enthusiasts are most commonly found at classic cars events.

I'm glad to hear you've not written all of Norway off as uncivilized. To me, it sounds like you would enjoy the west coast of Norway more, espwcially with regards to nature/camping. The nature in the scenic picture you showed is... Uh. Sub-par. Try searching for "Kjeragbolten", "Preikestolen" and "Trolltunga" in Google Images.

[b3nson]

Thanks for the write up.
Some rough plans to do Norway as a the next major roadtrip and travel up the West coast and the Atlantic Road. Was thinking about squeezing Gatebil in, but to be honest I think we'd stay nearby and travel in from what you've said now. I love a few beers as much as the next person, but being surrounded by music and drunkenness as I try to sleep is not for me!

[HoTWire]

Dec 9, 2015 19:32:50 GMT bgt said:

It's pretty sad because I think it's embarrassing to describe myself as a car enthusiast. The go-to impression people jump to when people hear it is the råner. And that is not a culture in which I want to partake.

When we first started this place when you told people you liked to modify cars you were greeted with "like Max Power then?", and that implied the same kind of thing. Now days it has moved on .... "like Fast And Furious then?" .

[DWDarkWheels]

Great write-up, SS. I avoid road-trip reports, 'cos it's the internet equivalent of someone narrating their way through the slideshow of their holiday while you politely nod and 'ooh' in the right places, but this ticks the boxes for me 'cos

1. Norn Iron sarcastic humour.
2. Norway : a country that enchants me. I've been thanks to 3 expenses-paid work trips, but that's been enough to add a lengthy trip there for me and the wife on the bucket list.

[bryn]

Haha, fair play to you, because your opinion is actually based on going there and doing it! For that I applaud you. I've only ever gone to Gatebil Rudskogen for the cars, but I was working.

It is one of my all time favourite events and I disagree that the majority of the cars are sub par, you have to look closer and at least three or four of the cars you've taken pictures of on track are incredible builds. You should have hunted them down in the pits.

Gatebil is an event for all enthusiasts, take from it what you like, static, track, pit or curse word up action. I knew of it's reputation for party/noise etc and purposefully avoided it, but the cars? Man alive! We'd hit the track at 8am and leave at 10pm.

Take a look at some of these and you'll get a better idea of the quality you may well have missed out on.

www.speedhunters.com/2013/07/greatest-velocity-a-617whp-alfa-romeo-gtv/

www.speedhunters.com/2014/09/worlds-wildest-ford-anglia/

That Overtake liveried grey Volvo 7 series?

700bhp 2J inside.

www.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Engine-Swaps-of-Elmia-Bilsport-2014-5.jpg

[espeno]

AKA "Why you never never never EVER camp at Gatebil"

Being from the civilized western coast of Norway ( ) , I've only been once, staying at a hotel. This is the boondocks of eastern Norway, and the Gatebil camp sites have traditionally been chock full of drunken norwegian/swedish inland village idiots with little interest in cars... Not that easy to know all the way from Ireland, of course On the bright side, if you're staying elsewhere and only are there for the track action, you'll hardly notice.

It is an event that attracts a lot of "track slag" type of cars, but I'd think there were a lot of nice builds as well.

Oh, and does "You got a pen?" (du har penn) work as a chat up line in Ireland? : D ("Du er pen" might be better)

I can confirm Norwegians love our super markets as well, but super markets are usually incredibly hard to find in a hurry in any country... Try looking for "Rema 1000", "Kiwi", "Spar" or "Coop" signs, should help saving a krone or two!

[surprisingskoda]

Well, it looks like I owe an apology to a few people.
There is no sarcasm in this post.
I'm sorry I did not know the "reputation" of the event before going. I saw countless videos over the years of track action from the various Gatebil events, loads of photos, a few online reports elsewhere and had a good look around the website for a few months before making it happen. None of it, ever, ever showed anything like what we experienced. The website promised "camping for 10,000" and we found hard gravel clearings that were baked so much so that the tent pegs bent trying to hammer them in.
We saw loads of amazing cars in the pits and on track. We met a few drivers (mentioned one of them) and poked around the cars, many of which are pictured. These cars were fantastic. I didn't write every story from the weekend. The guy that owned the red Chevy pickup with the tyres in chatted away for 20 minutes for example. My comment about cars being "sub-par" does not extend to everything, but I was just trying to say there was a lot of track-slags as someone else confirmed. You don't see those in the website galleries. By no means did I want to infer everything was awful, just that it was not like SEMA (or indeed RRG) etc where everything is top notch, but that here there were a few top notch, and many that were not.
I'm furthermore sorry that the post sounded negative to some, and that you think I'm whinging. Certainly I had much to whinge about but it was not my intention. I tried to end each bit with positive outlooks where appropriate, and in some other areas left it hanging with some heinous "negativity" but what use would a trip report be if it was just another "show the pics and gloss over the bad bits" writeup?

I left it this long because I never intended to do a writeup, and it took this long before I was comfortable relating much of what happened. I also did not have much of a story to tell apart from the cars because I have very few pictures. We did have some good times in Oslo but I did not carry the camera around with me there, again, never intending to write this. I shared the car photos on facebook and left it at that. It was Bensons recent Eurotrip thread that inspired me to write this up, and indeed it is no "epic" addition to the forum but I had hoped it would have some value at least. I didn't want to harp on for another ages about Oslo without many pictures and i did say that, but in hindsight perhaps I ought to have done so.

As Hotwire remarked, it surprised him to see me of all people writing this. My Christian views are always going to impact how I see things and how I value things, and therefore how I write things. As I tried to get across, the music and even my friends getting a bit wobbly on their feet, does not bother me, and I was not exactly hitting the hay at 9pm sharp, going on until midnight or 1am. The problem I had was with music I had to shout over despite the stage being half a mile away over a hilltop, people being seriously, seriously drunk and passing out or being sick (or driving around...) and it not stopping until 4 or 5 am. I was there for the cars and that action started at 8am. I was there from 9 until 6 or 7 hanging around the track every day with my buddies. I went to a event described everywhere as a "car thing" to see cars, but it didn't live up to the hype and I didn't enjoy anything there apart from the cars. If that's wrong then I'm sorry.

And I'm sorry for writing such a long an inane post.

And sorry for messing up the one Norwegian quote I came back with! You can blame Malin for that, or our bad accents. You can also give her the credit for convincing me of the beauty of western Norway which is where she was from (I forget which town, possibly Bergen?).

And I'll again leave it on a positive note. Norway in itself was great. I saw loads of what I thought was stunning natural beauty, and everyone was very friendly, everywhere was clean and uncluttered and there was no panic or rush or impatience anywhere, and I would definitely go back again, and most likely will, but, as said, in a totally different guise, and not for Gatebil.

[bryn]

You have absolutely nothing to apologise about. That's the great thing about an open, public forum like this. It's your opinion that's based on personal intepretation of the event and experience, you went there and that's how you felt about it. Good on you!

If half the people in the world who have an opinion about something were as well placed to have it, then we'd be in a much better place.

[Dr.AK]

I went to Gatebil in 2014. I can definitely see where you're coming from. As someone not local to Scandinavia (i.E. someone who had no first hand contact with the scandinvaien car scene and so no one to tell them about the event), it is easy to get the "wrong" impression of the event.

I went there with two friends and it was an epic trip, although we too were unprepared for the sheer madness of the party people. What we knew about the event, we knew from youtube and Speedhunters - we expected madness on the track and being surrounded by car enthusiasts.

All three of us had media passes and we spent 90% of the day on the infield of the track and the remaining time shooting cars around the track. So we did not get that much exposure to the crazy party crowd. We even slept in the paddock area in our car. We did hear music at night but in the paddock area it was very bearable.

However, when walking to and fro, we too would encounter the "dark side" of Gatebil.

We did meet some cool people, but overall, I can definitely say, I would not go back to Gatebil without a media pass. If you can spend the day directly around / on the track photographing the cars, it is easy to concentrate on the cars (also, btw. I agree with you - it was surprising how many shoddy builds there were, even if some were very cool with their swaps... the really, really good builds were way fewer than expected).


That said, it was a unique experience and I'm glad to have been there at least once. It's definitely a unique event and people are completely crazy, especially the crazy builds on track.


Also,
you did catch a few friends of mine in this picture haha



Directly above the left most car, the guy in the brown jacket is my friend Matze and the blonde guy with the huge camera lens on his shoulder is Tim Schulz, an automotive photographer from Germany. The darker skinned fellow between them is Alok Paleri from Speedhunters.

[DWDarkWheels]

Zero apology necessary from where I sit, SS. If I loosely tossed in the 'sarcasm' comment, I only meant our honest Norn Iron way of describing things, warts-and-all.
You were there, you relayed your experience. Can't knock that. I don't see any posts above criticizing your comments.

[georgeb]

Dec 11, 2015 20:24:27 GMT DWDarkWheels said:

Zero apology necessary from where I sit, SS. You were there, you relayed your experience. Can't knock that. I don't see any posts above criticizing your comments.

Ditto from me as well.

It actually reminded me of my old man who was famous for being able to 'moan' about anything, but in a highly entertaining way. I could almost hear him as I read, so thanks, I really enjoyed the write up!

[skoda_norman]

Great to hear about this at long last and to fully understand what you were trying to explain to me briefly (in the dark, after loading some BMW wheels into a third-party Audi estate...).

I don't think you need to apologise. You took the time to share your story and what you experienced. I enjoyed the read.

[espeno]

No need to apologize at all

It was a honest and highly enjoyable report. Hope I didn't come over all snarky with the "you got a pen" comment, just thought the coincidence/double meaning was funny.