One of the advantages of riding north is the changing seasons, which seem to move as you ride. When I left the UK, spring had been and gone and young lambs were a distant memory. As I ride north through Scandinavia on my old R1150GSA, occasionally making good progress, but mostly on unmade up and gravel roads, I can see and smell the countryside around me. What strikes me most is the resemblance to the harsh southern European brush and scrub land, a sandy thin layer of soil tenaciously holding on with the aid of tree roots interspersed with massive glacial deposited rock boulders. Standing on the foot pegs controlling the bike gives me time to avoid most of the glacial deposits and plenty of time to smell the smells of spring.